Building Complete Agent Trust: Why Authentication + Behavioral Intelligence Matters

AI agents are transforming the online shopping landscape by acting as intermediaries for consumers, conducting product research, price comparisons, and completing purchases, which has led to a significant trust paradox for merchants. While these AI agents, such as ChatGPT, can enhance the shopping experience, they also open the door for malicious activities like data scraping and fraud, as they often mimic legitimate automated traffic. This has necessitated the development of authentication protocols like Web Bot Auth, which use cryptographic signatures to verify agent identities, and commerce-specific extensions such as Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol and Mastercard's Agent Pay, which ensure that agents are authorized to transact on behalf of specific consumers. However, identity verification alone is insufficient, as authenticated agents can still engage in harmful behaviors, making behavioral intelligence critical to distinguish between legitimate and malicious activities. DataDome addresses this by providing real-time agent classification and trust management, allowing merchants to balance security with the need to maintain sales, thus protecting against fraud while enabling legitimate agent-driven commerce.