BBVA will help design a common protocol led by Sierra AI and Meta to connect AI agents with businesses

A consortium of tech giants and financial institutions is quietly building the plumbing that could turn AI agents into autonomous business operators, with BBVA, Meta, and startup Sierra AI drafting an open protocol designed to let artificial intelligences negotiate directly with companies' computer systems without human intermediaries. The move signals an industrywide bet that the next frontier of AI isn't smarter chatbots but software that can independently execute transactions, manage workflows, and make binding decisions—raising urgent questions about liability, security, and corporate control. If the protocol gains traction, it could reshape how businesses operate within months, but also create new vulnerabilities that regulators haven't begun to grapple with.

BBVA·7h ago