The world is launching a tool to verify the people behind AI vendors

World, founded by Sam Altman, is committed to creating what it calls “a person’s testimony” tech — Online ID verification tools are becoming more and more dubious AI-generated content. The connection hasn’t been lost as Altman’s other company, OpenAI, he has been accused a lot for creating the whole slide (although one might argue he saw trouble coming when he founded the World).

This week, Tools for Humanity (TFH), the startup behind World, released the beta of a new verification tool – this one designed to help create agent sales, the rapidly growing practice of using AI software to browse the web and make purchases on behalf of the user.

More and more consumers are using AI assistants to browse websites and make purchases for them. The trend promises more automation, but it has also raised concerns new forms of deceptionspam, and other forms of serious Internet abuse.

On Tuesday, World announced its solution: AgentKit, a software development tool for websites that allows the integration of a new authentication method that allows websites to verify that a real person is behind the buyer’s decisions.

AgentKit relies on World ID, which is TFH’s authentication system. The most secure form of ID comes from a user’s eye scan through World’s Orb weapon. The Orb converts the iris into a unique and encrypted digital code – a globally authenticated ID – that can be used to access TFH services through the global app.

AgentKit allows a user’s global ID to be integrated into a newly implemented payment system called x402 protocol. Developed by Coinbase and Cloudflare, x402 is an open blockchain standard for allowing automated computer applications. treat each other directly online – without human intervention at every step. To use AgentKit, users simply register their AI with their global ID, which communicates with websites – via the x402 system – that a recognized and verified person approves the purchase decisions of the agent.

“AgentKit is built as an add-on to the x402 v2 protocol, in partnership with Coinbase,” Tools for Humanity said in a statement. “This integration is designed so that any website using x402 can provide proof of unique public authentication alongside (or instead of) micropayments.”

In an interview with TechCrunch, TFH’s Chief Product Officer Tiago Sada compared the new service to giving “power of attorney” to the agent. By verifying that an AI program is working on behalf of a particular user, a website can decide whether or not to trust the agent’s actions, Sada said. “What the World ID badge tells you is that someone is a real and unique person,” he said, noting that websites can still choose to ban users they think are doing something wrong.

AgentKit is currently being offered in beta to developers, with the expectation that feedback will change over time. Sada also said that buyers will need to have a verified international ID, based on an Orb scan, to qualify for this type of verification.

It’s a timely move. Major e-commerce sites and financial services have already begun to embrace advertising. Last year, companies like Amazon and Mastercard introduced shopping capabilities on their platforms, and Google soon he started his own protocol designed to support the current situation. As the field grows, these companies will obviously need security that makes it reliable and stable. The world is trying to prove that it is the one that provides that stability.