A2A (Agent2Agent)
An emerging interoperability protocol and family of related standards for agent-to-agent communication and identity attestation, allowing one AI agent to verify another's identity and authorization when they interact. Labeled emerging because standards in this space, including agent identity attestation broadly, remain immature and unconsolidated as of August 2026.
Defined in 2 GAGE programs, which carry 3 distinct definitions of it. The wording above is taught in AI Data Governance: The Data Chair.
How each discipline defines it
The same term does different work depending on who is using it. These are the definitions as each program teaches them, unedited.
An emerging interoperability protocol and family of related standards for agent-to-agent communication and identity attestation, allowing one AI agent to verify another's identity and authorization when they interact. Labeled emerging because standards in this space, including agent identity attestation broadly, remain immature and unconsolidated as of August 2026.
A named communication protocol for agent-to-agent interaction, referenced by the WEF paper's protocol-layer treatment; full technical treatment is out of scope for this topic. (see Topic 1.2)
A protocol standard for agent-to-agent collaboration, letting one autonomous agent discover, identify, and exchange messages with another, complementary to MCP rather than competing with it.
Where it is taught
The exact lessons this term appears in. The first 7 topics of every program are free with a free account.
- Why Singapore's Framework in Ohio · The Agent, Deconstructed, Agentic AI Governance: Applied Mastery
- Protocol-Layer Threats · Technical Controls and Threat Modeling, Agentic AI Governance: Applied Mastery
- The agent's trail: who acted, on whose authority, using what, and why, recorded for every autonomous touch of your estate · Access and the Keys, AI Data Governance: The Data Chair
Terms it appears with
Not an alphabetical neighbourhood: these are the terms taught in the same lessons, ranked by how often they appear together.