ACP Intent Traces

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Web-search site:github.com agentic-commerce-protocol rfcs intent_traces for the intent traces RFC
2. Fetch https://developers.openai.com/commerce/specs/checkout/ for how intent traces integrate with checkout
3. Web-search site:github.com agentic-commerce-protocol spec json-schema intent for the schema

Conceptual Architecture

What Intent Traces Are

Intent traces are a built-in ACP extension that provides structured cart abandonment signals. When a buyer abandons a checkout, the agent sends a trace explaining why — enabling merchants to understand conversion barriers and automate recovery.

10 Reason Codes

How It Works

1. Buyer initiates checkout but doesn't complete
2. Agent detects abandonment (session timeout, explicit cancellation, navigation away)
3. Agent sends intent trace via POST /checkout_sessions/{id}/cancel, including a single reason_code (required enum string, exactly one per trace)
4. Merchant receives the trace and can:
   • Aggregate for analytics
   • Trigger automated recovery (email, discount offer)
   • Adjust pricing/shipping strategy

Privacy Considerations

• Intent traces contain behavioral signals — handle per GDPR/CCPA
• Only collect traces when the buyer has consented to data collection
• Don't store personally identifiable information in trace metadata
• Aggregate traces for analytics rather than individual tracking

Extension Negotiation

Like all extensions, intent traces must be negotiated:

1. Agent includes intent_traces in capabilities.extensions[]
2. Merchant confirms support
3. Only then are traces exchanged

Use Cases

• Cart abandonment analytics dashboards
• Automated recovery email workflows
• Dynamic pricing based on price sensitivity signals
• Shipping strategy optimization
• A/B testing checkout flows
• Conversion funnel analysis

Additional Trace Fields

• trace_summary — Optional free-text summary of the abandonment reason (max 500 characters)
• metadata — Optional flat key-value map for additional context (string keys and string values only)

Write-Only Behavior

Intent traces are write-only — they are sent on the POST /checkout_sessions/{id}/cancel endpoint and are never echoed back in GET responses. This prevents information leakage and ensures traces are used only for analytics and recovery workflows.

Best Practices

• Send traces on every abandonment — even other is better than no signal
• Each trace has a single reason_code (required enum string); if the buyer has multiple reasons, choose the most significant one
• Process traces asynchronously — don't block the cancellation flow
• Build aggregate dashboards before automated recovery
• Test trace collection end-to-end with the agent platform
• Respect buyer privacy — anonymize before long-term storage

Fetch the intent traces RFC for exact trace payload structure, reason code definitions, and integration points before implementing.