Thefoundationforanagent-accessibleinternet.
AEN is developing open engineering and standards that enable AI agents, businesses and digital services to discover and interact with one another through a common technological foundation.
Organisation
The Foundation writes the standard. It does not run the directories.
AEN Foundation
Planned non-profit
- Develops and maintains AEN engineering
- Publishes specifications and documentation
- Supports independent implementations
- Does not require one commercial directory
Directory operators
Independent companies
- Build their own compatible directory
- Own brand, domain, policies and business model
- Own listings and commercial arrangements
- Free to compete with other directories
AI agents
Any provider
- Choose which compatible directories to use
- Weigh coverage, specialisation and trust
- Interact through the AEN specifications
- Not tied to a single AI platform
Why AEN
Agents are becoming the way people reach services.
People increasingly ask an AI agent to find a restaurant that delivers, compare prices, book a hotel or schedule an appointment. Most businesses were built for people reading pages, not for agents acting on structured, reliable information.
Large platforms have APIs. Small businesses usually do not, and every AI platform asks for something different. AEN addresses the fragmentation with common engineering rather than one integration per platform.
What AEN is not
- An API marketplace
- An API gateway
- A centralised business directory
- A replacement for websites
- A replacement for payment gateways
- A proprietary platform for one AI company
- A requirement that every business builds an AI application
- A system that forces directories to share one database
APIs and integrations may be part of an implementation. They do not define AEN.
Engineering
Seven areas of engineering.
All engineeringCommon data model
One shared vocabulary for describing what exists in the world an agent has to act on.
Prototype (not a standard)Capability model
A way to state what an agent can actually do, not just what a business publishes.
Prototype (not a standard)Discovery and directories
How a compatible directory publishes its information, and how compatible clients find and read it.
Prototype (not a standard)Agent interaction
How compatible agents request information, invoke supported actions and process results.
Prototype (not a standard)Vendor integration
How existing platforms, APIs and service providers are represented without rebuilding them.
Under investigationSecurity and trust
Identity, permissions and consent must be part of the design, not added afterwards.
Prototype (not a standard)Directory interoperability
An optional, later capability. Independent directories may choose to exchange discovery information.
Under investigation
An open prototype to read, run and improve.
A reference prototype is public under Apache-2.0. It is for testing ideas, not a published standard. Issues and milestones are the roadmap, and contributions are welcome.
AEN Foundation develops the common engineering. Independent organisations use it to build their own directories and services. AI agents interact with compatible implementations. The ecosystem grows without being controlled by one commercial directory.
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