AI agent manages subscriptions: renewing and canceling

Key points

Cancellations, renewals and switches by agents need a mandate from the customer.
Providers check before every action whether the mandate applies and is not revoked.
Customers should learn of every action by their agent immediately.

Starting point

A customer subscribes to streaming, newspapers, software and mobile service. Her agent is to find cheaper offers, cancel unused subscriptions in time and allow renewals only within her budget. For providers, the question is whether a cancellation or switch is really wanted by the customer.

Flow with evidence

Mandate: the customer allows her agent cancellations, renewals up to the previous price and switches to cheaper plans with the same provider.
Presentation to the provider: for the action, the agent presents its mandate, bound to its key.
Verification by the provider: the provider checks whether the action lies within the mandate and whether it still applies.
Confirmation and receipt: the cancellation or renewal is confirmed and recorded; the customer receives a message.

Risks and countermeasures

Unwanted cancellation: an agent's mistake can end an important subscription. Cancellations of certain services can be excluded in the mandate or tied to a confirmation.
Pushed upgrades: offers at a higher price must not be accepted automatically.
Revoked mandate: if the customer has switched agents, the provider must recognize the revocation through the status list.
Payment details: agents should work with tokens instead of card numbers.

What KYA verifies

Providers can use KYA to check whether the presented mandate is valid, not revoked and bound to the acting agent, and whether the action, such as a cancellation, was allowed in it. This protects customers from unwanted changes and providers from disputes.

Adoption for providers

Providers wanting to admit agents best start with cancellations and plan switches, actions the customer could carry out herself anyway. It is important to record every action by an agent and to inform the customer.

Roles and responsibilities

Customer: defines what her agent may do and can revoke the mandate at any time.
Agent operator: provides the mandate technically and binds it to the agent's key.
Provider: verifies the mandate before every action and confirms the change to the customer.

Metrics for providers

Providers should track how many actions run through agents, how many of them are declined for missing or invalid evidence and how often customers later object to an action by their agent. A low objection rate shows that verification works.

Customer communication

The customer should learn of every action by an agent immediately, for example by email with the date, type of action and a reference to the mandate used. This lets her spot mistakes early and react before a deadline passes.

How the certificate looks

A provider receives a newspaper subscription cancellation from an agent, together with the customer's mandate. The certificate shows that the mandate is bound to the acting agent, allows cancellations and is not revoked according to the status list. The verdict is valid, and the provider can carry out the cancellation.

If the customer has revoked the mandate in the meantime, the revocation check reports the code revoked, and the verdict is invalid. The provider declines the cancellation and informs the customer.

Frequently asked questions

May an AI agent cancel a subscription?

If the customer has authorized it to. A provider can ask for proof, such as a mandate that allows cancellations.

How does a provider know the cancellation is wanted?

From the customer's mandate, which is bound to the agent and allows cancellations, and from an additional confirmation for important services.

Can an agent accept more expensive offers?

Only if the mandate allows it. A limit at the previous price and a confirmation for anything above make sense.

What happens after a revocation?

The provider recognizes through the status list that the mandate no longer applies and declines further actions by the agent.

Can a customer use several agents at the same time?

Yes, each with its own mandate. The provider verifies the acting agent's mandate for every action.

How long must a provider keep the evidence?

At least as long as the other contract records. The periods follow from the applicable law and the company's retention obligations.

What if the customer gives her password to the agent?

Then the agent acts with her full rights, and nobody can later tell who acted. A mandate with limits is the safe alternative.

Can an agent compare offers from different providers?

Yes, comparing is uncritical. Only switching to a new provider is an action with consequences and needs a mandate that allows it.

Sources

Agentic Commerce Protocol: https://www.agenticcommerce.dev/
Verifiable Intent (Mastercard): https://github.com/agent-intent/verifiable-intent