Six protocols emerged. Three decide which agents survive.

What's really happening inside the agent protocol stack as Google I/O kicks off? The common story is that every new protocol is a must-have standard — but the reality is more complicated.

In this postcast, I share the inside scoop on the six agent protocols shaping how AI agents actually ship and how customers experience them:

• Why three protocols are becoming the real agent stack
• How MCP, A2A, and AGUI map to core agent jobs
• What separates a standard from a contested protocol
• Where payment protocols collide with customer trust

For builders and operators, the agentic substrate is a real lever on customer experience, but only if you stop chasing acronyms and start asking which protocols actually shape the workflow you're shipping.

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