Web Agent Protocol (WAP)
The Cooperative Infrastructure for the Conversational Web
Enabling websites to cooperatively expose functionality to AI agents. A framework that bridges natural language and the open web—preserving privacy, security, and economic sustainability.
The Problem
Traditional "agentic browsing" relies on adversarial methods like screen scraping and DOM manipulation. This is fragile, insecure, and breaks user privacy.
- Unreliable visual parsing
- Security risks (new attack surfaces)
- Economic misalignment with websites
The Solution: WAP
WAP treats websites as partners. By publishing a simple manifest, sites can expose structured tools that agents can discover and invoke.
- Cooperative: Aligned incentives
- Private: Direct user-to-site data flow
- Standardized: Proven web patterns
Why WAP Matters
Privacy by Design
Data flows directly from the user to the website. No mandatory intermediaries. Your secrets stay yours.
No New Software
Works in existing browsers. No extensions required for basic functionality. Uses standard HTTP APIs.
Moneztization Safe
Preserves the economic model of the web by allowing sites to control how agents interact with ads and content.
How It Works
- Discovery: Agents look for
/.well-known/wap.jsonto understand site capabilities. - Translation: The WAP engine translates natural language ("Find me shoes") into structured API calls.
- Execution: Operations run via standard client-side requests, preserving session state and cookies.
- Presentation: Results are rendered natively or via the agent interface, respecting the site's rules.
Two Operating Modes
CoPilot Mode
Natural language control within the current page.
"Sort by price low to high"
Orchestrator Mode
Multi-step workflows across the entire site.
"Find tasks due this week and move them to next Monday"