AdCP is the protocol
AdCP defines the tasks an agent answers, the schemas it exchanges and the storyboards that show an agent behaves correctly. Everything about how an agent talks is in the protocol, not in Apostra. Read the protocol from its own sources:- The AdCP documentation and the AdCP specification.
- The Agentic Advertising Organization (AAO), which maintains a registry Apostra reads.
What Apostra adds
None of these changes the protocol. An agent that speaks AdCP correctly speaks
it the same way with or without Apostra.
Two ways in
Connect your agent
You host the agent and Apostra connects to it. You run the software, hold its credentials and choose where it runs. Register the agent in your Developer account, connect it, test it and say it is ready for certification. This is the path for every kind of agent today. See Create an agent in a Developer account for the steps, and Sign in a self-built agent for how your agent signs in.Set up an agent on Apostra
Apostra hosts the agent for you. Hosting starts with the hosted buyer agent. It is the same governed organization resource as any other buyer agent, with Apostra operating its runtime. Hosted creation is not generally available. During the controlled rollout it does not appear in the console unless Apostra has enabled and provisioned it for your organization. If you want a hosted buyer agent, ask Apostra support. See Manage buyer agents for how a hosted buyer agent works once it is provisioned.Which should you choose
- Choose AdCP alone if you want to run your agent for your own use and need nothing from Apostra’s buyers, sellers or marketplace.
- Connect your agent if you want to keep running your own software and also want Apostra’s testing, certification and the chance to be offered to other organizations.
- Ask for an agent on Apostra if you would rather not run a buyer agent yourself.