Practical Guides · 7 Pathways · 47 Essays · 12 Frameworks
How to Design for Agentic AI and Commerce
Theory matters, but implementation decides whether any of this survives contact with reality. This hub brings together the practical pathways, guides, and tools that help teams move from understanding agentic systems to building for them. It is where concepts like trust architecture and delegation design become decisions, workflows, and repeatable practice.
The AXD Institute has published 51 Observatory essays, 12 Practice frameworks, 64 vocabulary terms, and a comprehensive readiness assessment. This page organises that body of work into seven practical pathways - each designed to help you find the right starting point and build competence in agentic commerce and agentic experience design.
Every pathway links directly to the relevant essays, frameworks, and tools. Choose the path that matches your role, your question, or your level of depth.
Ten Pathways · 88 Items
01
Implementation Guides by Role
Where to start, based on what you do
02
Content Optimisation
The SIGNAL™ framework for agent-ready content
03
Technical Deep Dives
Architecture, protocols, and implementation detail
04
The AXD Playbook
From first principles to organisational readiness
05
The 12 AXD Frameworks
Structured methods for every phase of the agentic lifecycle
06
Interaction Models
How humans and agents communicate, negotiate, and co-operate
07
Design Principles
The Five Inversions from AI UX to AXD
08
Case Studies
11 illustrative scenarios across 5 industries
09
AEO & AI Visibility
Optimising for answer engines, LLMs, and autonomous AI agents
10
Agentic Commerce Readiness
Practical guides for zero-click, agent legibility, and B2B agentic commerce
Pathway 01
Implementation Guides by Role
Where to start, based on what you do
Agentic Experience Design touches every function - from product and engineering to strategy and compliance. These curated reading paths organise the Institute's 62 essays, 12 frameworks, and 64 vocabulary terms into role-specific sequences so you can build competence in the areas that matter most to your work.
Pathway 02
Content Optimisation
The SIGNAL™ framework for agent-ready content
Systematic approaches to content optimisation for agentic systems. The SIGNAL™ framework (Structured, Intentional, Governed, Navigable, Attributable, Living) provides a trust-first methodology for creating content that autonomous agents can discover, parse, evaluate, and cite.
Pathway 03
Technical Deep Dives
Architecture, protocols, and implementation detail
For engineers, architects, and technical product managers who need to understand the structural foundations of agentic systems. These essays examine protocol design, payment infrastructure, identity architecture, and the technical patterns that underpin agentic commerce at scale.
Pathway 04
The AXD Playbook
From first principles to organisational readiness
A structured reading sequence that takes you from the founding principles of Agentic Experience Design through to organisational readiness assessment. Follow this path to build a complete understanding of AXD - what it is, why it exists, and how to apply it.
Pathway 05
The 12 AXD Frameworks
Structured methods for every phase of the agentic lifecycle
The Practice section contains 12 design frameworks covering the complete agentic experience lifecycle - from pre-delegation intent specification through active operation to failure recovery. Each framework includes diagnostic questions, maturity levels, and implementation guidance.
Pathway 06
Interaction Models
How humans and agents communicate, negotiate, and co-operate
Three canonical interaction models define the spectrum between full human control and full agent autonomy. Each model carries different requirements for trust architecture, delegation design, agent observability, interrupt patterns, and failure recovery.
Pathway 07
Design Principles
The Five Inversions from AI UX to AXD
Five core design principles transform traditional AI UX guidance into AXD-native philosophy. Each principle corresponds to one of the Five Founding Principles and represents a structural inversion of how we think about designing for autonomous systems. Together they form the complete design philosophy for human-agent relationships.
Pathway 08
Case Studies
11 illustrative scenarios across 5 industries
Fictional composite case studies demonstrating AXD principles in practice across financial services, retail, healthcare, travel, and aviation. Each scenario examines trust architecture, delegation design, and autonomous operation in realistic implementation contexts.
Pathway 09
AEO & AI Visibility
Optimising for answer engines, LLMs, and autonomous AI agents
For SEO professionals, content strategists, and digital leaders who need to make their brand visible to AI systems. These guides cover Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), LLM Optimisation, agentic SEO, entity optimisation, and AI visibility strategy — the complete toolkit for the post-search era.
Pathway 10
Agentic Commerce Readiness
Practical guides for zero-click, agent legibility, and B2B agentic commerce
Hands-on implementation guides targeting the most pressing questions in agentic commerce readiness. From preparing for zero-click transactions and designing transparent AI agents to building B2B procurement infrastructure for machine customers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you design for AI agents?
Designing for AI agents requires a fundamentally different approach from human-centred design. Start with the AXD Manifesto to understand the founding principles, then learn the core frameworks: Trust Architecture, Delegation Design, Intent Architecture, and the Autonomy Gradient. The How To hub organises all practical pathways into structured learning sequences for different roles.
How do you implement AXD?
Implementation begins with the AXD Readiness Assessment across four pillars, followed by the AXD Playbook - a structured 12-week programme covering trust architecture, delegation design, observability, and rollout. Role-specific pathways guide product leaders, designers, engineers, strategists, and commerce teams through the frameworks relevant to their work.
Where should teams begin with agentic commerce?
Teams should begin with the Four Pillars of AXD Readiness - Signal Clarity, Reputation via Reliability, Intent Translation, and Engagement Architecture. The AXD Readiness Assessment provides a scored evaluation with personalised recommendations. From there, the Playbook provides the implementation roadmap, and the case studies show the frameworks applied to real industry contexts.
Which guide should I read first?
It depends on your role and starting point. Product leaders should start with the AXD Playbook. Designers should begin with Trust Architecture and Delegation Design. Engineers should explore the Developers guide. Commerce leaders should start with the Four Pillars and the Readiness Assessment. Strategists should begin with the Manifesto and the Observatory essays.
How do I assess my organisation's readiness for agentic AI?
Use the Four Pillars of AXD Readiness framework, which evaluates organisations across four dimensions: Signal Clarity (are your products machine-readable?), Reputation via Reliability (can agents verify your trustworthiness?), Intent Translation (can agents match mandates to your products?), and Engagement Architecture (can agents transact without a browser?). Take the interactive AXD Readiness Assessment for a scored evaluation with personalised recommendations.