New in 2025–2026New 2025Builds on other terms
A2A (Agent2Agent)
Written by Minh Khang
What is A2A (Agent2Agent)?
A2A (Agent2Agent) is an open protocol that lets AI agents from different companies talk to each other and hand over work.
Google announced A2A in April 2025 and handed it to the Linux Foundation in June 2025, governed together with AWS, Microsoft, Salesforce and others. If MCP is how an agent connects to tools, A2A is how it connects to another company's agent.
A2A (Agent2Agent) in a shop
The shop's sales agent asks the courier's agent directly about pickup times, and nobody has to phone.
Sources
The dated facts on this page come from the original sources below.
- Google for Developers
Announcing the Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A) - Linux Foundation
Linux Foundation Launches the Agent2Agent Protocol Project
Keep learning beyond the glossary
Read next
- Agents and automationNew 2024MCP (Model Context Protocol)MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to outside tools and data in the same way, like one plug socket for every AI assistant.
- New in 2025–2026New 2025Multi-agent systemA multi-agent system is several AI agents, each specialised in one job, working together like a team.
- Agents and automationAPIAn API is a doorway that lets two pieces of software talk to each other by agreed rules, for example so AI can read orders or post to social media.