Agent2Agent protocol (A2A) is getting an upgrade (original) (raw)
Editor's note: Agentspace is now part of Gemini Enterprise. The agent creation and orchestration technology behind Agentspace is now powering the core functionalities of the Gemini Enterprise platform. Learn more.
AI is evolving beyond single, task-specific agents into an interconnected ecosystem, where autonomous agents collaborate to solve complex problems, regardless of their underlying platform. To make this transition easier for developers, we are announcing a comprehensive suite of tools that will empower developers to build, deploy, evaluate, and sell Agent2Agent (A2A) agents with Google Cloud.
Today, we’re excited to announce the release version 0.3 of the A2A protoco l, which brings a more stable interface to build against and is critical to accelerating enterprise adoption. This version introduces several key capabilities, including gRPC support, the ability to sign security cards, and extended client side support in the Python SDK, which provide more flexible use, better security and easier integration.
The A2A protocol is quickly gaining momentum, with support from a growing ecosystem of over 150 organizations that spans every major hyperscaler, leading technology providers, and multinational customers using Google Cloud. Businesses are already building powerful capabilities for their organizations. For example, Tyson Foods and Gordon Food Service are pioneering collaborative A2A systems to drive sales and reduce supply chain friction, creating a real-time channel for their agents to share product data and leads that enhance the food supply chain.
Build: Native support for A2A in the Agent Development Kit (ADK)
We're releasing native support for A2A in Agent Development Kit (ADK), a powerful open source agent framework released by Google. This makes it easy to build A2A agents if you are already using ADK and is built upon our previously-released A2A SDKs. For example, with a simple "Hello, World!" style code snippet, developers can now use ADK to:
- Use an A2A agent with an Agent Card and use it as a sub-agent.
- Expose an existing ADK agent to make it discoverable as an A2A agent.
Developers can start building collaborative agents with ADK today.
Deploy: Flexible deployment options with Agent Engine, Cloud Run, and GKE
Once agents are built, they need a robust and scalable home to exist within. We are providing three powerful deployment paths for customers to scale agents into production:
- Deploy to Agent Engine: For a managed, agent-optimized environment, Agent Engine is the choice for many agent builders. We’re adding support for A2A to Agent Engine in the coming weeks so that you can easily deploy an agent written in any framework to Agent Engine and get a production ready, Google-scale, A2A agent.
- Deploy to Cloud Run: For increased flexibility, you can containerize and deploy your A2A agents to Cloud Run, leveraging Google's serverless infrastructure for massive scale and reliability. Follow the published guide.
- Deploy to Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE): For maximum control, you can deploy agents to GKE, providing the full power of Kubernetes to manage A2A systems at scale.
With support for A2A arriving in the coming weeks, developers will be able to use the `agent-starter-pack` CLI tool to complete CI/CD setup in just one line:
Integrate: Bring your A2A agents to users with Agentspace
Agents need safe and accessible environments to be useful. That's why we built Agentspace, the destination where agents meet end users. In the coming weeks, partners will be able to make any A2A agent available in Agentspace, transforming it from a standalone tool into a valuable service that people can consume. This includes partner-built agents that are built on partner platforms, giving customers the flexibility to access these A2A agents in multiple locations.
More than just a hub, Agentspace provides the critical governance, safety, and control features needed for an enterprise-ready agent platform, ensuring that interactions are secure and reliable.
Evaluate and commercialize your A2A systems
Building and deploying agents is just the beginning. To create truly enterprise-grade systems, you need robust evaluation capabilities, which is why we’re extending the Vertex GenAI Evaluation Service to support A2A agent evaluations. See our hands-on guidance.
Discover and sell partner-built A2A agents in AI Agent Marketplace
Partners can now sell their A2A agents directly to customers in the AI Agent Marketplace. This will allow Google Cloud customers to discover and purchase agents published by ISVs, GSIs, and other technology providers. The AI Agent Marketplace provides an important path to market for partners looking to monetize their AI Agents.
Partners can request more information here.
The A2A ecosystem is growing
We announced the A2A protocol in April to lead the industry toward interoperable agent systems, and in June, we advanced that commitment by contributing it to the Linux Foundation. The industry's response continues to grow, reflecting a shared belief in vendor-neutral, community-driven standards. Many of Google Cloud’s partners have previously offered agents to joint customers, and they are now enabling these agents with A2A to help future-proof investments for customers.
- Adobe: A leader in generative AI, Adobe is leveraging the A2A protocol to make its rapidly-growing number of distributed agents interoperable with agents in Google Cloud’s ecosystem. The A2A protocol enables Adobe agents to collaborate in the enterprise to create powerful new digital experiences, streamline workflows that optimize the content creation process, and automate multi-system processes and data integrations.
- S&P Global Market Intelligence: S&P, a provider of information services and solutions to global markets, has adopted A2A as a protocol for inter-agent communication. This strategic alignment enhances interoperability, scalability, and future-readiness across the organization’s agent ecosystem.
- ServiceNow: As a founding partner of A2A, ServiceNow empowers customers with its AI Agent Fabric, a multi-agent communication layer that connects ServiceNow, customer, and partner-built agents. This provides enterprises with the greater choice and flexibility needed to unlock the full potential of agentic AI, resulting in faster decisions, fewer handoffs, and more scalable solutions.
- Twilio: Twilio is using A2A protocol for implementing Latency Aware Agent Selection. By extending the A2A protocol, individual agents now broadcast their latency, enabling the system to intelligently route tasks to the most responsive agent available and also adapt gracefully – for example, playing a filler prompt or adding typing sounds, if a high-latency agent is the only option.
Developers can review more about past releases in the release notes, learn about what’s coming in the future in our roadmap, and join the community to help evolve the protocol moving forward. The community has also released great tooling around A2A with the launch of A2A Inspector and Technology Compatibility Kit.
Get started
We’re excited to partner across the industry to build the future of artificial intelligence. Here’s how you can start:
- Explore Agent Development Kit (ADK) with A2A and build your first collaborative agent.
- Deploy it on Cloud Run.
We can't wait to see what you build.
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