Designing Agent Conversations: From FIPA to Today’s Protocols

Author(s): Souradip Pal

Originally published on Towards AI.

How decades-old dreams of digital dialogue shaped the way modern AI agents talk today.

Did you know that back in the late ’90s, researchers were already dreaming about digital agents talking to each other as fluently as humans do? Yet here we are in 2025, and most agents still struggle to have conversations that go beyond shouting data back and forth.

The article explores the evolution of agent communication protocols, reflecting on the historical foundation laid by FIPA (Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents) and its ambitions to create a common language for machines. Despite its elegant designs and theoretical insights, FIPA faced practical challenges, leading to the adoption of simpler, more flexible communication standards like REST APIs in modern systems. These new protocols emphasize developer experience, security, and real-time communication, aiming to facilitate meaningful interactions among AI agents while learning from FIPA’s lessons on semantic clarity and intent in communication.

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Published via Towards AI