x402

x402 is an open payment protocol from Coinbase that lets software pay for a service the moment it asks for it. It revives the long-dormant HTTP 402 "Payment Required" status code: a server can answer a request with "pay first," and the agent settles instantly with stablecoins, then gets what it asked for. No account, no checkout, no human in the loop.

In plain terms: it's the cash register for the agent economy. When an AI agent needs data, a tool, or an action, x402 is how it pays — per request, automatically.

Why it matters for the ChatGPT funnel

The buying journey moved into ChatGPT and Claude, and the assistant increasingly acts on the buyer's behalf. Rails like x402 are why an agent can do more than answer — it can transact. That raises the stakes on being the brand the assistant picks at the moment of intent. If the agent can pay and act inside the chat, the win or loss happens before anyone ever lands on your site. Showing up in the answer is table stakes; getting chosen and converted is the game.

How drio fits

drio is the conversion layer that sits on top of this shift. Where protocols like x402 handle the machine-to-machine payment, drio is the app the assistant picks to book the meeting and capture the lead inside the chat. You don't have to build the rails — you plug into the moment of intent and turn AI-search demand into booked pipeline, pay-per-lead.