Required tasks by protocol

Each AdCP protocol defines tasks that agents implement depending on their role. This page consolidates the requirements from each protocol specification into a single reference. Legend: Required — the specification mandates implementation. Conditional — required when the agent has a specific capability. Optional — the specification recommends but does not mandate. Some tasks span protocols. For example, sync_creatives is defined in the Creative Protocol but may also be implemented by Media Buy sales agents. Canonical format discovery itself is no longer a shared task: each owning surface publishes its declaration directly.

Shared

Every AdCP agent, regardless of protocol, implements:

Task	Requirement	Reference
`get_adcp_capabilities`	Required	Capability discovery
`sync_agent_notification_configs`	Conditional	Required when `get_adcp_capabilities.adcp.capability_changes.notifications.supported` is `true`; registers caller-scoped agent-level `capabilities.changed` webhooks. Sellers MUST reject registrations without a stable authenticated principal.

Caller-scope RBAC introspection is not a standalone task. Sellers that support scope introspection return a per-account authorization object on sync_accounts and list_accounts responses. See Accounts Protocol — Caller authorization. AdCP task lifecycle state is application-layer state, not MCP-native or A2A-native task state. 3.x sellers MAY advertise non-colliding AdCP aliases for polling and reconciliation: get_task_status for legacy tasks/get, and list_tasks for legacy tasks/list. These aliases remain optional compatibility surfaces generally in 3.x; callers MUST continue to support the legacy names through the 3.x line. The AdCP A2A Profile Extension v3 is the scoped exception: an agent that can return an AdCP Submitted response on that profile MUST expose get_task_status, and the A2A caller uses that non-colliding task. Alias and legacy request payloads use the same snake_case shape, including the optional account scope used to keep task visibility within the caller’s authenticated account + principal pair.

Media Buy Protocol

Sales agent (seller)

Task	Requirement	Notes
`get_products`	Required	Inventory discovery
`get_adcp_capabilities`	Required	Agent capabilities; sellable formats remain product-scoped in `get_products`
`create_media_buy`	Required	Campaign creation and order confirmation
`update_media_buy`	Required	Budget, targeting, pause, cancel
`get_media_buys`	Required	Operational state retrieval
`get_media_buy_delivery`	Required	Delivery metrics at the package level; `reporting_capabilities` MUST be included on every product
`provide_performance_feedback`	Required	Accept buyer optimization signals
`sync_creatives`	Conditional	Required when the sales agent hosts a creative library (Creative Protocol task)
`list_creatives`	Optional	Creative catalog browsing (Creative Protocol task)
`sync_catalogs`	Optional	Product/inventory catalog sync
`sync_event_sources`	Optional	Conversion tracking setup
`log_event`	Conditional	Required when event sources are configured
`sync_audiences`	Optional	First-party CRM audience upload

Sales agents MUST also support at least one transport (MCP or A2A) and declare media_buy in supported_protocols. Reference: Media Buy Specification · Seller integration guide

Orchestrator (buyer)

Orchestrators are not MCP/A2A servers — they call sales agent tasks. Conformant orchestrators MUST:

Authenticate with sales agents
Include required fields per request schemas
Handle asynchronous task-level responses (submitted, working, input-required) and webhook delivery of completion artifacts
Use media_buy_id for all subsequent operations
Respect creative_deadline for creative uploads

Reference: Media Buy Specification — Orchestrator conformance

Creative Protocol

Creative agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`get_adcp_capabilities`	Required	Canonical creative capability discovery through `creative.supported_formats[]`
`list_transformers`	Conditional	Required when the agent advertises `creative.supports_transformers: true`
`build_creative`	Optional	Generation, transformation, or library retrieval
`preview_creative`	Optional	Preview rendering
`list_creatives`	Conditional	Required when `has_creative_library: true`
`sync_creatives`	Conditional	Required when the agent accepts creative uploads
`get_creative_delivery`	Optional	Variant-level delivery metrics

Creative agents MUST publish accurate canonical capability declarations. Exact publisher-format claims carry publisher identity; generic claims carry an honest parameter envelope. Reference: Creative Specification

Signals Protocol

Signal agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`get_signals`	Required	Signal discovery
`activate_signal`	Required	Signal activation on decisioning platforms

Signal agents MUST enforce access control for private signals and activation keys. Reference: Signals Specification

Brand Protocol

Brand agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`get_brand_identity`	Required	Core identity is public; authorized callers get deeper data
`get_rights`	Conditional	Required when the agent manages brand rights
`acquire_rights`	Conditional	Required when the agent manages brand rights
`update_rights`	Conditional	Required when the agent manages brand rights

Brand agents MUST declare brand in supported_protocols. Creative approval is delivered to the approval_webhook declared by acquire_rights; its creative-approval-request.json shape is a webhook payload, not an AdCP task. Reference: Brand Protocol · Building a brand agent

Accounts Protocol

Any agent accepting accounts

Task	Requirement	Notes
`sync_accounts`	Conditional	Buyer-declared accounts (`require_operator_auth: false`) use this when the buyer must select billing, terms, sandbox setup, notifications, or other settings before use. It MAY be omitted only for unambiguous lazy provisioning from the natural key when `list_accounts` is exposed. Account-id namespaces may use it only for settings updates unless a future explicit capability declares provisioning.
`list_accounts`	Conditional / recommended	Account-id namespaces (`require_operator_auth: true`) MUST expose it when a credential can access multiple accounts and SHOULD return a singleton otherwise. Buyer-declared-account sellers (`require_operator_auth: false`) SHOULD expose it as the cold-start recovery read and MUST expose it when they lazily provision instead of implementing `sync_accounts`.
`sync_governance`	Conditional	Required when the buyer uses campaign governance
`report_usage`	Conditional	Required when the agent charges for services
`get_account_financials`	Optional	Financial summary per account

Agents MUST implement at least one of sync_accounts or list_accounts depending on their account model. An agent MAY implement both. Buyer-declared-account sellers SHOULD implement both: sync_accounts establishes the relationship, while list_accounts lets a stateless buyer recover the seller’s acknowledged (brand, operator, sandbox) portfolio without already possessing the natural keys it lost. A buyer-declared seller that exposes only list_accounts is conformant only when it lazily provisions on the first natural-key account-scoped request and can determine every required account setting without additional buyer input. Reference: Accounts Protocol

Governance: Campaign

Governance agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`sync_plans`	Required	Plan creation and amendment
`check_governance`	Required	Validation at purchase, modification, and delivery phases
`report_plan_outcome`	Required	Outcome reporting and budget commitment
`get_plan_audit_logs`	Required	Audit trail retrieval

Reference: Campaign Governance Specification

Governance: Property

Governance agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`create_property_list`	Required	List creation with filters
`get_property_list`	Required	Resolved property retrieval
`update_property_list`	Required	List modification
`delete_property_list`	Required	List removal
`list_property_lists`	Required	List enumeration
`validate_property_delivery`	Optional	Post-campaign compliance validation

Reference: Property Governance Specification

Governance: Collection

Governance agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`create_collection_list`	Required	List creation with collection sources and filters
`get_collection_list`	Required	Resolved collection retrieval
`update_collection_list`	Required	List modification
`list_collection_lists`	Required	List enumeration
`delete_collection_list`	Required	List removal

Reference: Collection Governance

Governance: Content Standards

Content standards agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`create_content_standards`	Required	Standards creation
`get_content_standards`	Required	Standards retrieval
`list_content_standards`	Required	Standards enumeration
`update_content_standards`	Required	Standards modification
`calibrate_content`	Optional	Seller calibration against standards
`validate_content_delivery`	Optional	Post-delivery content compliance
`get_media_buy_artifacts`	Optional	Artifact retrieval for validation

Reference: Content Standards

Governance: Creative

Creative governance agent

Task	Requirement	Notes
`get_creative_features`	Required	Security scanning, content categorization

Reference: Creative Governance

Task	Requirement	Notes
`si_get_offering`	Optional	Pre-session offering lookup
`si_initiate_session`	Required	Session creation with consent
`si_send_message`	Required	Conversational messaging
`si_terminate_session`	Required	Session cleanup

Trusted Match Protocol

TMP uses a different communication model (direct HTTP, not MCP/A2A tasks). See the TMP Specification for message types and conformance requirements.

Getting Started

Building with AdCP

Protocol

Using AAO

FAQ

Trust & Security

Reference

Certification

Required tasks by protocol

Required tasks by protocol

Shared

Media Buy Protocol

Sales agent (seller)

Orchestrator (buyer)

Creative Protocol

Creative agent

Signals Protocol

Signal agent

Brand Protocol

Brand agent

Accounts Protocol

Any agent accepting accounts

Governance: Campaign

Governance agent

Governance: Property

Governance agent

Governance: Collection

Governance agent

Governance: Content Standards

Content standards agent

Governance: Creative

Creative governance agent

Sponsored Intelligence Protocol

Brand agent

Trusted Match Protocol

​Required tasks by protocol

​Shared

​Media Buy Protocol

​Sales agent (seller)

​Orchestrator (buyer)

​Creative Protocol

​Creative agent

​Signals Protocol

​Signal agent

​Brand Protocol

​Brand agent

​Accounts Protocol

​Any agent accepting accounts

​Governance: Campaign

​Governance agent

​Governance: Property

​Governance agent

​Governance: Collection

​Governance agent

​Governance: Content Standards

​Content standards agent

​Governance: Creative

​Creative governance agent

​Sponsored Intelligence Protocol

​Brand agent

​Trusted Match Protocol

Required tasks by protocol

Shared

Media Buy Protocol

Sales agent (seller)

Orchestrator (buyer)

Creative Protocol

Creative agent

Signals Protocol

Signal agent

Brand Protocol

Brand agent

Accounts Protocol

Any agent accepting accounts

Governance: Campaign

Governance agent

Governance: Property

Governance agent

Governance: Collection

Governance agent

Governance: Content Standards

Content standards agent

Governance: Creative

Creative governance agent

Sponsored Intelligence Protocol

Brand agent

Trusted Match Protocol