Review alert
24 hours
Standard review alert. Used for scope creep, wrong-item, or duplicate-action issues that need operator attention but aren’t actively losing money.
/ PRE-DISPUTE NETWORKSide-channel for agent transactions
Catch agent disputes before they become chargebacks.
Identity verification authorizes agents before a transaction. Edge gateways enforce at the network layer. KYA Pre-Dispute Network is the KYA layer that works after an agent has acted and before the merchant has to file a chargeback. Signed-trace evidence travels with every alert; response clocks and automation rules keep issues from aging into formal disputes.
/ 01The interception window
Where Pre-Dispute Network sits in the stack.
Agentic commerce is converging on a layered trust stack. Identity, edge enforcement, and checkout policy all run before or at the moment of the transaction. Pre-Dispute Network covers the post-action window — the gap between an agent action and a formal chargeback.
/ L1 · Pre-transaction
Identity & attestation
Experian Agent Trust, Visa TAP, Skyfire
/ L2 · At request time
Edge enforcement
Cloudflare, network gateways
/ L3 · At authorization
Checkout policy enforcement
KnowYourAgent /api/v1/checkout/sessions
/ L4 · Post-action, before chargeback
Pre-Dispute Network
KnowYourAgent — this page
/ 02How it works
Four steps from alert to resolution.
Every alert is keyed to an X-KYA-Trace-ID, so the signed trace, verification record, and checkout-session policy trail travel with it from the moment it's opened. Operators have a clock; merchants have automation rules; both sides have an audit trail.
01
Alert raised
A merchant or operator opens a pre-dispute alert against the X-KYA-Trace-ID for the transaction. Severity is one of stop_loss (critical), review (warning), or intent_query (info), with a structured reason code from the published taxonomy.
02
Signed evidence surfaces
The signed trace, the verification record, the checkout-session policy trail, and any operator-side telemetry are attached to the alert automatically. No re-gathering, no fragmented systems.
03
Operator responds
The counterparty can accept, counter-offer, decline, or request more info against the alert. Stop-loss cases use a shorter clock. Attributed responses attach to the alert record and stay available for review.
04
Resolve or escalate
Matching merchant automation rules can auto-resolve configured cases as the alert is opened. Otherwise the alert remains visible against its response deadline, and unresolved cases can escalate to a formal chargeback with the signed evidence package attached.
/ 03Response SLA
A clock the operator runs against, in writing.
When a merchant opens a pre-dispute alert, the counterparty has a bounded window to respond. The response deadline is recorded on the alert; matching merchant rules can auto-resolve configured cases, while unresolved cases remain visible for review or escalation.
Stop-loss alert
2 hours
Critical alert: hallucination loop, principal denial, or an ongoing unauthorized action. The window is short on purpose — these need operator response or escalation fast.
Intent query
Best effort
Informational, no SLA. Merchant clarifying operator intent — useful for ambiguous orders that don’t (yet) need a ruling.
/ 04Outcomes
Four outcomes merchants ship with the network.
Each outcome is an effect of the side-channel running, not a guaranteed metric. Volume-based numbers will land here once we have production cohorts to cite.
/ PD-01
Faster resolution
Response clocks keep merchant-to-operator reviews moving before chargeback timelines take over.
/ PD-02
Evidence already on file
Signed trace, verification record, and checkout-session policy trail attach to every alert automatically. No scramble to gather evidence after the fact.
/ PD-03
Preserved relationships
Most agent disputes are misconfiguration, not fraud. Pre-Dispute Network gives merchants and operators a structured path to resolve those cases before they become chargebacks.
/ PD-04
Defensible escalations
When an alert does need to escalate to a chargeback, the merchant arrives with a signed, time-stamped evidence package the card network can read.
/ 05Taxonomy
A published vocabulary for agent disputes.
Every alert carries a structured reason code and resolves into a structured response type. The vocabulary is public so merchants and operators can build automation rules and analytics that line up across the network.
Reason codes
HALLUCINATION_LOOPAgent stuck in repetitive, unintended behavior
SCOPE_EXCEEDEDAction falls outside the trace scope the operator issued
AMOUNT_EXCEEDEDTransaction amount above the trace cap or wallet limit
WRONG_ITEMAgent purchased something other than the principal authorized
DUPLICATE_ACTIONRepeated unintended actions on the same intent
REVOKED_DURINGAuthorization revoked mid-transaction
PRINCIPAL_DENIALEnd user denies authorizing the agent
UNAUTHORIZED_ACCESSAgent reached resources outside its authorization
OPERATOR_INITIATEDOperator self-reported the issue first
SYSTEM_DETECTEDAutomated anomaly detection flagged the action
Response types
ACCEPTEDOperator accepts the issue, agrees to remedy
COUNTER_OFFERProposes alternative resolution
DECLINEDDisputes the merchant claim
NEEDS_INFORequests additional context
AUTO_RESOLVEDMerchant rule fired before operator responded
/ 06Integration
Connect the resolution flow.
Merchants open a case against the transaction trace, attach the signed evidence packet, and set the response window that matches the severity.
Operators respond with accept, counter, decline, or more information. Routine cases can be handled by merchant rules before the timer runs out.
If the issue does not resolve, the signed trace and response history become the evidence packet for the chargeback team.
Read the docs/ 07FAQ
Pre-Dispute Network questions.
What are the response clocks?+
When a merchant opens a standard review alert, the response deadline stays attached to the case for merchant review and escalation. Stop-loss alerts carry a shorter clock because the merchant is asking for an immediate halt. Intent-query alerts are informational and do not carry a hard response commitment.
What happens after the SLA window expires?+
The response deadline stays attached to the alert for merchant review and escalation. Separately, merchant-side automation rules can auto-resolve matching alerts when they are opened, using actions such as accept, decline, counter-offer, review, refund, reverse, or hold pending review.
Does this replace chargebacks?+
No. It runs in parallel. Most agent-related disputes stem from misconfiguration, hallucinations, or scope creep — not fraud — and resolve cleanly in this side-channel. When an alert can't be resolved here, the merchant escalates to a formal chargeback with the full signed-trace evidence package attached.
See the side-channel running against your own checkout.
We’ll walk through the alert lifecycle on a real trace, set up the automation rules for your reason-code policy, and stand up an operator-side response surface for the operators you transact with most.