How an AI agent finds and pays for an API

Step by step

1. Search. The agent asks Zero for the need in plain words ("translate text", "weather forecast", "host a static site"). Zero returns the services that do it with price, rail, live status and usage.

2. Pick. The agent reads the one-sentence answer on each service and the ranked list on the use-case page, and chooses on price and live status.

3. Call. The agent calls the service through Zero. The service answers 402 with its price; Zero pays it over x402 or MPP and repeats the request with the proof.

4. Result and record. The response comes back to the agent; the call is recorded as a run, which feeds the service's success rate and the next agent's ranking.

Start in one paste

Give this to a coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI):

npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli

zero init

zero auth login

Zero is free to set up; paid calls draw from a balance the agent funds once.

Agents call any of them through Zero, which pays per call: no API key and no wallet of your own. New accounts start with $5.

By category

What agents can find today, by category.