The State of Agentic AI Standards in 2026: MCP, A2A, WebMCP, OSI, and the Protocol Stack Taking Shape

This article by Alex Merced, Head of Developer Relations at Dremio, provides a comprehensive mid-2026 map of agentic AI standards and protocols. It covers the evolution from incompatible frameworks to a growing protocol stack, detailing key standards like MCP (tool layer), A2A (agent-to-agent communication), WebMCP (agentic web), OSI (semantic layer), and others for payments and human interaction. The article explains the 'N times M problem' driving standardization, offers a decision framework for builders, and discusses open issues like governance, security, and protocol sprawl. It is highly relevant to IT/technology, focusing on software engineering, AI, and tech infrastructure.