Tell agents the next action, not just a menu

Return next-action hints and linked resources in responses, not navigation that only works visually.

Why

Agents follow structured links and hints, not pixels. The canonical AX framework (agentexperience.ax — Agent Accessibility) states that services must not assume agents navigate the way humans do. HAL-style _links in response bodies give agents the next available actions without requiring them to parse a visual nav bar or infer from page layout.

Do

Include _links with next steps.

Don't

Rely on a visual nav bar.

Artifact

HAL-style _links:

{
  "order_id": "ord_123",
  "status": "pending_payment",
  "_links": {
    "self":   { "href": "/v1/orders/ord_123" },
    "pay":    { "href": "/v1/orders/ord_123/pay", "method": "POST" },
    "cancel": { "href": "/v1/orders/ord_123/cancel", "method": "POST" }
  }
}