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agent identity
also AI agent identity or agentic identity
Definition of agent identity
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: the identifiers, credentials, provenance, permissions, and delegated authority used to distinguish and authenticate an AI agent and determine what it may do and on whose behalf
- The payment service checked the agent identity before allowing the shopping agent to complete the purchase.
- Each short-lived agent received its own credential instead of borrowing the employee's account.
Two meanings, one word
In everyday English
Identity is the set of characteristics or records that establishes who or what something is.
In AI
The identifiers, credentials, provenance, permissions, and delegated authority used to distinguish and authenticate an AI agent and determine what it may do and on whose…
Origin & history
Identity and access management has long covered human users, services, and software workloads. The term gained a more specific agentic-AI meaning in 2026, when the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology launched work on software and AI agent identity and authorization and described agents as first-class entities requiring unique identifiers, credentials, and entitlements.
Test yourself
Which of these is the meaning of agent identity?
Cite this entry
"Agent identity." AI Dictionary, Dadgogo, https://dadgogo.com/dictionary/agent-identity/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.