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credential delegation
also AI agent credential delegation or agent credential delegation or on-behalf-of credential delegation
Definition of credential delegation
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: the controlled granting of limited credentials or access tokens to an AI agent so it can act on behalf of a person or another system without receiving that person's underlying password or long-lived secret
- Credential delegation let the travel agent sign in for one approved booking without revealing the user's saved password to the model.
- The security review required each delegated credential to be short-lived, task-scoped, revocable, and attributable to both the user and the agent.
Origin & history
Delegated credentials are an established identity-and-access concept. The phrase gained a specific AI-agent meaning in 2025–2026 as standards work addressed agents operating across multiple services. A July 2026 IETF Internet-Draft proposed a Credential Delegation Protocol for AI Agents in Multi-System Environments.
Editorial references
Sources & further reading
- Credential Delegation Protocol for AI Agents in Multi-System Environments↗ IETF Datatracker · 2026-07-28
- 1Password for Agents Launches as the Trust Layer for Personal AI Agents↗ 1Password · 2026-10-22
- 1Password launches a way for AI agents to log in on your behalf without seeing your password↗ TechCrunch · 2026-10-22
Test yourself
Which of these is the meaning of credential delegation?
Cite this entry
"Credential delegation." AI Dictionary, Dadgogo, https://dadgogo.com/dictionary/credential-delegation/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.