# Agent identity

The account an agent acts under, which sets who it appears as and whose permissions it uses.

There are three patterns. It uses your login and appears as you. It acts for you under its own name, with some of your permissions. Or it has its own identity and permissions, granted by an admin. The pattern decides what the logs show, what it can access, and how IT can switch it off. It is a separate question from how autonomous the agent is.

Also called: Non-human identity (NHI), Machine identity

Related: Least privilege for AI, Stack, Kill switch

Source: https://redfinchadvisory.com/lexicon/agent-identity (version 1.0, changed 2026-10-21)