Non-Human Identity
Non-human identity (NHI) refers to identities used by machines, services, scripts, bots, and AI agents rather than by human users, requiring distinct lifecycle management, scoping, and credential practices.
Why this matters for AI agents
Non-human identities now outnumber human identities in most enterprise environments. Agents represent a new, dynamic class of NHI that can invoke tools, read data, and take consequential actions autonomously.
How AgntID relates
AgntID complements NHI posture management by enforcing access at the tool-call boundary—governing what agents do with their credentials at runtime.
The static IAM gap
NHI security tools focus on discovery, rotation, and posture of credentials at rest. They do not enforce whether a specific agent should invoke a specific tool at runtime.
Related phrases
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is non-human identity (NHI)?
Non-human identity (NHI) refers to identities used by machines, services, scripts, bots, and AI agents rather than by human users, requiring distinct lifecycle management, scoping, and credential practices.
How are AI agents a new class of NHI?
AI agents are dynamic NHIs that choose tools, invoke APIs, and take consequential actions autonomously during execution—beyond what static NHI credential management was designed to govern.
How does AgntID relate to NHI security?
AgntID focuses specifically on the execution-time access control layer for NHIs that are AI agents. It complements NHI posture management tools by enforcing access at the tool-call boundary.
Secure every agent tool call at execution time.
AgntID gives infrastructure teams scoped, ephemeral access control for AI agents without replacing IAM, MCP servers, tools, or agent frameworks.