| AI agent |
An autonomous software program that perceives its environment, makes decisions, and takes actions to achieve a specific goal. Agents can operate independently or on behalf of a user. |
| Agent identity |
A purpose-built, non-human identity construct assigned to an AI agent in IBM Verify, enabling authentication, access control, and governance. |
| Onboarding |
The process of registering an AI agent with IBM Verify so that it can authenticate and access resources. See Onboarding an AI Agent for more details. |
| Agent lifecycle |
The defined states an agent identity passes through in IBM Verify: Default, Active, Suspended, and Under review. |
| JWT Bearer grant flow |
An OAuth 2.0 grant flow in which an agent presents a signed JWT to obtain an identity token from IBM Verify. See Using JWT Bearer grant flow to issue Agent identity tokens for more details. |
| Client credentials grant flow |
An OAuth 2.0 grant flow in which an agent authenticates using a client ID and secret to obtain an access token. See Using client credentials grant flow to issue Agent identity tokens for more details. |
| On-behalf-of (OBO) token |
A token that allows an agent to act on behalf of a specific user, scoped to that user's authorised access. See Generate an OBO token for agents to act on behalf of a user for more details. |
| Privileged token |
A token that grants an agent elevated access while it is acting on behalf of a user. See Generating a privileged token for the Agent while it acts on behalf of a user for more details. |
| Direct tools |
An integration pattern in which an agent connects directly to tools or services. |
| MCP tools |
An integration pattern in which an agent connects to an MCP server that manages tool access using OAuth. |
| MCP (Model Context Protocol) |
A standard protocol for agent-to-tool communication, used by agents that connect to MCP servers. |
| IBM Secrets Vault |
A secure store for secrets and credentials that agents can access as part of their workflow. |