AI UX PlaygroundNewsletterJoin 2K+ AI designers and PMs on Substack. New teardowns, patterns, and prompts as they drop.

Trust

Agent Identity

Give each agent a stable name, version, avatar or badge, and declared capabilities. Anonymous automation is hard to trust, route, or audit.

Interactive demo

Agents → Ops Assistant

Ops Assistant

Agent profile and trust settings

Version 1.2.0

agt_7f2c9

Not trusted

Published by

Your workspace

Last verified

Today, 8:41 AM

Trusted agents can run without extra confirmation on routine tasks you've approved before.

Overview

How might we design agent identity so people can trust and act on AI output?

When to use

  • Essential for multi-agent platforms, enterprise AI deployments, and any ecosystem where users need to distinguish, version, and hold accountable specific agents across many interactions.

When to skip

  • Single-assistant products where one global brand identity is enough.
  • Background batch jobs that never surface in the user UI.
  • Ephemeral one-off scripts with no reuse or marketplace presence.

Rules

  • Multiple agents that all look like the same generic bot avatar.

  • Renaming agents without version history, breaking audit references.

  • Capability claims in marketing copy that the runtime identity does not show.

  • Letting agents impersonate humans without an explicit agent label.

Evidence

ProductImplementation
ChatGPTCustom GPTs with names, icons, and instructions.
ClaudeProjects and styled assistants with distinct context.
Microsoft Copilot StudioNamed copilots with published capability surfaces.
OpenAI Assistants APIStable assistant IDs, names, and tool configurations.

FAQ

What is agent identity in UX?

Agent identity is the stable presentation of an agent: name, version, owner, and capabilities, so users can tell which automation they are talking to or authorizing.

Why does identity matter for trust?

People calibrate risk by actor. A named finance bot with limited tools feels different from a vague “Assistant” that can email and spend.

What should an identity card show?

Name, owner, version or last updated, allowed tools, and data scopes. Link to audit and revoke from the same card when possible.

How does this relate to authentication chains?

Identity names the agent. Authentication chains show which credentials or delegations it used to act.