Short answer. AI agent discovery is the process of finding the AI agents that have access to a company's systems. Teams usually start with the apps employees approved in the identity provider, and then check employee laptops and business apps.
Finding AI agents means looking at the places they get access to company systems. Most of these places keep a record IT can review.
This matters because AI agents work with access someone gave them, often an employee's own sign-in or key. An agent IT doesn't know about keeps that access until someone revokes it, so it can go on sending company data to an outside AI service after its project ends. If it uses the employee's sign-in, its actions can show up in logs under that employee's name, which slows down an investigation.
AI agents work in more places than IT tracks
They connect through apps employees approve, run on laptops and in browsers, appear as features inside business apps, and sign in with service accounts and API keys. Tools employees sign up for on their own, outside the company sign-in, may not appear in any of these places.
For each place, the sections below explain the risk and where IT can look to find the agents.
Approved apps can read employee email and files
Risk: When an employee clicks "Allow" to connect an app, the app can read the email or files it asked for until someone revokes it.
How to find them: The identity provider lists the apps employees have approved and what each one can access. New approvals also show up in its audit log.
AI tools on laptops and browsers use the employee's access
Risk: Coding assistants, desktop AI apps, and browser extensions work with the employee's access and can save keys on the device.
How to find them: Device management tools list installed apps, and browser management tools list extensions. Coding agents installed from the command line usually aren't listed, so developer laptops need a separate check.
AI features can turn on inside approved apps without a review
Risk: Vendors add AI features in product updates, and employees can build their own agents on low-code platforms, often without a security review.
How to find them: Each app's admin console shows which AI features are on and which agents employees have built.
API keys and service accounts outlive their projects
Risk: Custom agents often run on keys with broad access and no clear owner once the project ends.
How to find them: Cloud account key lists and service account sign-in logs show which keys are still in use.
Conclusion
Finding AI agents comes down to checking where they get access: the identity provider, laptops and browsers, business apps, and API keys. Services such as Agent Authority by SecureAuth discover AI agents and show the risk each one brings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should you do with an AI agent once you find it?
IT can revoke agents that are no longer in use and reduce access for agents that can reach more than their task needs. Each remaining agent can then be recorded in an inventory.
What is a shadow AI agent?
A shadow AI agent is an AI agent with access to company systems that IT hasn't approved, usually set up by an employee using their own access.
Can you find AI agents from network traffic alone?
Partly. Traffic shows that a device is connecting to an AI service, but not which agent it is or what it did. It works as a starting point.
About SecureAuth
SecureAuth provides identity and access management solutions that enable enterprises to implement customized, resilient authentication infrastructure. Through Continuous Authority, flexible deployment options, and deep composable capabilities, SecureAuth helps organizations defend against modern identity threats while maintaining usability and operational efficiency.