Know Your Agent (KYA)
KYA is to AI agents what KYC is to financial services. The definitive paradigm for verifying AI agent identity, capabilities, and compliance before deployment.
The AI Agent Trust Gap
Organizations deploying AI agents face a fundamental challenge: How do you trust an AI system you didn't build?
Unverified Claims
Agents declare capabilities without independent verification. Self-reported metadata may be inaccurate or misleading.
No Standard Format
Every agent uses different metadata structures. Custom integration required for each agent relationship.
Compliance Blind Spots
Regulatory frameworks (EU AI Act, NIST) require transparency that current agent systems don't provide.
From KYC to KYA
The same verification principles that transformed financial services now apply to AI agents.
KYC
Know Your Customer
- ●Domain: Human participants in financial services
- ●Verifies: Government ID, address, source of funds
- ●Purpose: Anti-money laundering, fraud prevention
- ●Outcome: Trusted financial transactions
- ●Market: $15B+ annual compliance spend
KYA
Know Your Agent
- ●Domain: AI agents in enterprise systems
- ●Verifies: Identity, capabilities, compliance, provenance
- ●Purpose: Trusted AI coordination, governance
- ●Outcome: Confident enterprise AI adoption
- ●Market: Emerging AI governance infrastructure
The Four Pillars of KYA
Comprehensive verification across four critical dimensions.
Identity
Who is this agent?
Unique, persistent identification that remains stable across interactions and organizational boundaries.
- • Decentralized identifiers (DIDs)
- • Version tracking and lineage
- • Creator attribution
Capability
What can it do?
Verified functional claims with evidence of actual performance, not just marketing assertions.
- • Tool and API specifications
- • Domain expertise verification
- • Performance benchmarks
Compliance
Is it authorized?
Regulatory framework alignment ensuring the agent meets jurisdictional and industry requirements.
- • EU AI Act classification
- • NIST AI RMF alignment
- • Sector-specific certifications
Provenance
Where did it come from?
Supply chain transparency revealing the complete origin and dependency chain of the agent.
- • Foundation model transparency
- • Training data sources
- • Infrastructure dependencies
Why KYA Matters Now
The AI agent economy is emerging—and trust infrastructure is the bottleneck.
Enterprise AI agent market by 2027
Agents per enterprise deployment
Universal verification standards before KYA
"Just as you wouldn't hire an employee without verifying their credentials, you shouldn't deploy an AI agent without verifying its facts."
Implementing KYA with AgentFacts
AgentFacts is the first comprehensive KYA implementation—a universal 10-category metadata standard.
Generate AgentFacts Metadata
Use the AgentFacts generator to create standardized metadata following the 10-category framework. Input basic agent information and receive validated JSON output.
Open Generator →Establish Verification
Configure cryptographic signatures from trusted authorities. Multi-authority verification prevents single points of trust failure while enabling graduated confidence assessment.
View Schema →Integrate with Governance
Connect KYA metadata to enterprise governance systems. Enable automated compliance monitoring, permission management, and audit trail generation.
Enterprise Deployment →Scale Across Organization
Extend KYA verification to all agent deployments. Standardized metadata enables systematic procurement, onboarding, and coordination across organizational boundaries.
View GitHub →KYA Across Industries
Every sector deploying AI agents needs KYA verification.
Financial Services
Agent procurement for trading, analysis, and compliance automation. KYA enables systematic due diligence.
Healthcare
Patient safety verification for diagnostic and treatment recommendation agents. HIPAA-aligned governance.
Enterprise IT
Systematic agent onboarding as workforce members. Permission management and performance tracking.
Legal & Professional Services
Verification for research, document analysis, and client-facing agent applications.
Gaming & Content
Platform certification and content rating standards for AI-powered experiences.
Supply Chain & Logistics
Agent coordination across organizational boundaries with verified capabilities and permissions.
Ready to Implement KYA?
Start with AgentFacts—the universal implementation of Know Your Agent verification.
Expert KYA Implementation
Jared James Grogan, creator of the AgentFacts standard and KYA paradigm, provides specialized consulting for enterprise AI agent verification and governance.
- • KYA strategy and implementation planning
- • EU AI Act compliance automation
- • Multi-authority verification architecture
- • Enterprise governance integration