AI agent governance, without the red tape
Once AI agents touch real customers, money or data, someone has to decide what they're allowed to do. We help you set simple rules that keep agents useful and keep the risky moves in human hands.
AI governance now covers the tools, not just the agents. Every AI assistant, extension and connector your team installs can reach files, code and credentials. Good governance lists them, gives each agent its own limited identity, logs what it does and keeps an off switch, so one bad update or bad action can be contained fast.
The problem
Agents often get switched on before anyone writes down what they may do. Without clear limits, a single bad action, like a wrong refund, a deleted record or an email to the wrong person, may be costing you more than the agent saves. Governance doesn't have to mean approving every step; it means agents can check their own work and the moves you can't undo stay with a person.
What an engagement looks like
- Inventory. We list the agents and automations you run today, the AI tools and extensions installed on your team's computers, and what tools, data and credentials each one can reach.
- Set the limits. For each one: what it may do alone, what needs a person's yes, and what it must never do.
- Build the checks. Logs you can read, automatic checks on output, and a clear off switch.
- Write it down. A short, plain policy your team can follow. We use the NIST AI Risk Management Framework as our checklist.
- Review on a schedule. Agents and tools change, so the rules get a regular look.
What we need from you
- A list (even rough) of the AI tools and agents in use
- Admin access or someone who has it
- An owner for each agent on your side
What it may not do
- This isn't legal advice or a compliance certification
- We can't vouch for third-party tools we don't control, only how you connect and limit them
- Rules only help if someone owns them after we leave
FAQ
What is AI agent governance?
The rules and checks for what AI agents may do on their own, what needs human approval, how their work is logged and checked, and how to stop them.
Does governance mean approving everything the agent does?
No. Approving every step makes people the bottleneck. The aim is automatic checks for routine work and a person's yes only for actions you can't undo.
Which framework do you use?
We use the NIST AI Risk Management Framework as a checklist, adapted to your size.
Is this legal or compliance advice?
No. We handle the technical side. For legal questions, talk to your lawyer.
Can you help if we haven't built agents yet?
Yes. Setting rules before launch is easier than after.
What if an AI tool we use gets compromised?
It happens. In October 2026 a tampered AI coding extension was served from an editor marketplace for about eleven hours, and the vendor warned that uninstalling it might not remove what it left behind. Your best defense is knowing which tools run where, what each can reach, and having a written off switch and credential-rotation plan. We set that up; forensics stays with your security team.
Does every AI agent need its own identity?
For anything that touches real systems, yes. Each agent should act through its own account or token, with only the access its job needs, so you can see what it did and revoke it on its own. Shared logins make both hard.
Do we need an MCP gateway?
Once more than a few people connect AI assistants to company systems, it is worth considering: one place that lists every connector, ties each call to a real person and logs it. Several vendors launched MCP gateways in October 2026. We help you pick one, or skip it, based on what you run.
Related
Tell us what you need. Book a short call and we'll tell you honestly whether it's worth building. Or email hello@cto.la.