Trusted identity
The agent acts as the user. Or it is a demo.
The user authenticates once. Each hop exchanges for a narrower token. A shared service account is not trusted identity.
Founded 2022 · Founder in the Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame · Dubai HQ · Kochi studio
On-behalf-of
One sign-in. A narrower token at every hop.
01
User authenticates
The identity provider issues the first token. The channel is Slack, a portal, or Salesforce.
02
Gateway exchanges
OAuth on-behalf-of. The next audience is narrower than the last.
03
Agent and tools
Agentforce and MCP see the user. Sharing rules still apply.
04
Next hop identity
If the next system needs another IdP, that is a second exchange, not a shared key.
Mermaid source
flowchart LR
U[User] --> C[Channel]
C --> G[Flex Gateway]
G --> A[Agentforce]
G --> M[MCP]
U -. authenticates .-> I[Identity provider]
I -. OBO token .-> GThe split
A shared key, or the user?
When the next hop is a second IdP, a partner or a device, exchange again. Never mint a god token. And identity without Flex Gateway in front is a story you cannot prove.
Connected app (shared key)
On-behalf-of (user mode)
- The agent sees everything the app can see
- The agent sees what that user could see
- The audit log says 'integration user'
- The audit log names the person
- Fine for a read-only demo
- The default for production write-back
- The user's sharing rules never reach the agent
- Each hop exchanges for a narrower token
Who this is for
Three desks where the agent ran as everyone.
Typical identity gaps we find before write-back goes live.
Example
Head of service, Dubai property developer
Today: The agent can open every buyer’s file, because it runs on the integration user.
After: In user mode it sees only the buyers that service rep could see, and the log names the rep.
Real estateExample
Risk lead, Riyadh consumer lender
Today: The pilot passed because it ran as a connected app that sees everything.
After: Write-back goes live on behalf of the officer, with a narrower token at every hop.
For CTOsExample
IT manager, Abu Dhabi hospital group
Today: Staff ask the agent in Slack, and the next system answers with its own shared key.
After: When the next hop is another identity provider, the token is exchanged again for that audience.
Healthcare
Questions
What we actually say.
- Can we run Agentforce as a connected app in production?
- You can. You will not be able to prove the agent acted as the user. We will not sign write-back that way.
- What if the next hop is a different identity provider?
- Exchange again for that audience. Do not reuse the first token. CIBA and multi-IdP are the next hop, not a reason to skip the gateway.
Next
What to read next.
The brief · one email
Show us what the agent authenticates as today.
We will mark the hops with a shared key, and the ones that should not exist. The assessment is free: a short read of the org and a written note. If you go ahead, the first build week is a fixed AED/SAR 14,900 (about USD 4,050), credited in full when you sign the build within 60 days. The honest no: if the work is a software factory with a named delivery date, we are the wrong partner.