Result
Per-action approval alongside Okta
In short: keep Okta for sign-in and add a governance layer that checks each agent action. Risky actions should stop until a named person approves them. Okta lists its own human-in-the-loop controls as coming after GA, so today this control sits in a layer beside Okta.
Identification
Agents act for people who sign in through Okta, and some actions are too risky to run unattended. You add per-action policy with a named human approver, while Okta keeps handling sign-in.
Field marks: what does this look like in practice?
- Copilots or coding agents can send email, merge code, move money or change records for a user.
- Security asks who approved a specific action, and the logs only show the user's token.
- Okta is the system of record for staff, and nobody wants a second sign-in.
- An agent could in theory approve its own request through the same chat session.
What should I require from a product?
- Each tool call is evaluated against policy with an outcome of allow, ask or deny.
- An ask outcome pauses the call until a named person approves it.
- The approver confirms on a separate device, not inside the agent's session.
- An agent cannot approve its own action.
- Agents never exceed the permissions of the person they act for.
- Okta remains the sign-in system; no change to employee login is needed.
- Approvals, denials and tool calls land in one exportable audit trail.
Which products fit?
Listed by fit to the requirements above, using each vendor's public material. This is not a ranking.
| Product | What it documents for this requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NewCore | Allow, ask and deny outcomes; named approver confirms with device biometrics; no self-approval; starts alongside your identity platform. | NewCore: Govern; NewCore: Identity foundation, read 2026-11-03 |
| Silverfort | MCP Gateway verdict of approve, block or step up to a human; discovers agents in Okta. | Silverfort: AI agent security; Silverfort unveils AI agent security, read 2026-11-03 |
| Okta for AI Agents | Human-in-the-loop controls listed as coming after GA; device-confirmed named approver not found in public material. | Okta for AI Agents general availability, read 2026-11-03 |
| Descope | Governance suite with approval, documented purpose and accountable owner (Enterprise plan). | Descope Agentic Identity Hub 3, read 2026-11-03 |
What is this result confused with?
- Delegated access with Cross App Access: That result is about reaching apps as the user. This one is about stopping risky actions until a person agrees.
- Per-action approval alongside Entra: Same need, but there Entra ID is the main sign-in system.
What does your identity provider already cover?
- Okta for AI Agents registers agents in Universal Directory and assigns human owners. Okta for AI Agents general availability, read 2026-11-03
- Short-lived tokens replace hardcoded credentials. Okta for AI Agents general availability, read 2026-11-03
- Agent Gateway and human-in-the-loop are listed as coming after GA. Okta for AI Agents general availability, read 2026-11-03
- Auth0 for AI Agents offers CIBA asynchronous authorization for customer-facing apps. Auth0 for AI Agents generally available, read 2026-11-03
An agent governance layer runs alongside your identity provider, never instead of it.
Questions buyers ask
Does Okta already approve agent actions?
Okta lists human-in-the-loop controls as coming after GA of Okta for AI Agents. Until they ship, approval needs a layer beside Okta.
Is Auth0 CIBA the same thing?
Auth0 CIBA asks a user to approve a request asynchronously. Auth0 positions it for customer-facing apps, not for staff on Okta Workforce.
Will staff sign in somewhere new?
No. In this approach Okta keeps handling employee sign-in. The approver only confirms specific actions.