Authentication Chains
Authentication chains is an AI interface design pattern that exposes the identity trail when an agent acts across multiple identity domains, showing which identity performed each step and letting users revoke any link in the chain independently. This UX pattern surfaces what is usually hidden plumbing, the sequence of tokens, role assumptions, and delegated credentials that let an agent move from a user's inbox to a vendor API to an internal database. Making the chain visible turns 'something did this' into 'this specific identity, delegated from this user, via this agent, did this,' which is what incident reviews, compliance audits, and revocation flows actually need. The pattern matters most when a single agent interaction composes across identity boundaries that would otherwise lose attribution, and it is the foundation of legible cross-domain agent security.
Use Case
Essential for enterprise AI agents, federated identity systems, and cross-organization automation where legible identity trails are required for audits, incident response, and precise revocation.
Examples in Wild
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Pattern Description:1 identity link pending verification
You (brian@company.com)
Workspace account
Delegates to next link
Ops Assistant v1.2.0
Agent identity
Delegates to next link
CRM API token
External service
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