Estonia is set to develop digital identities for AI agents, known as AI-isikukood. The Eesti.ai Council, under Prime Minister Kristen Michal, has endorsed the project, which aims to enable these systems to act on behalf of individuals, companies, or institutions within limited and verifiable boundaries, according to the government website.
According to Michal, in the future, artificial intelligence will increasingly perform digital operations for users, such as drafting reports, preparing declarations, or interacting with information systems. It is essential to clarify who is acting, on whose behalf, with what rights, and who is responsible.
“If we act quickly and wisely, Estonia will become the first country in the world to create an official digital identity for AI agents,” stated the Prime Minister.
Why AI Agents Need Digital IDs
The AI-isikukood aims to address the issue of excessive access. Currently, users, companies, or institutions may have to grant AI assistants overly broad rights. Estonian authorities intend to replace this with limited permissions. An agent will be able to operate only within specified rights, such as viewing data, preparing documents, processing payments, or working within a set limit.
Michal described the concept as granting “limited, controlled, and auditable powers.” The launch timeline, technical architecture, and liability mechanisms for potential losses have not yet been disclosed.
About Eesti.ai
The government launched the Eesti.ai initiative on January 27. Its immediate priorities include education, healthcare, and security. The program aims to systematically integrate artificial intelligence into the economy and public administration.
On April 9, the Eesti.ai council approved 15 projects expected to have a significant impact. These projects focus on skills, healthcare, entrepreneurship, the public sector, education, and infrastructure. By June, some had moved to the stages of analysis, market consultations, tenders, and partnership preparations. According to authorities, the AI skills training initiative is progressing the fastest.
Infrastructure
The AI-isikukood project builds on Estonia’s existing digital infrastructure. The Bürokratt website states that by 2026, every agency or domain will be able to use its own personalized AI agent as part of a unified cooperative network.
Another related project is Aruait. The state information system RIA describes it as a sovereign management layer for AI agents in the public sector. It aims to define the technical architecture, pilots, and collaboration models for systems acting on behalf of individuals, companies, or government bodies.
According to Decrypt, the AI-isikukood initiative continues Estonia’s broader focus on digital identification. The country already offers electronic IDs for citizens and e-Residency for foreigners.
In June, the Anthropic team published a blog post titled Claude: Zero Trust for AI Agents, which provides guidelines for the secure deployment of autonomous AI agents in corporate environments. The document outlines key risks of agent systems and approaches to business cybersecurity.
