Vision agents (AI agents that see the screen and act by clicking the UI) should follow the same controls as people a secure browser workspace. This post explains what policy parity looks like in practice and how to run it without building a parallel security stack.

Why policy parity matters

• Consistency reduces risk. One policy set for users and agents lowers misconfigurations.
• Audit is simpler. Session recording and event trails look the same for both.
• Ops gets faster. Entitlements, approvals, and offboarding follow the same workflow.
• Governance scales. Risk reviews evaluate a single enforcement boundary.

A practical blueprint

1. Identity and grouping. Use your existing IdP (Entra ID, Okta). Agents get distinct identities and groups so audits stay clear.
2. Default deny, least privilege. Start agents with no access. Grant only required apps and actions.
3. Step-up MFA and approvals. Use step-up for sensitive actions or data. Require owner approval for new automations.
4. DLP at the session. Apply clipboard controls, download restrictions, and watermarking to agents and users alike.
5. Recording and retention. Record agent sessions with searchable events and align retention to your audit policy.‍
6. Change control. Version agent definitions. Promote to production with review and sign-off.
7. SIEM and alerts. Stream user and agent events to your SIEM. Alert on anomalies, not every click.

Common gotchas and how to avoid them

• Shadow endpoints. Do not run agents on unmanaged laptops. Keep activity in the secure browser workspace.
• Hidden escalations. Watch for copy paths that exfiltrate data via downloads or screenshots. Block or watermark.
• Overbroad roles. Split roles by task. A reconciliation agent should not have the same scope as a finance close agent.
• Untracked changes. Require PR-style reviews for agent updates with rollback.

Key takeaway

Policy parity lets you scale automation without inventing a new security stack. If a control protects a user session, it should protect an agent session the same way. Parity lowers risk, simplifies audits, and speeds rollout.

Learn more about Sonet.io's approach to workflow automation with vision agents.