OAuth lets an agent hold a narrow slice of an account without seeing your password: a connector can say “this agent reads calendar events” and nothing more. The approval screen when you connect Gmail, Slack, or QuickBooks is that grant being issued; read the verbs, since per permission scope reading email differs from sending it. Agent identity is the separate question of who the agent acts as: you, a service account, or a shared company bot.
A contractor’s building badge captures the idea. You don’t hand over your key ring, alarm code, and office password. You give a badge that opens certain doors, during certain hours, and can be switched off later.
Why you care
Logs, approvals, and blame all depend on identity: if an agent sends mail from your account, the outside world sees you. Agents move fast, so one over-broad grant turns a wrong instruction into damage quickly. Our frame is the privileged employee: you trust the admin and still keep backups and review. The safest agent holds exactly the power the job requires, under an identity you can understand and revoke.