Estonia Plans Digital Sub-Identities for AI Agents to Use Services

“We see that people are already using AI agents intensively,” Liisa-Ly Pakosta told Kommune21.

On November 11, 2026, Estonia announced plans to open its digital administrative services to autonomous artificial intelligence agents by developing a new identity concept for them, Kommune21 reported.

The Tech TL;DR:

• Estonia is building a sub-identity system giving AI agents unique codes tied directly to human digital identities.
• Agents will operate within strictly limited areas, barred permanently from making legally binding digital signatures.
• The initiative aims to test automated administrative decisions while preserving strict public cybersecurity standards.

The Baltic nation wants to make it easier for citizens to interact with the government and minimize time spent on bureaucracy. Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta addressed core security questions regarding the public infrastructure push.

“How can we open our public information systems for AI agents without endangering cyber security? And how do we ensure that responsibility remains clearly with the human?” Pakosta told Kommune21.

The proposed solution relies on a digital sub-identity framework. Every AI agent receives a distinct code permanently bound to a natural person’s digital identity, meaning the software cannot act independently of its human operator.

“The agent can therefore not act independently of its human client,” Pakosta told Kommune21, explaining that agents will not gain unrestricted access to state systems.

Authorities selected a conservative approach to preserve Estonia’s high cybersecurity standards. Under the rules, agents can perform any task permitted by the information system operator after a formal risk assessment, provided they do not execute binding digital signatures.

The restriction on signatures forces a review of existing administrative procedures and prompts a re-evaluation of where physical or digital signing is actually necessary. Estonia looks to the banking sector for precedent, noting that minor transactions under 25 euros do not require separate digital signatures.

Citizens will use the established PIN 1 system to bind their AI agent to their personal identity, while PIN 2 signature functions remain strictly reserved for humans. Estonia has already established legal frameworks for automated administrative decisions divided into two categories.

The first category covers decisions based entirely on existing data. In such cases, the resulting notice must explicitly state which databases were utilized, confirm that a machine generated the ruling, and outline how citizens can reach a human contact or appeal the decision.

Estonia and Germany are actively cooperating on agentic artificial intelligence, targeting cross-border public services. Public procurement serves as the initial testing ground due to its high volume of data-driven, easily automated processes.

Shared historical ties simplify the legal alignment between the two nations, as Estonia modeled much of its post-1991 legal framework on German law. Pakosta said that digital transformation under artificial intelligence forces authorities to question whether traditional paperwork and outdated administrative regulations are needed at all.

“We do not simply want to transfer old bureaucracy into AI systems,” Pakosta told Kommune21.