Electronic agent
Under US E-SIGN, a program or automated means that acts or responds without a person reviewing it at the time.
Under the US E-SIGN Act, an electronic agent is a computer program or other automated means used independently to initiate an action or respond to electronic records or performances, in whole or in part, without review or action by an individual at the time. The Act provides that a contract or record is not denied legal effect solely because electronic agents were involved in forming it, as long as their action is legally attributable to the person to be bound. That attribution rule is an early legal root of today's agent mandates.
Agent Minute explains this term on 14 December 2026.
Related terms
PrincipalThe person or organisation on whose behalf an agent acts and whose authority the agent exercises.AI agentSoftware built on an AI model that pursues a set goal by planning steps and acting through tools or APIs, not only by answering.MandateA checkable statement of what an agent may do for a principal: which action, how much, with whom and until when.Evidence packA bundle of records that reconstructs one agent action: identity, mandate, authentication, inputs, calls, outputs and approvals.