How it relates to AgenID
Most NHI tooling manages credentials inside one organization. AgenID gives an agent an identity meant to be read outside it: a permanent agenid:<ULID> identifier and an operator-signed manifest any counterparty can resolve and re-verify. You can create one at /issue; the key is generated in your browser and never sent to AgenID.
Why it matters
An API key says a caller holds a secret. It does not tell an outside party which agent is calling or who answers for it. A portable identity gives that party something to check without a prior relationship.
NHI programs usually track an owner for each credential. An agent identity makes that owner statement public: the manifest names the accountable operator, and the operator key signs it.
The reference deployment at agenid.com issues nothing above L1_REGISTERED today. L2 and higher require a VerificationAssertion signed by a root authority key, and that key has not been created yet.
What it does not mean
An AgenID is not an access credential and does not replace secrets management. It grants no permission; what an agent is allowed to do is still decided by the systems it calls. It also does not inventory an organization's agents or detect unmanaged ones; it identifies the agents operators choose to register.