How to preserve user permissions in API integrations for AI agents and RAG

AI agents and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems face challenges in enforcing user permissions when integrating with external APIs like Google Drive, SharePoint, and Salesforce. The article explores various architectural approaches to manage these integrations, emphasizing the importance of addressing permission handling at the design stage to avoid data leaks and compliance risks. Per-user authentication, which uses individual user tokens, offers exact permission fidelity but complicates onboarding, while org-wide authentication reduces user friction but risks data leakage due to permission sync delays. Custom internal permissions grant control over security models but require managing permissions in separate systems. Delegated API access is highlighted as an effective compromise, combining strict security with lower user friction, although it is not universally supported by APIs. The article advocates for using platforms like Nango to manage authentication complexities, supporting multiple authentication models and providing robust integration capabilities with over 600 APIs. It concludes that no single solution is perfect, but using source systems to enforce permissions and designing integration-specific approaches can mitigate risks.