AI code governance
also: AI code policy enforcement · agent code governance
AI code governance is the set of policies and controls a team applies to AI-generated code — defining where AI may write, what evidence must be recorded, and when human review is required before AI-authored changes can merge. It turns informal AI usage into enforceable, auditable rules.
From informal usage to enforceable policy
Most teams already have implicit rules about AI — "review AI code like junior code," "don't let agents touch auth." Governance makes those rules explicit and enforceable: encoded as policy, evaluated automatically, and recorded as evidence. Without that, the rules live in people's heads and break down under delivery pressure.
The three pillars of AI code governance
- 01Provenance — a reliable record of which agent wrote which lines, so policy can reason about AI-authored changes specifically.
- 02Policy — rules that define where AI may operate and what must happen when it does (for example, require an owner's review when an agent edits a protected path).
- 03Enforcement — a gate that can actually block a merge when policy is violated, not just a report after the fact.
Governance as a gate, not a dashboard
A dashboard tells you what already happened. A gate changes what is allowed to happen. AgentDiff evaluates each pull request against your AI code policy and can block merge when, for example, an agent trace is unsigned or AI touched a critical path without the required human approval. The decision is enforced in the git layer and the evidence is signed and durable.
“ISO/IEC 42001 and the EU AI Act are moving organisations toward stronger traceability, accountability, and evidence requirements. Signed line-level provenance could become a valuable supporting control as an additional layer of assurance evidence.”
Frequently asked questions
What is AI code governance?+
It is the practice of defining and enforcing rules for AI-generated code — where AI may write, what evidence is recorded, and when human review is required — backed by provenance and an enforcement gate rather than informal convention.
How do you enforce an AI code policy?+
You need provenance to know which changes are AI-authored, a policy that maps changes to required controls, and a merge gate that blocks pull requests violating the policy. AgentDiff provides all three in the git layer.
Does AI code governance slow developers down?+
Only where it should. Well-designed governance is silent on routine changes and intervenes only on high-risk ones — for example, requiring review when AI edits payments or auth — so the friction lands precisely where the risk is.
See line-level provenance on a real repo.
AgentDiff records which agent wrote which line, signs it, and keeps it in your git history. Open the live dashboard or book a walkthrough.