Context-Based Access Control for AI
Ingest unstructured data for AI and enforce the right access at runtime.
Enterprises want to use AI without exposing sensitive data. That requires two things: unstructured data structured the right way for AI, and access enforced for each user, agent, and task. Protecto CBAC does both.
- Trusted by 3,000+ enterprises in banking, healthcare, and SaaS
- Trusted by Engineering Teams Building AI at Scale
THE PROBLEM
AI needs more than ETL and access control.
Old ETL tools were built to move data into fixed tables and schemas.
Old access control was built for files, folders, apps, and databases.
AI works differently. It reads raw content, pulls from mixed data, and answers in real time.
That means AI needs a new layer that can structure data for AI, apply enterprise policies on what is sensitive, and enforce the right access at runtime.
THE REALITY
Enterprise data does not stay in neat categories.
A single document can mix medical notes, billing details, legal text, fraud signals, and internal comments. Different types of information are often woven together in the same paragraph or page.
Old systems usually handle this in a blunt way. They classify the whole document and block it. That does not work well for AI. If you block too much, AI loses useful context. If you allow too much, sensitive data can leak into prompts, retrieval results, responses, and agent actions.
Without CBAC, the choice is brutal: block too much and lose the value of AI, or allow too much and accept the risk of leaking sensitive data.
WHAT CBAC DOES
Two jobs. One layer built for AI.
Structures unstructured data for AI
It understands the content, reads enterprise policies on what is sensitive, segments it the right way, and keeps it useful for retrieval.
Enforces the right access at runtime
It checks who is asking, what they are asking, and what policy should apply — returning only the chunks that role, task, and context should see.
The same source document can be used in different ways for different roles, without losing control or stripping away too much context.
ONE DOCUMENT · MULTIPLE VIEWS
Same insurance claim.
Four different, policy-safe views.
A claims adjuster, a fraud investigator, a physician, and a billing analyst each need something different from the same document. CBAC gives each role the right view — nothing more, nothing less.
| Document section | Claims adjuster | Fraud investigator | Physician | Billing analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient demographics Name, SSN, DOB | ✓ Visible | ✓ Visible | ✓ Visible | ✕ Hidden |
| Clinical notes and diagnosis | ✓ Visible | ✓ Visible | ✓ Visible | ✕ Hidden |
| Treatment costs and billing codes | ✓ Visible | ✓ Visible | ✕ Hidden | ✓ Visible |
| Fraud risk score & investigation notes | ✕ Hidden | ✓ Visible | ✕ Hidden | ✕ Hidden |
| Internal adjuster comments | ✓ Visible | ✕ Hidden | ✕ Hidden | ✕ Hidden |
- Without CBAC, the retrieval layer returns the full chunk — and exposes everything at once.
THE ARCHITECTURE
Control when data enters — and again when the system answers.
AT INGESTION
Understand, segment, and mask — without rigid schemas.
CBAC reads the document, understands the content, segments it the right way, and masks sensitive values where needed. It creates structure that AI can use without forcing everything into fixed tables.
AT RUNTIME
Check the user, role, task, and policy on every query.
CBAC evaluates the user, role, task, question, and the policy that applies — then returns only the right chunks of data for that interaction. Same data. Same system. Different view, based on policy and context.
HOW WE COMPARE
See why leading enterprises choose Protecto.
Metadata and source-path controls were built for files and folders. CBAC was built for the way AI actually reads, retrieves, and generates.
| Feature | Protecto CBAC | Metadata / source path controls |
|---|---|---|
| Works on | ✓ Content inside documents | ! File location, source, metadata, partial internal content |
| Granularity | ✓ Section or sentence level | ✕ Document level |
| Understands meaning | ✓ Yes | ! Limited — mostly classification |
| Runtime enforcement | ✓ Yes | ! Limited |
| AI usefulness | ✓ Keeps more usable context | ✕ Often hides too much |
REAL-WORLD USE CASES
Built for the document patterns enterprises actually have.
Insurance
An adjuster asks about treatment history and gets answers from hundreds of pages of mixed-format documents. CBAC ensures PHI, fraud signals, and financials are filtered by role — not blocked wholesale.
Healthcare
Protect PHI in clinical transcripts while keeping enough clinical context for diagnostic accuracy. CBAC masks identifiers but preserves the surrounding medical detail AI needs.
Financial Services
Block account details, salaries, or contract values from unauthorized roles while still enabling AI-driven analytics. Same document, different financial views per team.
Enterprise Multi-Agent Systems
Apply tenant- or team-specific rules across agent-to-agent and MCP-driven workflows. CBAC enforces policy at every handoff between agents.
FROM EXPERIMENTS TO PRODUCTION
AI unlocks enterprise data. CBAC keeps it safe.
Without the right control layer, the same power that makes AI useful becomes a risk. CBAC helps enterprises move faster, stay safe, and keep AI useful — by structuring data for AI, applying enterprise policies on what is sensitive, and enforcing access in context.
GET STARTED
AI needs more than access control. It needs context.
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