Rubrik Launches SAGE to Govern AI Agents in Real Time
Rubrik has unveiled SAGE, the Semantic AI Governance Engine, at RSAC 2026 in San Francisco. This groundbreaking engine is presented as the first AI governance solution specifically designed to secure and control autonomous agents in real time. SAGE powers Rubrik Agent Cloud, effectively replacing traditional manual, rules-based oversight with intent-driven governance.
Addressing Governance Bottlenecks
The core issue that SAGE aims to resolve is the governance bottleneck that has been slowing down enterprise AI deployment. Legacy systems are reliant on deterministic rules that fail to process natural language or adapt to unexpected actions taken by agents. Rubrik’s innovative approach utilizes a custom Small Language Model (SLM) that interprets the semantic meaning behind policies instead of merely scanning for keywords. This allows for enforcement through a real-time command center for agentic operations.
Pivotal Moment in AI Security
As Devvret Rishi, General Manager of AI at Rubrik, stated, “SAGE marks a pivotal moment in AI security as we shift the focus from if agents can be deployed to how they can be governed at scale.” With SAGE, organizations can transition from simple monitoring to a future where AI actively assists in governing AI agents. This advancement provides Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) with the necessary guardrails to allow their AI agents to operate swiftly without jeopardizing the security and integrity of the enterprise.
Key Capabilities of SAGE
Among the key capabilities embedded within SAGE are:
- Semantic Policy Interpretation: This feature translates natural language instructions, such as “Do not give financial advice,” into machine logic that captures context that static filters might overlook.
- Adaptive Policy Improvement: This capability proactively identifies ambiguous guardrails and suggests refinements before violations can occur.
- Integrated Remediation: In instances where an agent makes an error, this feature activates Rubrik Agent Rewind to undo harmful actions and restore data integrity.
Performance Benchmarking
Rubrik also released benchmark data comparing its custom SLM against OpenAI’s GPT-5.2. In standardized user-agent interaction tests, Rubrik’s SLM demonstrated:
- Processing messages five times faster
- Higher accuracy in detecting policy violations
- Significantly reduced compute overhead typically associated with real-time AI monitoring
Enterprise Demand for Stronger Controls
This announcement arrives at a critical time as enterprises are eager to scale AI agent deployments while CISOs are advocating for stronger controls. SAGE is crafted to enable organizations to accelerate this rollout without sacrificing security for speed.
Rubrik (NYSE: RBRK) positions itself as the Security and AI Operations Company, with its Security Cloud encompassing data protection, cyber resilience, and enterprise AI across cloud environments.
