HEAD-TO-HEAD · FACTS ONLY
Bay vs Neo: AI endpoint control facts side by side
Short answer
Bay describes 1 of the four product control types on the pages we read and Neo describes 1; they differ on browser extension. On decisions, Bay decides on a tool call before it runs and Neo decides on a tool call before it runs. We do not score either; the right choice depends on the AI tools people use, your devices, your current stack and whether you block or guide.
By The Device Desk · Endpoint AI Finder · Published 2026-10-11
Desk research from public vendor pages read on 27 September and 11 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.
Vendor pages read September and October 2026 · updated 2026-10-13
Where do their controls sit?
- Filled or hatched marker: Bay
- Dashed teal ring: Neo, described
- DEV Filled marker: described on the product pages we read
- DEV Hatched marker: partly described (another component, a narrower scope, or method not detailed)
- DEV Dashed marker: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)
What are the facts, side by side?
| Fact | Bay | Neo |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | None | None |
| Positioning | An endpoint-first control layer for AI agents, coding assistants and MCP servers on employee devices. Bay describes itself as a fully preventive, agentless platform that classifies, governs and prevents risks across every AI agent and tool on enterprise endpoints. | Agentic Software Control from Neo Security, Inc. (neo.ai, not Pulumi Neo): a live inventory of agents, models, skills, MCP servers and extensions on every endpoint, and runtime control that intercepts agent actions and allows, blocks or holds them for approval. Launched 20 July 2026 with $100M from Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer; HQ Boston. |
| How it reaches devices | Deploys through your existing EDR or MDM, with no new agents and no new tools; Bay says it scans in minutes and exits cleanly. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 | A lightweight endpoint sensor with no kernel module, no reboot and no OS hooks; analysis stays on the device. OS support is not listed on the pages we read; SACR (secondary) says it needs no MDM. Source: Neo: platform · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| On-device control | DescribedInventories AI agents, MCP servers, tools, credentials and extensions on the device, and its Enforcer returns Allow, Ask or Deny locally on prompts, pre-tool calls and post-tool responses on supported agent surfaces. Delivered as Wave, an ephemeral binary that runs through your existing MDM or EDR. Policies can be scoped by agent, group, endpoint or device. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | DescribedA live inventory of agents, models, skills, MCP servers and extensions on every endpoint, with runtime control that intercepts agent actions. Source: Neo homepage · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Browser extensionDiffers | Not in our sourcesNo browser extension is described. Bay's Application Control can allow or block browsers and extensions as applications, which is a device rule, not a control on what goes into browser AI. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Partly described(secondary: SACR) user-mode endpoint and browser security. Source: SACR (secondary): CISO guide to endpoint control and prevention, July 2026 · Read 13 Oct 2026 · secondary source |
| Network or SSE proxy | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. |
| AI or MCP gateway | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. |
| Names the coding agents it covers | MatchesManaged settings for Claude Code, Codex and Claude Desktop lock permission rules, preserve managed hooks, restrict MCP servers and constrain plugin sources. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking, an AI agent attack (August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026 | MatchesNames Claude Code, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenAI Codex; Cursor is not named. Source: Neo: platform · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Decides on a tool call before it runs | MatchesEvaluates prompts, pre-tool calls and post-tool responses and returns Allow, Ask or Deny locally, which Bay states takes under 4ms with no cloud round-trip, on supported agent surfaces. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesIntercepts agent actions at the endpoint and allows, blocks or holds them for approval. Source: Neo homepage · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Controls what goes into browser AI | Not in our sources | Not in our sources |
| Rolls out through EDR or device management you runDiffers | MatchesDeploys through your existing EDR or MDM; no new agents. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 | PartlyIts own lightweight sensor rather than a rollout through existing EDR or MDM. Source: Neo: platform · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Can warn or ask instead of only blocking | MatchesAsk is one of three answers, with Allow and Deny. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 | MatchesHold an action for verified human approval. Source: Neo: platform · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Can block an agent, tool or action | MatchesDeny stops an action. Rules cover MCP servers (an allow or block list, and per-tool rules for read, create, update, delete and execute), applications, CLIs, browsers, IDEs and extensions, credentials and files, network egress allow lists, and capability rules such as shell execution, package installation and cloud CLIs. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesBlock is one of its runtime actions. Source: Neo: platform · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Has a watch-only or simulation mode | MatchesSimulation Mode runs a rule without enforcing it. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking, an AI agent attack (August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026 | MatchesAudit mode before enforcement. Source: Neo: platform · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Records who or what took each action | MatchesRecords who triggered an action, whether a human was involved, and the chain from prompt to system action. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 | MatchesEvery action tied to the human or agent that caused it, in an immutable audit chain. Source: Neo homepage · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Also covers SaaS, cloud or homegrown AIDiffers | Not in our sources | PartlyNames SaaS and desktop AI such as Slack AI, Notion AI, Salesforce Agentforce and ChatGPT Desktop. Source: Neo: platform · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Has a public price or tiers (vendor site or marketplace) | Not in our sources | Not in our sources |
| Built into | None | None |
| Works with | None in our sources | None in our sources |
| Price | Not published. Bay's site has a demo request and no pricing page (re-checked 11 October 2026). Source: Bay homepage (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not published (demo request). Source: Neo homepage · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
Where do they differ?
- Browser extension: Bay is not in our sources; Neo partly describes it.
- Rolls out through EDR or device management you run: Bay matches; Neo partly matches.
- Also covers SaaS, cloud or homegrown AI: Bay is not in our sources; Neo partly matches.
Choose Bay if
- Your developers run coding agents with many MCP servers and you want a decision on each action before it runs
- You want to add AI agent control through the EDR or MDM you already run instead of rolling out another agent
Choose Neo if
- You want to hold agent actions for human approval on the device
- You want an audit mode before enforcing rules
Which limits should you check?
Bay
- Endpoint only: no browser extension, network proxy or AI gateway is described, and nothing on SaaS or cloud-hosted AI apps.
- One of the smallest public footprints here: a single homepage, two blog posts, no documentation portal and no published pricing (re-checked 11 October 2026).
- Headline figures such as under 5 minutes to deploy, under 1% false positives and 100% of shadow AI discovered are Bay's own statements and have not been verified.
Neo
- Uses its own sensor rather than the EDR or MDM you run, and OS support is not listed on the pages we read.
- No price is published.