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Microsoft is launching Agent 365, an all-encompassing platform that gives AI assistants their own digital identities within organizations. The system assigns each AI agent a unique Microsoft Entra Agent ID, making it easier for companies to manage these digital workers throughout their lifecycle. This includes everything from setting up new agents to updating and eventually retiring them when no longer needed.

Security stands at the core of Agent 365, with tight integration to Microsoft’s existing safety tools. The platform works with Microsoft Purview to apply data protection policies and pairs with Microsoft Defender to spot and fix security threats aimed at AI agents. It also creates audit trails of agent activities to help companies stay within legal boundaries.

Security isn’t just added to Agent 365—it’s foundational, with built-in protection against AI-specific threats and comprehensive activity logging.

Developers can use Agent 365’s tools and software development kits to build and certify AI agents. These agents can work directly within popular Microsoft apps like Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint. The system speeds up deployment because the agents automatically inherit the company’s security settings. With multimodal AI integration, these agents can process text, audio, and visual inputs simultaneously for more contextual understanding of user needs.

For IT managers, Agent 365 provides dashboards that show real-time information about how agents, people, and data connect. This visibility helps organizations monitor agent behavior and performance continuously. Companies can also control what resources agents can access, limiting them to only what they need.

In everyday work applications, Microsoft is adding AI agent features that go beyond basic automation. Agent Mode in Excel and Word can create, check, fix, and verify documents without constant human direction. Office Agent helps users make polished PowerPoint presentations through simple chat interactions in Copilot. Early access to Agent 365 requires Frontier preview program participation, connecting organizations directly to Microsoft’s latest AI innovations.

For security teams, Security Copilot integrates with Agent 365 to speed up investigations and simplify IT tasks. These security agents can understand each organization’s unique data, making them more effective at protecting company information. With over four million cybersecurity jobs remaining unfilled globally, these intelligent agents are crucial for addressing the workforce shortage in digital security.

The service comes included with Microsoft 365 E5 subscriptions, giving large organizations tools to manage the growing number of AI agents in their digital workplaces.

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