Microsoft made a huge announcement at Microsoft Ignite 2025: Microsoft Agent 365. And if you’re wondering, “Is this replacing Microsoft 365? Do I need to migrate? Is this another Copilot?”- let’s clear that up right now.
What is Microsoft Agent 365?
Think of Microsoft Agent 365 as your AI command center. It’s a centralized platform that inventories, manages, and secures all the agents running in your Microsoft ecosystem… whether they’re built in SharePoint, Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry, or even custom solutions outside of Copilot.
Why We Needed Microsoft Agent 365
AI agents are exploding across organizations. Makers and developers are spinning up agents for workflows, automation, and custom AI tasks. That’s great for productivity-but it’s a nightmare for governance.
Here’s what IT teams have been struggling with:
- No centralized inventory: You couldn’t answer the simple question, “How many agents do we have?”
- Fragmented controls: Security policies were scattered across admin centers.
- Limited visibility: If an agent started doing something unexpected, you had no easy way to detect or stop it.
Deep Dive: Key Features of Microsoft Agent 365
1. Agent Registry
The registry is the foundation of Agent 365. It automatically discovers and inventories every agent in your environment. Each agent gets an Agent ID and is registered inside Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).
Why does this matter? Because once an agent is in Entra, you can apply identity-based controls-just like you do for users and apps. This is huge for governance.
- The registry supports agents from SharePoint, Copilot Studio, Copilot Studio Lite, Azure AI Foundry, and Microsoft first-party agents.
- Each agent is represented as an Entra application object, enabling integration with Conditional Access, Defender for Cloud Apps, and Microsoft Purview.
- Discovery uses APIs across M365 services to ensure full coverage.
2. Access Control
Security teams have been asking for this for years. Agent 365 introduces policy-based access control for agents. You can define what an agent is allowed to do, what data it can access, and which services it can interact with.
- Access control leverages Microsoft Entra Conditional Access.
- Policies can restrict:
- Data sources (SharePoint sites, Teams channels, Dataverse tables)
- Actions and skills exposed to the agent
- External API calls
- Integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint allows anomaly detection and automated response.
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3. Visualization
Ever wonder what systems your agents are talking to? Agent 365 includes a visualization dashboard that maps out agent connections across your environment.
- See which data sources an agent is connected to.
- Identify cross-system dependencies.
- Detect unexpected integrations without digging through code.
- Visualization uses Microsoft Graph APIs to pull relationship data.
- Supports drill-down views for individual agents.
- Future roadmap includes impact analysis for agent changes.
4. Security Policies
Agents are now managed like users. You can apply Conditional Access, monitor for anomalies, and automatically respond to suspicious behavior.
- If an agent starts accessing sensitive data outside its normal scope, block it.
- If an agent attempts to call unauthorized APIs, revoke permissions.
Here’s how it works under the covers:
- Policies integrate with Microsoft Purview for data classification.
- Defender for Cloud Apps provides real-time monitoring and alerts.
- Automated remediation actions include:
- Disable agent
- Restrict access
- Notify admin teams
How Agent 365 Fits Into Microsoft 365
Here’s the best part: Agent 365 runs inside the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. No new portal. No extra login.
It’s part of the ecosystem you already know.
- Unified experience for admins.
- Seamless integration with existing compliance and security tools.
- No migration required. Your current agents stay where they are-you just gain visibility and control.
Governance and Security Benefits
- They can access sensitive data.
- They can perform actions you didn’t intend.
- They can introduce compliance gaps.
- Visibility: Know every agent in your environment.
- Control: Define what agents can and cannot do.
- Security: Detect and respond to anomalies in real time.
Impact on Developers and Makers
- Your agents will be automatically registered in Entra.
- You’ll need to define permissions clearly-because admins can now enforce policies.
- Expect tighter integration with compliance tools like Purview.
- You can still use Copilot Studio, SharePoint, and Azure AI Foundry to build agents.
- The development experience doesn’t change-governance does.
Future Outlook
- Advanced analytics for agent performance and usage.
- Lifecycle management for agents (creation, updates, retirement).
- Integration with Microsoft Fabric for data-driven insights.
FAQ: Microsoft Agent 365
No. Agent 365 is an add-on for governance and security. It runs inside your existing M365 environment.
No migration required. Your current agents stay where they are.
Yes, in a good way. Copilot agents will be registered and governed through Agent 365.
How do I start using it?
Agent 365 is available in the Frontier program now. Check the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for rollout updates.
Let’s face it…
AI agents are here to stay. They’re powerful, but without governance, they’re risky. Microsoft Agent 365 gives you the visibility, control, and security you need-all inside the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
This is the tool IT teams have been waiting for. It’s not just about managing agents-it’s about enabling safe, scalable AI innovation across your organization.
