What is Microsoft Agent 365?
Microsoft Agent 365 gives organizations the ability to observe, govern, and secure the growing number of AI agents inside the enterprise. Microsoft describes the product as the control plane for agents and structures it along those three pillars.
Observe covers real-time visibility into the agentic environment: administrators view all their agents in a single centralized registry with a unified view of agent adoption, activity, and health. Role-specific oversight extends this visibility to security and business leaders.
Govern stands for consistent guardrails: through the Agent 365 registry in the Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft Entra, and Microsoft Purview, administrators manage the lifecycle of the organization’s agents and ensure the right permissions, policies, and reviews are in place. Secure bundles protection: Microsoft Entra enforces risk-based access controls for users and for agents acting on their behalf, Microsoft Purview provides visibility into data risks with information protection and DLP, and Microsoft Defender adds continuous threat detection and real-time protection.
Microsoft Agent 365 has been generally available for the Commercial segment since May 1, 2026, and is licensed per user. It is a Microsoft 365 product rather than an Azure service; for Azure and Foundry projects it is relevant as a complementary governance layer.
Core Features
- Centralized agent registry in the Microsoft 365 admin center with a unified view of adoption, activity, and health across all agents
- Agent map for visualizing the agent landscape
- Lifecycle management, access control, and compliance controls through the Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft Entra, and Microsoft Purview
- Risk-based access controls for users and for agents acting on their behalf (Microsoft Entra)
- Information protection, data loss prevention, and risk safeguards (Microsoft Purview)
- Continuous threat detection and real-time protection against unsafe behavior and malicious activity (Microsoft Defender)
- Role-specific oversight for security and business leaders
- Deployment of selected partner agents directly from the Microsoft 365 admin center
Typical Use Cases
Building an agent inventory
Once several teams introduce their own agents, visibility disappears quickly. The registry brings all agents together in one place and surfaces adoption, activity, and health.
Governance and approval processes
Through Microsoft Entra and Microsoft Purview you define permissions, policies, and reviews for agents and keep operations aligned with organizational requirements.
Data protection in agent operations
Purview capabilities such as information protection and DLP prevent agents from inadvertently exposing sensitive data.
Threat defense for agents
Microsoft Defender detects threats continuously and blocks unsafe behavior and malicious activity in real time.
Benefits
- One place for visibility, governance, and protection across all agents instead of scattered point solutions
- Reuses existing Microsoft security building blocks (Entra, Purview, Defender) rather than adding new tooling
- Role-specific oversight gives security, IT, and business stakeholders the information relevant to them
- Consistent guardrails across the entire agent lifecycle
- Supports audit readiness and alignment with organizational policies
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory helps you bring agent operations and governance together: we assess your existing agent landscape, set up the registry, roles, and policies, and connect Microsoft Agent 365 with your Entra, Purview, and Defender configurations.
We describe what an agent architecture on Azure looks like in practice in our articles CompanyGPT cloud stack on Azure and CompanyGPT with Microsoft Foundry, agents, and Bedrock. Contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Microsoft Agent 365 generally available?
Yes. Microsoft documents: 'As of May 1, 2026, Microsoft Agent 365 is generally available for the Commercial segment on a per user basis.' At launch, a set of partner agents can be deployed directly from the Microsoft 365 admin center.
How is Microsoft Agent 365 licensed?
Microsoft Agent 365 is licensed on a per-user basis. At least one user must hold a qualifying Microsoft Agent 365 license to enable Agent 365. Microsoft states the product works best with Microsoft E5 as a prerequisite. Current plans and pricing are on the Microsoft product page.
Is Microsoft Agent 365 an Azure service?
Microsoft Agent 365 is a Microsoft 365 product managed through the Microsoft 365 admin center, not the Azure portal. It is relevant for Azure customers because it complements governance for agents built with, for example, Microsoft Foundry.
Which Microsoft services are involved in Agent 365?
Microsoft names Microsoft Entra for risk-based access control, Microsoft Purview for information protection, DLP, and risk safeguards, and Microsoft Defender for continuous threat detection and real-time protection. The registry and lifecycle management live in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
What visibility do administrators get?
Administrators see all agents in a single centralized registry providing a unified view of agent adoption, activity, and health. There is also an agent map, plus role-specific oversight so security and business leaders receive the insights relevant to their domains.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Azure (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Azure.
