Microsoft Unveils Agent 365 to Manage AI Agents as Virtual Employees

Microsoft announced the launch of Agent 365 at its Ignite 2025 conference, a new platform designed to provide every AI agent with its own identity, security layer, and management controls. This initiative effectively treats AI bots as "virtual employees" within an organization's digital infrastructure, addressing the growing need for governance and security in an increasingly agent-driven landscape. The first fully autonomous Sales Development Agent was highlighted as an immediate application.

"Microsoft unveils Agent 365, a platform that gives every AI agent its own identity, security layer, and management controls — essentially treating bots like virtual employees," stated a tweet by Ken Yeung, reporting from MSIgnite. "First up: a fully autonomous Sales Development Agent."

Agent 365 functions as a unified control plane for deploying, organizing, and governing AI agents at scale, whether they are Microsoft-native or from third-party developers. This platform extends existing user management infrastructures to AI agents, allowing them to be provisioned with identities via Microsoft Entra ID, email addresses, and even Teams accounts, integrating them seamlessly into organizational charts. The goal is to eliminate blind spots and reduce risks associated with unmanaged AI agent sprawl.

The platform integrates deeply with Microsoft's robust security and productivity ecosystems. It leverages Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Entra, and Microsoft Purview to protect and govern agents, ensuring compliance and data security. Additionally, agents can utilize Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook, alongside Work IQ, to provide context and accelerate productivity within enterprise workflows.

According to Vasu Jakkal, CVP Microsoft Security, the expansion of Security Copilot with over 30 new agents and the introduction of Agent 365 underscore Microsoft's commitment to secure AI adoption. Charles Lamanna, President, Business Apps & Agents at Microsoft, emphasized that Agent 365 delivers unified observability across an entire agent fleet through telemetry, dashboards, and alerts. This allows IT leaders to track every agent in use, built, or brought into the organization.

Currently available through the Frontier early access program in the Microsoft 365 admin center, Agent 365 is poised to support various specialized agents across different business functions. While specific licensing and pricing details continue to evolve, the introduction of Agent 365 signals Microsoft's strategic move to provide comprehensive tools for enterprises to manage and secure their expanding AI workforce.