[MS Ignite 2025] Microsoft Unveils “Agent 365” to Bring Order to the AI Assistant Chaos

Microsoft introduced a unified platform designed to manage the growing number of AI agents scattered across enterprise systems. As generative AI adoption accelerates, the company aims to ease the burden on corporate IT teams while eliminating what many describe as an era of uncontrolled agent proliferation.

The announcement was made at Microsoft Ignite 2025, held in San Francisco from November 18 to 21. The new platform, called Microsoft Agent 365, functions as a single control plane that lets companies monitor every AI agent they operate, enforce consistent security policies and block unapproved agents automatically.

Tackling the Age of AI Agent Overload

Charles Lamanna, Microsoft’s head of Business Apps and Agents, said the number of AI agents in use is growing at a remarkable pace. According to him, “The challenge is no longer about building good agents. It is about managing them well.”

At the heart of Agent 365 is a unified registry. Organizations can view their entire catalog of agents in one place, along with registration details, usage patterns, permission settings and alerts for unauthorized deployments. Lamanna said this visibility solves the control problems created by unchecked agent growth and offers IT teams a transparent management layer.

ID-Based Access Control Anchored by Microsoft Security Stack

Agent 365 is engineered to work seamlessly with Microsoft’s core security products Entra, Purview and Defender.

Entra assigns every agent a unique identity and tracks access activity in real time

Purview monitors sensitive data interactions and adjusts policies automatically when abnormal behavior appears

Defender identifies vulnerabilities in advance and cuts off connections instantly when attacks occur

This architecture lets companies extend their existing security model to AI agents without the need for new training or additional tools.

A Dashboard That Maps Agent Behavior

The platform includes a dashboard known as the Agent Map. It visualizes how each agent moves through workflows, generates role-based reports for performance and ROI and logs every action for audit purposes.

Another feature introduced alongside the platform is Work IQ. This tool enhances agent performance by leveraging an organization’s contextual knowledge, internal relationships and historical data. It improves tasks such as document drafting, data retrieval and workflow automation.

Built for True Interoperability

Lamanna emphasized that interoperability is the core of Agent 365. The system can manage agents created on Microsoft platforms as well as those built on open-source or external ecosystems. It integrates naturally with widely used enterprise apps including Word, Excel, SharePoint and Dynamics 365, allowing agents to operate directly within real corporate data environments.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said companies already rely on Entra, Purview and Defender for security operations. With Agent 365 added to the system, organizations can manage users, apps and agents from a single unified framework.

Ju-baek Shinㅣjbshin@kmjournal.net