The term “agent” has taken on a new meaning in the rapidly evolving world of AI. No longer just a human travel planner or a suave British spy, AI agents are now reshaping our interaction with technology and automation. Recently unveiled Microsoft AI agents can assist with daily tasks such as research, cybersecurity, and more.
What are AI Agents?
Imagine having a personal assistant that not only responds to commands but anticipates your needs, performs complex tasks, and learns from every interaction. AI agents analyze their environment, make decisions, and take actions based on your goals and guidelines. This means you can save time on repetitive tasks and focus on more creative and strategic work.
Agents that Use Reasoning
Microsoft 365 Copilot has introduced two new reasoning agents: Researcher and Analyst. Both can securely analyze your work data and the web to deliver expert insights on demand. Researcher helps with complex, multi-step research tasks, such as building marketing strategies, identifying new product opportunities, and creating comprehensive reports. It can integrate data from external sources like Salesforce and Confluence directly into Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Analyst, built on OpenAI’s o3-mini reasoning model, acts like a virtual data scientist. It can take raw data from multiple spreadsheets to forecast demand, visualize customer purchasing patterns, and more.
Cybersecurity Agents
New agents have been designed to help organizations defend against cyberthreats. A phishing triage agent in Microsoft Security Copilot can handle routine phishing alerts, freeing up human teams to focus on complex threats. Alert Triage Agents in Microsoft Purview can prioritize critical incidents and improve accuracy based on administrator feedback.
Agents for Developers
Microsoft is also providing developers with new options. Azure AI Foundry offers a platform to build, deploy, and manage AI apps. Microsoft Fabric data agents allow developers to connect customized, conversational agents that can reason over various data sources. For example, NTT DATA is using these agents to have conversations with HR and back-office operations data.
The new AI Red Teaming Agent systematically probes AI models to uncover safety risks and generates comprehensive reports. Learn more about these advancements at Microsoft Build 2025, where registration is now open.
