Microsoft at it’s Ignite conference has set out new tools and services aimed at simplifying the creation, deployment and management of artificial intelligence. The company introduced updates to Microsoft 365 Copilot, as well as new capabilities in Work IQ, Foundry IQ, Fabric IQ and a consolidated management platform called Microsoft Agent 365.
AI integration
Microsoft is positioning AI as an essential layer within its software suite, intending for AI to be integrated from the ground up rather than attached to existing products. Through updates to Microsoft 365 Copilot and the underlying Work IQ intelligence layer, users can connect their workflow data, habits and relationships with Copilot. This enables more personalised recommendations and insights that reflect how individual and group work is actually performed inside an organisation.
Work IQ leverages user data across emails, files, meetings and chats. With newly available APIs, developers can now build agents fine-tuned to specific business functions, allowing companies to tailor AI based on their operational requirements. These updates aim to embed AI within day-to-day work, providing tools to unlock more value from organisational knowledge.
Data context
Microsoft has expanded its focus on how AI agents make sense of business data. Using Fabric IQ, companies can consolidate analytical, time series and location data with operational systems into a unified model. This structure provides a real-time view of business operations and enables both users and AI agents to perform contextual analysis. Customers already using Power BI can carry over their existing data models, accelerating deployment and customisation.
Foundry IQ is introduced as a managed knowledge system. It connects AI agents to multiple data sources-ranging from Microsoft 365 to custom applications and the web-via a single endpoint. Microsoft says this provides improved reasoning, safer decisions and better guidance for building and deploying agents.
Agent development
With the Microsoft Agent Factory programme, companies have the ability to develop AI agents across multiple services. Customers gain access to Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio through a single metered plan, allowing deployment of agents in a variety of environments, including inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. There are no upfront licensing or provisioning costs.
The programme offers eligible organisations dedicated support from specialist AI engineers and role-based AI training. This initiative is intended to raise AI literacy and confidence among different business teams as they transition to more automated processes.
Governance tools
Microsoft is launching Microsoft Agent 365 to address the management and security of AI agents, given the projection that businesses could be relying on 1.3 billion AI agents by 2028. The platform enables organisations to observe, manage and secure agents, regardless of whether they are developed with Microsoft, open source or third-party frameworks.
Agent 365 provides AI agents with the same security and productivity applications as those available to human users, such as Microsoft Defender, Entra, Purview and Foundry Control Plane. Agent 365 also integrates with the Microsoft 365 admin centre, simplifying the management of these digital resources for IT teams and improving oversight across different lines of business.
“AI is not something that you can just plop on the end of a finished product, like a cherry on top of a sundae. Instead, using AI responsibly and wisely means thinking through how it can be used most effectively at every layer, from the datacentre that powers AI functionality to the people and organisations that are benefiting from its capabilities,” said Frank X. Shaw, Chief Communications Officer, Microsoft.
Source: IT Brief