Microsoft has been named a Leader in the inaugural 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for AI Agent Management Platforms. We believe this recognition reflects Microsoft’s approach to helping organizations manage, secure, and scale their AI investments through Microsoft Agent 365.
When we introduced Agent 365, we started with a simple concept: agents should be managed with the same rigor you already apply to users, apps, and devices, using the infrastructure and protections that already run your business. Since then, more than 50 million agents have been registered in Agent 365.1
Here’s what we believe made the difference.
We started with identity, not monitoring
Many approaches to managing agents focus on monitoring after an agent is running. Microsoft’s approach begins with identity. With Microsoft Entra Agent ID, every agent in the organization is assigned a unique agent ID, associated with an owner and purpose, and the right access controls based on its needs.
This enables organizations to apply established identity and access policies to both people and agents. Agent access policies are dynamically adjusted as risk signals and conditions change. Organizations can manage agent access through the Microsoft identity infrastructure they already use for their workforce.
We built on what you already trust
Rather than building a separate platform, Agent 365 extends the tools IT and security teams already use every day: Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Intune, and the Microsoft 365 admin center.
That decision shapes the experience. Microsoft data protection, compliance, and security capabilities can help organizations extend familiar controls to supported agent scenarios.2
We meet agents where they are
Agents won’t come from one platform, so Agent 365 is designed to support a broad ecosystem. It brings supported agents from Microsoft, customer-built agents, local agents found on devices, and partner clouds and frameworks into one registry. Current integrations include Agentforce, Amazon Bedrock, Anthropic, Databricks, Google Gemini, and Google Vertex, with more planned integrations coming soon, including OpenAI, ServiceNow, and Snowflake. Agent 365 also integrates agents built using supported open-source frameworks with the Agent 365 software development kit (SDK).
For additional agent patterns, including local and previously unknown agents discovered through Microsoft Security sensors, Agent 365 supports fit-for-purpose identity types so they can be represented in the registry with appropriate ownership, activity, and risk context. Microsoft is also previewing discovery of cloud agents, extending visibility beyond known and integrated agents. Together, native integrations, connectors, and security sensors help organizations discover and govern more of their agent estate across cloud and device environments.
There’s more to do
Agent 365 moved quickly from introduction to general availability, and we haven’t slowed down. We’re proud of this recognition, and we know there’s more work ahead. We are expanding discovery to 35 additional local agent types, bringing the total to 60, along with adding support to discover unknown agents, bringing these agents under management, as well as extending policy coverage and controls for both managed and unmanaged agents, including third-party agents.
But, visibility and controls are only the beginning. Customers have asked for more automated support for agent governance and security. The new Agent 365 Action Center helps IT and security leaders move from reactive alerts to prescriptive actions, like cleaning up inactive agents, reassigning ownerless agents, or automatically blocking agents based on risk.
We’re also advancing cost management, task classification, and value calculation to help organizations understand how agents are being used, what they cost, and the value they deliver.
Our promise hasn’t changed: to help every organization move from experimenting with agents to running them confidently, with the same rigor, protections, and accountability that already run the enterprise. We believe Agent 365 enables any organization to deploy AI at scale.
Get started
- Get your copy of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for AI Agent Management Platforms.
- Learn more about Microsoft Agent 365.
- Get Agent 365 with Microsoft 365 E7, or as an add-on to Microsoft 365 E5.
Attending Microsoft Ignite 2026? Join us to learn more about what’s next for Agent 365.
To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and X (@MSFTSecurity) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for AI Management Platforms, Andrei Razvan Sachelarescu, Lucas Kobat, Gilbert van der Heiden, Max Goss, October 27, 2026.
Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from Microsoft.
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