As AI agents continue to evolve, Microsoft is bringing more of its agent development capabilities together through the Microsoft Agent Framework.
Agent Framework is an open-source framework for building AI agents and agentic workflows. More importantly, Microsoft positions it as the next generation of Semantic Kernel and AutoGen, bringing concepts from both into a single, unified framework.
What Does It Bring Together?
At a high level, Agent Framework gives developers the building blocks to create agents that can:
- Use tools and external services
- Connect through MCP
- Work with memory and enterprise knowledge through RAG
- Include human-in-the-loop approvals
- Coordinate multiple agents
- Use workflows for more controlled orchestration
One useful bit of Microsoft's guidance is the distinction it draws between agents and workflows:
- Use an agent when the task is open-ended and requires the AI to determine the next steps.
- Use a workflow when the process requires more predictable steps and control.
- And if a normal function can solve the problem — Microsoft recommends simply using the function rather than introducing an AI agent.
Where Does It Fit?
A simple way to map Microsoft's agent-building options:
- Copilot Studio → Low-code agent development
- Microsoft Agent Framework → Code-first agent and workflow development
- Microsoft Foundry → AI platform, models, and services
The boundaries aren't always this clean, but it's a useful starting point for understanding where Agent Framework sits in the picture.
Want to Learn More?
While reading up on Agent Framework, I came across a great free hands-on course from Jamie Maguire, Microsoft MVP in Artificial Intelligence.
Jamie builds an AI personal trainer called Iron Mind AI using C#, progressively introducing function tools, memory, human approvals, MCP, RAG, and other agent capabilities along the way.
Even if you're not a developer, the series is a great way to see how many of the agentic AI concepts we keep hearing about actually come together in practice.
Read here to know more:
- Free C# Course on YouTube: Understanding Microsoft Agent Framework
As agents become a bigger part of the enterprise technology landscape, you don't necessarily need to be building them yourself — but understanding the frameworks and patterns behind them is becoming increasingly useful.
Update – September 26, 2026: Getting Hands-On with Microsoft Foundry
Microsoft Developer has also released an Inside Microsoft Foundry quick-start video series for anyone looking to get hands-on with AI agents.
The short videos cover building agents with Python, VS Code and no-code approaches, along with agent customization, model selection and routing across multiple models.
What I like about the series is that it moves beyond explaining what agents are and shows how developers can actually start building them using different approaches within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Stay tuned for more updates...