Lee_Stott presents a comprehensive overview of agentic AI and how Microsoft Foundry empowers developers to create advanced autonomous agents, including platform features, real-world applications, and step-by-step getting started advice.

Exploring the Future of AI Agents with Microsoft Foundry

Artificial Intelligence is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and one of the most exciting developments is the rise of agentic AI – autonomous systems that reason, plan, and act on behalf of users. In a recent Microsoft Reactor live session, Azure AI experts explained why AI agents are the next step, shared insights into Microsoft Foundry’s role in agent development, and provided practical guidance for getting started.

Why Agentic AI Matters

AI agents are transforming business operations by addressing challenges like manual process inefficiencies, human error, and scalability issues. Notably:

  • Over 1 billion AI agents could be in use by 2028.
  • 80% of organisations aim to integrate agents within 2–3 years.
  • By 2026, 40% of enterprise apps may feature task-specific AI agents.

Agents enable autonomous decision-making, with projections suggesting half of all day-to-day work decisions will be automated by 2028.

From Chatbots to Intelligent Agents

Early chatbots used rigid rules for interactions, often leading to poor user experiences. The arrival of large language models (LLMs) made conversations more natural, but true agentic autonomy requires more – combining reasoning, planning, tool/API integration, and persistent memory. This lets agents execute workflows, validate data, and deliver business outcomes well beyond simple input-output responses.

Microsoft Foundry: Platform for Building Agents

Microsoft Foundry is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) designed for creating AI agents with flexibility and control. Core components include:

  • Model Catalogue: Access to models like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral.
  • Foundry Agent Service: Customise and build agents with integrated tooling.
  • Foundry IQ: Provides knowledge grounding for accurate, context-aware responses.
  • Control Plane: Ensures safety, trust, and observability in production deployments.

Foundry supports a range from full Infrastructure-as-a-Service to simplified Software-as-a-Service scenarios (including Copilot Studio), making it adaptable for diverse needs.

What Makes an AI Solution Agentic?

Agentic AI solutions:

  • Analyse inputs using LLMs and system instructions.
  • Integrate tools for actions such as file search, code execution, or calling APIs.
  • Use memory for contextual understanding and continuous learning.
  • Operate autonomously over workflows and tasks.

This is distinct from narrow AI tools, which handle only limited tasks without autonomy or persistent memory.

Real-World Use Cases

Agentic AI applications are found in:

  • Expense Management: Automating claims and approvals
  • Employee Onboarding: Personalised learning and skills navigation
  • Customer Support: Intelligent FAQ and troubleshooting assistants
  • Data Analytics: Interactive insights and reporting, e.g., via Fabric agents

These systems may be composed of multiple specialised agents, coordinated to manage workflows and subtasks efficiently.

Getting Started with Microsoft Foundry

Follow these steps to build your first AI agent:

  1. Sign in at https://ai.azure.com and create a Foundry project.
  2. Select a model (e.g., GPT-4.1 mini), set up deployment options.
  3. Customise your agent with instructions defining its persona and responsibilities.
  4. Add tools (like file search or code interpretation) to extend agent capabilities.
  5. Test and iterate in the agent playground, then export for deployment in Visual Studio Code.

For a deep dive and hands-on labs, see Microsoft Learn’s training resources and the skilling plan for this series.

Join the Community

  • Discord: Connect with other developers building agentic solutions
  • GitHub Discussions: Share ideas and troubleshoot with the community
  • Office Hours: Access direct support from Microsoft product teams

Final Thoughts

Agentic AI is reshaping how work gets done by letting intelligent systems act, learn, and collaborate. Microsoft Foundry equips developers to build secure, scalable, and intelligent agents—today, not in the future. Join the sessions and community to accelerate your journey: https://aka.ms/AzureSkilling-Ignite/25

Posted by Lee_Stott, Microsoft Developer Community Blog

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