Microsoft (MSFT) envisions a future where AI agents handle everything from coding to navigating its Windows operating system. The company shared this vision at its annual Build conference in Seattle on Monday, describing an anticipated “open agentic web” where AI agents can make decisions and execute tasks for individuals or entire organizations. AI agents, a major trend in tech, are semi- or fully autonomous AI software capable of performing various user tasks. These tasks range from transferring data between apps to booking concert tickets. Some agents can even interact with one another, forming a network that can accomplish more complex duties. “We're witnessing rapid AI development, moving from proofs of concept to impactful business solutions, ” Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s executive vice president of cloud and AI, told Yahoo Finance. “We expect this momentum to grow, especially as the agentic web takes shape. Microsoft’s main goal is to simplify how organizations, developers, and startups keep up with emerging technologies, ” Guthrie added. Microsoft reports that around 230, 000 organizations already use its Copilot Studio to develop custom AI agents, with expectations of deploying 1. 3 billion agents by 2028. At Monday’s event, Microsoft demonstrated several AI agent applications, including the Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit for building agents within Microsoft 365, GitHub Copilot to assist developers in code writing, and the functionality for AI agents to directly connect with native Windows apps. Carl Brisco, CTO and senior vice president at ODP Corporation (parent company of Office Depot), told Yahoo Finance that his teams leverage Microsoft’s AI agents to enhance customer outreach. These agents provide updates on optimal sales outreach timing based on purchase histories, product pricing, and relevant data. “Having that information appear daily in an interface recommending actions reduces the challenge of findability, ” Brisco explained. “It effectively structures a person’s day by ranking priorities such as, ‘This is your No.

1 priority to call and ensure satisfaction, this is No. 2, No. 3, No. 4. ’” Microsoft is also developing tools that will let customers build multi-agent systems using Copilot Studio, its low-code app for creating AI agents. These multi-agent systems will allow programmed agents to communicate and collaborate to perform multiple tasks.