Artificial Intelligence is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and one of the most exciting developments is the rise of agentic AI—autonomous systems that can reason, plan, and take action on behalf of users. In a recent Microsoft Reactor live session, experts from Azure AI shared insights on why AI agents are the next frontier, how Microsoft Foundry accelerates agent development, and practical steps to get started.
Why Agentic AI Matters
AI agents are no longer a distant vision—they’re here and transforming how businesses operate. According to industry analysts:
- Over 1 billion AI agents are expected to be in use by 2028.
- 80% of organisations plan to integrate agents within the next 2–3 years.
- By 2026, 40% of enterprise apps will include task-specific AI agents.
Why this surge? Agents address critical challenges such as inefficiencies in manual processes, human error, lack of visibility, and scalability issues. They enable autonomous decision-making, with projections suggesting that by 2028, half of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously.
From Chatbots to Intelligent Agents
As Mary Joe highlighted, early chatbots relied on rigid rules and regular expressions, often leading to frustrating user experiences. The introduction of large language models (LLMs) changed the game, making interactions more natural. But true autonomy, where systems act on our behalf, required more than conversational AI.
Agentic AI combines:
- Reasoning and planning capabilities.
- Tools and APIs for real-world actions.
- Memory for learning and improving over time.
This evolution moves us beyond simple input-output interactions to intelligent systems that can execute workflows, validate data, and deliver outcomes.
Microsoft Foundry: Your Platform for Building Agents
Microsoft Foundry offers a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) approach for creating AI agents, striking a balance between control and ease of use. Key components include:
- Model Catalogue: Access models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and more.
- Foundry Agent Service: Build and customise agents with integrated tools.
- Foundry IQ: Knowledge grounding for accurate responses.
- Control Plane: Ensures safety, trust, and observability in production.
Whether you need full control (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) or simplicity (Software-as-a-Service via Copilot Studio), Foundry provides flexibility for diverse scenarios.
What Makes an AI Solution Agentic?
Unlike traditional AI apps that perform narrow tasks (e.g., extracting text from receipts), agentic solutions:
- Analyse inputs using LLMs and system instructions.
- Integrate tools for actions like file search, code execution, or API calls.
- Retain memory for contextual learning.
- Operate autonomously across workflows.
Real-World Use Cases
Agentic AI unlocks new possibilities across industries:
- Expense Management: Automate claims and approvals.
- Employee Onboarding: Personalised learning paths and skills navigation.
- Customer Support: Intelligent assistants for FAQs and troubleshooting.
- Data Analytics: Interactive insights and reporting with Fabric agents.
Multi-agent systems can coordinate complex tasks, with specialised agents handling subtasks under a central orchestrator.
Getting Started with Microsoft Foundry
Creating your first agent is simple:
- Sign in at https://ai.azure.com and create a Foundry project.
- Select a model (e.g., GPT-4.1 mini) and configure deployment options.
- Customise instructions to define your agent’s persona and tasks.
- Add tools like file search or code interpreter for extended functionality.
- Test and iterate using the agent playground, then export code to Visual Studio Code for deployment.
For detailed guidance, explore the https://learn.microsoft.com/training.
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Join the Community
Stay connected and keep learning:
- Discord: Engage with developers building agents. https://aka.ms/foundry/discord
- GitHub Discussions: Share ideas and troubleshoot. https://aka.ms/foundrydevs
- Office Hours: Get direct support from product teams.
Final Thoughts
Agentic AI is reshaping the way we work, enabling systems to act, learn, and collaborate. With Microsoft Foundry, developers have the tools to build secure, scalable, and intelligent agents today not tomorrow. Join the sessions at https://aka.ms/AzureSkilling-Ignite/25
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