Microsoft made some big AI announcements this year at its annual developer conference, Microsoft Build.
One of the biggest AI announcements from today’s event is undoubtedly Microsoft Scout, a personal AI agent from the company. Microsoft Scout is the first in a new class of AI agents that Microsoft calls Autopilots, “agents that always work autonomously, have their own identity, and work for you.”
“As models become more functional and more available, the point of difference for any organization is no longer access to intelligence, but ownership,” Microsoft said in a statement. “Does your expertise, data and methodology become a system that continues to learn and deliver better results? The goal is an ecosystem that gives companies their agency, not one that returns profits to a consultant or model maker.”
“Your agents should reflect the way you think and work, from your business acumen and institutional knowledge, to your performance,” the company continues.
This is where Microsoft Scout comes in.
Microsoft is introducing a new MAI family of AI models for communication, voice, coding, and graphics
Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft Scout is a new “always on” independent task agent. Microsoft says the AI agent “will understand how you work, use the tools you already live in, like Teams and Outlook, and handle things like meetings, scheduling conflicts, and common tasks without asking.”
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According to Microsoft, the new agent is built on OpenClaw and WorkIQ. OpenClaw is an open source AI agent that took the industry by storm late last year. Earlier this year, in February, OpenAI earned OpenClaw also hired its founder. According to Microsoft, WorkIQ is “the AI intelligence layer behind Microsoft 365 Copilot.”
During the Microsoft Build 2026 keynote, Microsoft pitched its tools as a safe way to use AI agents.
“Agents can perform multi-step workflows locally while working within operating system-enforced boundaries rather than unmanaged user sessions,” said Microsoft Developer CMO Kyle Daigle. “This reduces the risk when agents execute code, access files, or communicate with networks on the device.”
At a press conference before Microsoft Build, the company also unveiled new Microsoft containers designed to run agents securely.
“Microsoft is making Windows a native runtime, and that starts with Microsoft’s new containers,” Daigle said. “This will be in preview, and it gives developers and IT managers one way to create those enterprise-grade sandbox environments for agents with content that is enforced by the application itself. So you can define your requirements once, and Windows enforces them everywhere your agents work.”
How to try Microsoft Scout
Microsoft Scout is now available to Frontier customers.
Frontier is Microsoft’s platform that provides early access to its latest AI products in Microsoft 365. The company says that anyone with a Microsoft 365 subscription can access Frontier. Microsoft says it will share more about Scout and the wider release soon.
You can learn more about Autopilots and Microsoft Scout on the Microsoft website.
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