> 📥 The full overview is available as a PDF (one-pager, Danish). Download it at the top of the page — the four layers, the building blocks and the three questions on a single page.
Governance comes first. Then the agents get to act.
At many enterprise clients the AI shop is running at full speed, and the infrastructure for the agents is being laid while the train is moving. Without identity, a named owner and clear access terms, nobody can see, steer or answer for the agents that are already in production.
The right order
1. Identity. Every agent gets its own identity in Entra Agent ID.
2. A named owner. A human stands behind each agent. If that person leaves the company, ownership moves automatically to their manager.
3. Access and data. Purview decides which data the agent may use, and on what terms.
4. Registry and discovery. Agent 365 holds the registry and also finds the agents nobody knew were there.
Building governance at the same time as operations feels backwards. But it is the right order: the first three layers must be in place before an agent is allowed to do anything that matters.
The building blocks
| Building block | What it does |
|---|---|
| Entra Agent ID | Gives each agent an identity and a named owner, with automatic handover to the manager. |
| Agent 365 | Registry, access control and discovery. Also finds local agents via Defender and Intune. Generally available May 1, 2026. |
| Purview | Controls which data the agents may use. |
| Copilot Studio | Where your colleagues build the agents you can already see and govern today. |
Start here
The practical place to start is Copilot. You already have it, IT has approved it, and the agents your colleagues build in Copilot Studio are the ones you can already see and govern today.
Worth knowing: this is not a rejection of Claude or other specialised agents. The Microsoft platform promises to keep track of a bit of everything.
Three questions to ask internally
1. Do you know how many agents are already running in your organisation, and who owns them?
2. Does every agent have a named owner, and what happens when that person leaves?
3. Which data are your agents allowed to use, and who decided that?
Practical overview for leaders and practitioners, not legal or compliance advice. Products and dates are Microsoft's and may change. Status as of September 2026.