Ignite awash with agents as Microsoft triples down on AI
(2025/11/19)
- Reference: 1763555592
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/11/19/microsoft_ai_agents_ignite/
- Source link:
The Copilot company kicked off its Ignite shindig this week with AI, AI, and more AI. Oh, and a lot of agents.
Microsoft's [1]Book of News mentions the words "Copilot" almost 200 times and "agent" 400 times.
As if to make clear that it really wasn't [2]listening to user complaints about its relentless focus on AI technology, Microsoft showed off agents aplenty in San Francisco, but precious little to relieve pressure on administrators having to deal with yet another broken Windows update.
[3]
While Ignite is aimed at IT professionals, there wasn't much to interest administrators on the Windows front. While sticking Ask Copilot on the Taskbar and building in support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) might make for some good demos, it won't help with the day-to-day challenges of managing a fleet of Windows devices.
[4]
[5]
And we can imagine the horror with which admins will greet Agent Workspace on Windows, "an isolated, policy-controlled, and auditable environment where agents can interact with software much like humans do."
Microsoft stated: "All agentic interactions involving MCP and computer-using agents will run in Agent Workspace, setting a new standard in enterprise security."
[6]
Some genuinely useful tools are rolling out, however. Autopatch Update Readiness, which aims to show admins the state of devices, received a nod. Extra recovery options for Windows 11 are handy, but don't address the operating system's general stability (and there is an argument that if Windows were more resilient, it wouldn't need additional recovery options).
Hardware acceleration for BitLocker "in new devices with supported hardware," while welcome, is of little help to the here and now. However, the arrival of Sysmon functionality in Windows will be useful for event and process tracking, so long as Microsoft doesn't [7]do a "Task Manager" on the tool.
But AI and agents are the stars of the show. Microsoft Agent 365 is designed to extend the infrastructure for managing users to agents. There are a lot of agents either in preview or generally available. Don't want humans chasing leads? There's the Sales Development Agent. How about reducing the human in Human Resources? There's the Workforce Insights, People, and Learning Agents for that.
[8]
Other agents are turning up in SharePoint and Teams, allowing admins to "automate and streamline administrative tasks." The SharePoint Admin Agent will also address permissions sprawl, overshared content, and archiving and access adjustments.
[9]Microsoft spins up Azure HorizonDB to take on distributed Postgres rivals
[10]Microsoft reveals new cloudy AI PC that's not a Copilot+ PC
[11]Microsoft blanks out BSODs on public displays with new 'Digital Signage mode'
[12]Microsoft issues patch to tackle Windows 10 Extended Security Updates failures
And then there are agents turning up in Microsoft 365 Copilot for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, designed to deal with tasks such as research or formatting.
Other agents include arrivals in Security Copilot for change review, policy configuration, and device offboarding. Azure Copilot is also getting the agent treatment. Microsoft said: "The new, specialized agents will be able to help customers migrate, operate and continuously modernize workloads running anywhere for efficient end-to-end lifecycle management."
Microsoft would insist that AI agents are there to improve productivity, but it isn't difficult to imagine some managers pondering where humans might be removed from the loop.
Microsoft's messaging remains confused, with Copilot and agent repeatedly appearing in products (and their roadmaps). Users say they have been left struggling to work out what is preview and what is going to make it to production.
Not so much "Ignite" but more "It might." ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://news.microsoft.com/ignite-2025-book-of-news/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/17/windows_agentic_os_feedback/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/31/microsoft_has_managed_to_break/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/19/microsoft_azure_horizondb/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/19/microsoft_virtual_pc_update/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/windows_bsod_digital_signage_mode/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/windows_10_esu_patch/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Microsoft's [1]Book of News mentions the words "Copilot" almost 200 times and "agent" 400 times.
As if to make clear that it really wasn't [2]listening to user complaints about its relentless focus on AI technology, Microsoft showed off agents aplenty in San Francisco, but precious little to relieve pressure on administrators having to deal with yet another broken Windows update.
[3]
While Ignite is aimed at IT professionals, there wasn't much to interest administrators on the Windows front. While sticking Ask Copilot on the Taskbar and building in support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) might make for some good demos, it won't help with the day-to-day challenges of managing a fleet of Windows devices.
[4]
[5]
And we can imagine the horror with which admins will greet Agent Workspace on Windows, "an isolated, policy-controlled, and auditable environment where agents can interact with software much like humans do."
Microsoft stated: "All agentic interactions involving MCP and computer-using agents will run in Agent Workspace, setting a new standard in enterprise security."
[6]
Some genuinely useful tools are rolling out, however. Autopatch Update Readiness, which aims to show admins the state of devices, received a nod. Extra recovery options for Windows 11 are handy, but don't address the operating system's general stability (and there is an argument that if Windows were more resilient, it wouldn't need additional recovery options).
Hardware acceleration for BitLocker "in new devices with supported hardware," while welcome, is of little help to the here and now. However, the arrival of Sysmon functionality in Windows will be useful for event and process tracking, so long as Microsoft doesn't [7]do a "Task Manager" on the tool.
But AI and agents are the stars of the show. Microsoft Agent 365 is designed to extend the infrastructure for managing users to agents. There are a lot of agents either in preview or generally available. Don't want humans chasing leads? There's the Sales Development Agent. How about reducing the human in Human Resources? There's the Workforce Insights, People, and Learning Agents for that.
[8]
Other agents are turning up in SharePoint and Teams, allowing admins to "automate and streamline administrative tasks." The SharePoint Admin Agent will also address permissions sprawl, overshared content, and archiving and access adjustments.
[9]Microsoft spins up Azure HorizonDB to take on distributed Postgres rivals
[10]Microsoft reveals new cloudy AI PC that's not a Copilot+ PC
[11]Microsoft blanks out BSODs on public displays with new 'Digital Signage mode'
[12]Microsoft issues patch to tackle Windows 10 Extended Security Updates failures
And then there are agents turning up in Microsoft 365 Copilot for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, designed to deal with tasks such as research or formatting.
Other agents include arrivals in Security Copilot for change review, policy configuration, and device offboarding. Azure Copilot is also getting the agent treatment. Microsoft said: "The new, specialized agents will be able to help customers migrate, operate and continuously modernize workloads running anywhere for efficient end-to-end lifecycle management."
Microsoft would insist that AI agents are there to improve productivity, but it isn't difficult to imagine some managers pondering where humans might be removed from the loop.
Microsoft's messaging remains confused, with Copilot and agent repeatedly appearing in products (and their roadmaps). Users say they have been left struggling to work out what is preview and what is going to make it to production.
Not so much "Ignite" but more "It might." ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://news.microsoft.com/ignite-2025-book-of-news/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/17/windows_agentic_os_feedback/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/31/microsoft_has_managed_to_break/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aR33qVUG3WRRmRM69ehKHQAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/19/microsoft_azure_horizondb/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/19/microsoft_virtual_pc_update/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/windows_bsod_digital_signage_mode/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/windows_10_esu_patch/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Stacy
Or... Working from home that has been shown to increase productivity for those where it's possible.
Or treating people with respect, an honest salary, and ensuring that they are comfortable?
Or... The 4 day week that has also shown to be more productive... (Without reducing salary, of course)
All of these things can increase productivity, and quality.
But no, let's replace people with bots...
cyberdemon
> Some of the agents are undoubtedly useful and increase staff productivity.
Yes, if the operation is scamming old grannies out of their savings, you may be right.
Doctor Syntax
I suppose by now there must be agents to manage the agents but are there any agents to manage the agents managing the agents?
Yes, it's agents all the way down.
Some of the agents are undoubtedly useful and increase staff productivity.
My question is, on a pound for unit of productivity gain, was AI the best way to get that?
What if, for example, you brought in free lunches and a tea trolley. Would staff leave their desk less and deliver more work output as a result?
More shitters cutting toilet time.
Company bus to the office from mainline train stations.
Etc etc.