aiqbench analysis
Microsoft has transitioned its Agent Framework from an open-source SDK to a governed production runtime with general availability, consolidating previous tools like Semantic Kernel and AutoGen into a single supported binary. This shift provides platform teams with essential capabilities for running agents in local or hosted environments while offering built-in observability, tool approval workflows, and consumption-based hosting options via Foundry Hosted Agents. The release marks the maturation of agent technology from experimental libraries to enterprise-ready infrastructure that addresses critical concerns around execution safety, context management, and multi-step task orchestration.
Microsoft Agent Framework Harness and Hosted Agents Reach General Availability
Microsoft's Agent Framework now ships a supported runtime. Build 2026 brought the Agent Harness, the GitHub Copilot and Claude Agent SDK connectors, and the orchestration patterns to stable release; the harness and Foundry Hosted Agents have since reached GA. The shift is from an SDK for building agents to a governed platform for running them. By Steef-Jan Wiggers
Microsoft has moved Agent Framework past the SDK stage and into a supported production runtime. The framework reached 1.0 general availability on April 2, 2026; Build 2026, held June 2 to 3, brought the Agent Harness, the GitHub Copilot SDK and Claude Agent SDK connectors, and the multi-agent orchestration patterns to stable release. The harness and Foundry Hosted Agents have since reached general availability, giving platform teams a way to run and govern agents, not only a library to build them with. It runs…
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