Microsoft unveils AI agents as UK government signs major tech deal

Microsoft has announced plans to launch autonomous artificial intelligence agents next month, alongside signing a significant five-year partnership with the UK government to boost public sector technology adoption.

The technology giant will allow customers to create AI agents through its Copilot Studio platform from November, positioning the technology as “apps for an AI-driven world”. Unlike traditional chatbots, these autonomous agents can operate with minimal human oversight to handle tasks ranging from client queries to inventory management.

Early adopter McKinsey & Company has already implemented an agent to process new client inquiries and schedule follow-up meetings, with the company reporting a 30 per cent reduction in administrative work during pilot testing.

Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president of business and industry Copilot at Microsoft, told Reuters: “The idea is that Copilot is the user interface for AI. Every employee will have a Copilot, their personalised AI agent, and then they will use that Copilot to interface and interact with the sea of AI agents that will be out there.”

The announcement comes as Microsoft deepens its relationship with the UK public sector through a new five-year agreement with Crown Commercial Service. Starting from 1 November, the deal will give eligible public sector organisations access to Microsoft’s AI-powered products, including Microsoft 365, Azure cloud platform, and Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Clare Barclay, chief executive officer of Microsoft UK, said: “AI technologies present a unique opportunity to transform public services and fuel the UK’s economic growth. This exciting new five-year partnership will mean Microsoft can continue to support the UK government to create a world-class, digital-first public sector infrastructure.”

Roger Gonourie, chief commercial officer at Crown Commercial Service, added: “This agreement will support eligible public sector organisations to pursue their digital transformation and innovation ambitions, by enabling them to benefit from leveraging the size and scale of the UK public sector.”

Recent research from Public First suggests that accelerating digital technology adoption could add £550 billion to the UK’s GDP by 2035. However, Andrew Rogoyski, director at the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey, cautioned that while AI agents show promise for generating returns on investment, “we’ve yet to deliver an agent that is as capable as a human worker.”