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Microsoft Agent 365 vs Google ADK vs AWS Bedrock AgentCore (May 2026)

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Microsoft Agent 365 vs Google ADK vs AWS Bedrock AgentCore (May 2026)

The enterprise AI agent platform market consolidated in May 2026 around three hyperscaler offerings. Microsoft launched Agent 365 (May 1). Google made Gemini 3.5 Flash the default for ADK (Google I/O May 19-20). AWS Bedrock AgentCore continues maturing as the multi-model choice. Here’s how to pick.

Last verified: May 28, 2026.

TL;DR table

Microsoft Agent 365Google ADKAWS Bedrock AgentCore
Launch / statusGA May 1, 20262026 GA, Gemini 3.5 Flash default May 19Mature, iterating
Primary identityMicrosoft EntraGoogle Cloud IAM + WorkspaceAWS IAM
Bundled licenseE7 “Frontier Suite” ($XX/seat)Google AI / Workspace / Vertex tiersAWS pay-as-you-go (Bedrock pricing)
Native modelsGPT-5.5 (via OpenAI), Microsoft proprietaryGemini 3.5 Flash (default), Gemini 4, Gemma 4Claude Opus 4.7, Llama 5, Mistral, Nova, Cohere
Multi-vendor modelsLimited (OpenAI primary)Anthropic on Vertex availableBroadest — most models
Multimodal nativeStrong (Copilot vision/voice)Strongest — multimodal firstStrong (per-model)
Governance planeBest-in-class for M365Strong, Vertex-integratedStrong, AWS-integrated
Best forM365 shopsGoogle + multimodalMulti-model, AWS shops

What Microsoft Agent 365 actually is

Microsoft Agent 365 launched May 1, 2026 as the governance, security, and control plane for AI agents in Microsoft enterprise environments. It’s not an agent itself — it’s the layer that manages agents.

Key capabilities:

  • Agent identity via Microsoft Entra — each agent has a managed identity, treated like a service principal
  • Policy enforcement — what data agents can access, which tools they can call, when they need human approval
  • Audit logging — full chain-of-custody for agent actions, integrated with Microsoft Purview
  • Cost attribution — per-agent, per-team, per-project usage tracking
  • Lifecycle management — provisioning, deprovisioning, version control for agents
  • Coverage: Microsoft-built agents (Copilot, Copilot Cowork) AND third-party agents that integrate via Microsoft’s agent registry

Launched alongside Agent 365 was the E7 “Frontier Suite” license — bundling M365 E5 + Copilot + Agent 365 + Entra Suite. This is Microsoft’s procurement play: one SKU, all the AI governance pieces, easy enterprise sales.

What Google Agent Development Kit (ADK) does

Google ADK is the framework for building multimodal AI agents on Vertex AI. Launched in 2026 with key updates at Google I/O 2026 (May 19-20):

  • Gemini 3.5 Flash as default agentic model — fast, cheap, multimodal, GA May 19, 2026
  • Native multimodal from day one — text, images, video, audio without separate adapters
  • Vertex AI governance — IAM, regional residency, audit logs, model registry
  • Tool calling, retrieval, multi-step reasoning — standard agent primitives
  • Multi-model surface — Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini 4, Gemma 4 (open-source), and Anthropic Claude (available on Vertex)
  • Tight Workspace integration — Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar accessible via managed connectors

Google ADK is the cleanest choice when multimodal matters — vision-heavy agents (product images, medical imaging, document understanding), video processing agents, or any workflow that crosses modalities natively.

What AWS Bedrock AgentCore does

AWS Bedrock is the broadest multi-model agent platform in May 2026. AgentCore is the managed agent runtime within Bedrock:

  • Model selection: Claude Opus 4.7, Sonnet 4.6, Llama 5, Mistral Large 2, Amazon Nova, Cohere Command — single API
  • AWS-native security: IAM, VPC isolation, KMS encryption, PrivateLink, AWS Outposts for hybrid
  • Observability: CloudWatch, X-Ray, integrated billing
  • Tool calling and retrieval: Bedrock Knowledge Bases for managed RAG
  • Human-in-the-loop: native pause/approve/resume workflows
  • Regional residency: Sovereign regions, GovCloud, dozens of regions for data localization
  • Hybrid via Outposts: extend Bedrock-compatible workflows to on-prem racks

The biggest strength: vendor-neutral model selection. If you don’t want to bet on a single frontier lab, Bedrock lets you mix models per workflow and switch as winners change.

Where each one wins

Microsoft Agent 365 wins

  • Microsoft 365-native shops. Identity, documents, email, Teams, calendar — agents inherit the existing security plane.
  • Procurement simplicity. E7 license bundles everything. One PO covers the AI stack.
  • Best-in-class governance. Agent 365’s policy enforcement and audit are the most mature in May 2026.
  • Copilot Cowork integration. Microsoft’s own multi-step autonomous agent service runs natively here.
  • Existing Microsoft enterprise contracts. If you have an EA already, adding Agent 365 is fast.

Google ADK wins

  • Multimodal-first workflows. Vision, video, audio agents are cleaner here than anywhere.
  • Google Workspace shops. Agents accessing Gmail, Docs, Drive get native managed connectors.
  • Cost on routine work. Gemini 3.5 Flash is the cheapest fast frontier model in May 2026, and it’s the default in ADK.
  • Open-source model option. Gemma 4 lets you run open-weight on Vertex for compliance scenarios.
  • Gemini Omni for video. Video-generation agents have no real cross-platform equivalent.

AWS Bedrock AgentCore wins

  • Multi-model selection. Most models, single API. Best for teams that want flexibility.
  • Mature AWS-native security. IAM + VPC + KMS + PrivateLink is the gold standard.
  • Largest enterprise install base. AWS is the dominant cloud in May 2026 enterprise.
  • Sovereign + GovCloud reach. Most mature sovereign and federal region network.
  • Hybrid via Outposts. Closest AWS equivalent to on-prem.
  • Anthropic models native. Claude Opus 4.7 + Sonnet 4.6 first-class on Bedrock.

Decision tree

Where does your enterprise live?
├── Microsoft 365 (Entra identity, M365 apps) → Microsoft Agent 365 + E7 license
├── Google Workspace + GCP → Google ADK on Vertex AI
├── AWS-committed → AWS Bedrock AgentCore
├── Multi-cloud / vendor-neutral → AWS Bedrock (broadest model surface)
└── Air-gap / strict on-prem → OpenAI-Dell (May 2026) for OpenAI models; Bedrock + Outposts for hybrid Claude

Sub-pattern: which models inside each platform?

GoalMicrosoft Agent 365Google ADKAWS Bedrock AgentCore
Best for codingGPT-5.5 (via OpenAI)Gemini 4 or Claude (via Vertex)Claude Opus 4.7
Best for multimodalGPT-5.5 visionGemini 3.5 Flash / Gemini 4Claude Opus 4.7 vision
Cheapest fastGPT-5.5 miniGemini 3.5 FlashClaude Haiku / Nova Lite
Best for retrieval/RAGMicrosoft Graph + GPT-5.5Vertex AI SearchBedrock Knowledge Bases
Open-source optionLimitedGemma 4Llama 5, Mistral Large 2

The governance angle

All three platforms now treat agent governance as a first-class plane — not an afterthought. This is the right architectural pattern, and the difference between 2024-era “we built a chatbot” and 2026-era “we deployed governed agents.”

Specifically, all three support:

  • Agent identity (managed credentials, not human user accounts)
  • Per-agent policy enforcement
  • Audit trails for every agent action
  • Cost attribution per agent / team / project
  • Lifecycle management (versioning, deprovisioning)

What differs is integration depth with the rest of the enterprise stack. Microsoft has the deepest M365 integration. Google has the deepest Workspace/Vertex integration. AWS has the deepest infrastructure-level integration.

What about Salesforce Agentforce, ServiceNow, Writer?

These are vertical agent platforms — Agentforce for CRM, ServiceNow for ITSM, Writer for marketing content. They’re not direct competitors to Microsoft Agent 365 / Google ADK / AWS Bedrock AgentCore (which are horizontal platforms). Many enterprises run both — Bedrock AgentCore for internal IT agents, Agentforce for customer-facing CRM agents, with Microsoft Agent 365 governing M365-resident agents.

Verdict

  • You’re a Microsoft 365 shop: Microsoft Agent 365 + E7 Frontier Suite.
  • You’re Google Workspace + GCP: Google ADK on Vertex AI.
  • You’re AWS-committed or multi-cloud: AWS Bedrock AgentCore.
  • You want broadest model selection in one place: AWS Bedrock AgentCore.
  • You want best multimodal agents: Google ADK.
  • You want deepest M365 governance: Microsoft Agent 365.

The May 2026 takeaway: enterprise AI agent platforms are now mostly a function of which hyperscaler you already use. Pick the one that aligns with your existing identity, data, and procurement gravity. Multi-platform deployments are common in large enterprises — but most start by adopting the platform their cloud provider offers, then expand.

Sources: Microsoft Agent 365 launch (May 1, 2026), Microsoft E7 Frontier Suite announcement, Google I/O 2026 keynote (May 19-20), Google Agent Development Kit docs, Vertex AI ADK announcements, AWS Bedrock AgentCore documentation, AWS re:Invent 2025 agent announcements.