What is Microsoft Agent 365?

Microsoft Agent 365 is Microsoft's governance, security, and control plane for AI agents in enterprise environments. It became generally available on May 1, 2026 at $15 per user per month as a standalone license, alongside the $99 per user per month Microsoft 365 E7 'Frontier Suite' that bundles Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent 365, and Entra Suite. Agent 365 provides agent identity (via Entra), audit logging, policy enforcement, cost attribution, and lifecycle management for both Microsoft-built agents (Copilot, Copilot Cowork) and third-party agents integrated into the Microsoft 365 environment.

What is Google Agent Development Kit (ADK)?

Google Agent Development Kit (ADK) is Google's open-source (Apache 2.0) framework for building AI agents, optimized for Gemini models and Vertex AI but usable with other models. It was first released in April 2025 (Python), followed by Java and Go versions in May 2025 and a TypeScript version in August 2025; as of October 6, 2026 the latest Python release is v2.11.0 (October 2, 2026). It distinguishes itself with native multimodal capabilities — agents can process text, images, video, and audio without separate adapters — and integrates with Vertex AI's enterprise governance, IAM, and regional residency features. Google's current public Flash model is Gemini 3.8 Flash; Gemini 4 Argon (announced September 30, 2026) is not yet generally available.

What is AWS Bedrock AgentCore?

AWS Bedrock AgentCore is the managed agent runtime within AWS Bedrock — the platform that lets enterprises build and deploy agents using Claude, Llama, Mistral, Amazon Nova, and other models with AWS-native security (IAM, VPC, KMS), observability (CloudWatch, X-Ray), and governance. AgentCore supports tool calling, retrieval, multi-step reasoning, and human-in-the-loop workflows. Since this page was first written AWS made AgentCore Harness generally available (June 2026), launched the AWS Agent Registry to general availability (August 2026), added agent payments over x402 and the Machine Payments Protocol, and added lifecycle hooks and TypeScript framework support for Evaluations (September 2026). It's the standard pattern for enterprises that have committed to AWS for both compute and data.

Which agent platform should I pick for enterprise?

It depends on where your data and identity already live. Microsoft Agent 365 is the default if your organization runs on Microsoft 365 — agents inherit M365 identity, governance, and audit. Google ADK is the default for Google Workspace + GCP shops, especially for multimodal workflows. AWS Bedrock AgentCore is the default for AWS-committed enterprises and offers the broadest multi-model selection (Claude, Llama, Mistral, Nova). For multi-cloud or vendor-neutral environments, AWS Bedrock has the widest model surface in May 2026.

How does Microsoft's AI agent development ecosystem compare to competitors?

As of October 2026, Microsoft's AI agent development ecosystem is strongest on governance and licensing simplicity: Agent 365 ($15 per user per month, or included in the $99 Microsoft 365 E7 suite, both generally available since May 1, 2026) gives every agent an Entra identity, Purview audit and policy controls, and covers Microsoft and third-party agents, and Microsoft 365 Copilot now offers both OpenAI and Anthropic Claude models. Google's competitor is the open-source Agent Development Kit on Vertex AI, which is strongest for multimodal agents and Google Workspace data and costs nothing beyond the models and Google Cloud services used. AWS Bedrock AgentCore is billed pay-as-you-go and offers the broadest model choice plus the deepest infrastructure features (managed harness, agent registry, agent payments, private networking). Microsoft licenses per user; Google and AWS bill per use.

Quick Answer

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

Published: May 28, 2026 • Updated: October 7, 2026

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

The enterprise AI agent platform market consolidated in 2026 around three hyperscaler offerings. Microsoft made Agent 365 generally available on May 1, 2026. Google’s open-source Agent Development Kit (ADK) runs agents on Gemini and Vertex AI. AWS Bedrock AgentCore keeps maturing as the multi-model choice. Here’s how Microsoft’s AI agent ecosystem compares with its competitors, and how to pick.

Last verified: October 6, 2026. (First published May 28, 2026.)

What changed as of October 2026

Microsoft pricing is public: Agent 365 is $15 per user per month standalone; Microsoft 365 E7 “Frontier Suite” (E5 + Microsoft 365 Copilot + Entra Suite + Agent 365) is $99 per user per month. Both went GA on May 1, 2026. The May version of this page showed E7 as “$XX/seat”.
Microsoft is no longer OpenAI-only: Microsoft 365 Copilot added Anthropic Claude models alongside OpenAI’s (announced March 9, 2026).
ADK predates 2026. Google first released ADK in April 2025 (Python), with Java, Go and TypeScript versions following in 2025; it is now at v2.11.0 (Python, October 2, 2026). The May version said it launched in 2026.
Gemini 4 was never part of ADK in May. Gemini 4 Argon was announced on September 30, 2026 and is still limited to Google’s Fairwind Program; Google’s current public Flash model is Gemini 3.8 Flash. See What is Gemini 4?.
AgentCore grew: Harness GA (June 2026), AWS Agent Registry GA (August 2026), agent payments via x402 / Machine Payments Protocol and Coinbase wallets (August 2026), lifecycle hooks, interactive shells and TypeScript Evaluations (September 2026), private-CA support in Gateway (October 2026).
Model names moved on: Anthropic’s current Opus is Claude Opus 5.5 (September 22, 2026, available on Bedrock from day one); OpenAI’s current flagship family is GPT-6. Model names below that say GPT-5.5, Claude Opus 4.7 or Gemini 3.5 Flash were correct for May 2026.

TL;DR table

	Microsoft Agent 365	Google ADK	AWS Bedrock AgentCore
Launch / status	GA May 1, 2026	Open source since April 2025; v2.11.0 (Oct 2026)	Mature; Harness GA Jun 2026, Agent Registry GA Aug 2026
Primary identity	Microsoft Entra	Google Cloud IAM + Workspace	AWS IAM
Bundled license	Agent 365 $15/user/mo standalone; included in E7 “Frontier Suite” at $99/user/mo	ADK itself free (Apache 2.0); pay for Gemini / Vertex usage	AWS pay-as-you-go (Bedrock pricing)
Native models	OpenAI models (GPT-5.5 in May 2026; GPT-6 family now), Microsoft proprietary	Gemini 3.8 Flash (Gemini 3.5 Flash in May), Gemma 4; Gemini 4 Argon not yet public	Claude Opus 5.5 (Opus 4.7 in May), Llama 5 (as of May 2026), Mistral, Nova, Cohere
Multi-vendor models	OpenAI + Anthropic Claude in Microsoft 365 Copilot (since Mar 2026)	Anthropic on Vertex available	Broadest — most models
Multimodal native	Strong (Copilot vision/voice)	Strongest — multimodal first	Strong (per-model)
Governance plane	Best-in-class for M365	Strong, Vertex-integrated	Strong, AWS-integrated
Best for	M365 shops	Google + multimodal	Multi-model, AWS shops

What Microsoft Agent 365 actually is

Microsoft Agent 365 became generally available on May 1, 2026 at $15 per user per month 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 at $99 per user per month — 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 open-source framework for building multimodal AI agents on Vertex AI. First released in April 2025 (Python; Java and Go in May 2025, TypeScript in August 2025), it got key model updates at Google I/O 2026 (May 19-20):

Gemini 3.5 Flash as the go-to agentic model in May 2026 — fast, cheap, multimodal, GA May 19, 2026 (as of October 2026 Google’s current Flash model is Gemini 3.8 Flash)
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 Flash models, Gemma 4 (open-source), and Anthropic Claude (available on Vertex). Correction: the May version listed Gemini 4 here; Gemini 4 Argon was only announced on September 30, 2026 and is not yet generally available.
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 (May 2026 line-up; Claude Opus 5.5 has been on Bedrock since September 22, 2026)
Newer AgentCore pieces (2026): managed Harness (GA June 2026), AWS Agent Registry (GA August 2026), agent payments via x402 and the Machine Payments Protocol, lifecycle hooks for allow/deny decisions on tool calls (September 2026)
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 in May 2026; Claude Opus 5.5 arrived on Bedrock on its launch day (September 22, 2026).

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?

These picks are from May 2026. As of October 2026 the current flagships are OpenAI’s GPT-6 family, Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5 and Google’s Gemini 3.8 Flash (Gemini 4 Argon is not yet public).

Goal	Microsoft Agent 365	Google ADK	AWS Bedrock AgentCore
Best for coding	GPT-5.5 (via OpenAI)	Gemini 4 or Claude (via Vertex)	Claude Opus 4.7
Best for multimodal	GPT-5.5 vision	Gemini 3.5 Flash / Gemini 4	Claude Opus 4.7 vision
Cheapest fast	GPT-5.5 mini	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Claude Haiku / Nova Lite
Best for retrieval/RAG	Microsoft Graph + GPT-5.5	Vertex AI Search	Bedrock Knowledge Bases
Open-source option	Limited	Gemma 4	Llama 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.