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Microsoft Agent 365 vs Okta for AI Agents

Microsoft Agent 365

Microsoft 365 control plane to discover, manage, govern, and secure AI agents

Okta for AI Agents

Okta offering that gives AI agents a first-class identity so organizations can discover, onboard, protect, and govern them

Short answer

Microsoft Agent 365 is a Microsoft 365 control plane for agents built and run elsewhere, with agent identities from Microsoft Entra; Okta says Okta for AI Agents gives AI agents a first-class identity, registered in an Okta org alongside workforce users.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7 Agent 365 is licensed per user; Okta says its product is a separate subscription.⁠Source 5, Source 8

By Blocks.ai teamLast checked

Where each one sits

Six layers of running AI agents at a company, and what each product’s own public sources say it covers.

These aren’t the same kind of product

Where they overlap
Both register agents built elsewhere, give agents identities, name people accountable for them, control what agents can access, and log agent events.⁠Source 1, Source 4, Source 5, Source 9, Source 10, Source 11, Source 12, Source 13, Source 14
Where they differ
Agent 365, a Microsoft 365 service, also collects runtime activity from supported agents and uses Entra Agent ID for identities.⁠Source 1, Source 4, Source 10 Okta says its product itself gives agents a first-class identity.⁠Source 5
Running both
Okta’s docs say it can import agents built in Microsoft’s separate Copilot Studio and AI Foundry, with at least one Agent 365 license in the tenant.⁠Source 15, Source 16
Public sources · checked 2 October 2026
  • Offered
  • Preview
  • Not included
  • Not publicly documented

Microsoft Agent 365

  • Build agents: Not includedUse your chosen framework⁠Source 2
  • Host and run agents: Not includedYou host your agent⁠Source 3
  • Identity and access: OfferedEntra Agent ID⁠Source 4
  • Registry and governance: OfferedAgent registry in admin center⁠Source 9
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: PreviewTooling Gateway for MCP servers⁠Source 17
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

Okta for AI Agents

  • Build agents: Not publicly documented
  • Host and run agents: Not publicly documented
  • Identity and access: OfferedAgent identity and credentials⁠Source 12
  • Registry and governance: OfferedUniversal Directory with human owners⁠Source 7
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: PreviewAgent Gateway for MCP tools⁠Source 18
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

At a glance

TopicMicrosoft Agent 365Okta for AI Agents
Agent identityAgent 365 uses Microsoft Entra Agent ID for agent identities.⁠Source 4 The inventory also lists agents without an Entra agent identity.⁠Source 19Okta says agents get an identity in Universal Directory, alongside workforce users, with cryptographic credentials.⁠Source 7
Agents it coversMicrosoft and third-party agents, which keep their own host, such as Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or on premises.⁠Source 1, Source 3 Premium capabilities may vary by agent type and platform.⁠Source 8Okta says it manages agents from any vendor, agents built in-house, and agents embedded in purchased software.⁠Source 5, Source 20
What you need firstFor enterprise customers, Microsoft 365 E5, or E3 with Defender Suite and Purview Suite, plus at least one user with an Agent 365 license.⁠Source 8, Source 21An Okta org subscribed to Okta for AI Agents.⁠Source 22
Pricing modelLists at $15 per user per month, or in Microsoft 365 E7.⁠Source 8 Basic identity and inventory come with Microsoft Cloud subscriptions; enterprise customers need Microsoft 365 E5, or E3 with the Defender and Purview suites.⁠Source 8A separate subscription that can be added to an Okta suite plan.⁠Source 5, Source 23 A list price is not publicly documented.
Generally availableSince 1 May 2026, for the Commercial segment.⁠Source 21Okta announced general availability in a post dated 29 April 2026.⁠Source 24 Okta says customers can request Agent Gateway, in preview, as a research release.⁠Source 20

What each one is

Microsoft Agent 365

Microsoft Agent 365 is a Microsoft 365 service that provides a centralized control plane to discover, manage, govern, and secure AI agents.⁠Source 1 It is administered across the agent registry in the Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft Entra, and Microsoft Purview.⁠Source 21

Okta for AI Agents

Okta for AI Agents is an Okta product, sold as a separate subscription, to discover, manage, and secure the AI agent lifecycle in an Okta org.⁠Source 5, Source 6 Okta says agents are registered in Universal Directory alongside workforce users; admins can define which resources each can access.⁠Source 7, Source 13

The differences that matter

  1. Where agent identities live

    Microsoft Agent 365

    Agent 365 uses Microsoft Entra Agent ID: each agent identity is an Entra service principal, managed with the tenant’s Conditional Access and consent controls.⁠Source 4

    Okta for AI Agents

    Okta says it registers agents in Universal Directory alongside workforce users and federates with a company’s identity provider over protocols such as OIDC and SAML.⁠Source 7, Source 25

    Microsoft splits the work: Agent 365 discovers and inventories agents, while Entra Agent ID handles identities, permissions, and protections.⁠Source 26

  2. How access is controlled

    Microsoft Agent 365

    Agent 365 controls tenant-wide which tools agents can access, and its policy templates bundle Entra, Purview, SharePoint, and Defender policies.⁠Source 1, Source 27

    Okta for AI Agents

    Okta admins can define which resources each agent can access and can limit token scopes for some resource types; agent-to-agent tokens are scoped and expire.⁠Source 13, Source 28

    Each has an MCP gateway in preview: Agent 365 routes registered MCP servers through its Tooling Gateway; Okta says its Agent Gateway checks each tool call made through it.⁠Source 17, Source 20

  3. Finding agents nobody registered

    Microsoft Agent 365

    The registry counts unmanaged agents, created or managed outside Agent 365; in preview, registry sync and a Local agents page can discover agents.⁠Source 9, Source 29, Source 30, Source 31

    Okta for AI Agents

    Okta ISPM discovers agents from several sources, including shadow agents in managed browsers; endpoint discovery is in early access.⁠Source 32, Source 33

    Okta’s Core SKU for regulated environments excludes ISPM.⁠Source 32, Source 34

For security teams

What a security review asks, answered from each vendor’s public documentation.

TopicMicrosoft Agent 365Okta for AI Agents
Network exposureNotifications (preview) need an endpoint Agent 365 sends to.⁠Source 35 Agent 365’s private networking is not publicly documented.Whether agents need an inbound endpoint is not publicly documented. Okta’s Agent Gateway, in preview, has an Okta-hosted URL.⁠Source 36
IdentityAgent identities are Microsoft Entra service principals, managed with Conditional Access and consent; the inventory also lists agents without one.⁠Source 4, Source 19Manually added agents identify with a client ID, secret, key pair, or metadata document; agent-to-agent tokens are scoped and expire.⁠Source 12, Source 28
Access changes and revocationBlock agents organization-wide (Copilot Chat only for SharePoint and Foundry agents), or disable an Entra blueprint’s agents in one operation.⁠Source 4, Source 37Okta says deactivating an agent immediately blocks new sessions; removing a resource connection denies future access requests to it.⁠Source 14, Source 38
Audit trailSupported agents’ activity shows in Defender, Purview, and the admin center; Purview’s agent audit logs need E7 or Agent 365.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 10Agent events land in Okta’s System Log; log streaming sends them to Amazon EventBridge or Splunk Cloud.⁠Source 6, Source 39
ComplianceNot yet a Core Online Service; runs on SOC- and ISO-audited services.⁠Source 10 Microsoft announced FedRAMP High authorization is pending.⁠Source 1Okta says the company holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001; its Core SKU is generally available for FedRAMP and HIPAA.⁠Source 34, Source 40

Full comparison

18 criteria in five groups. Every cell links to its source, or says no public source answers it.

Microsoft Agent 365 and Okta for AI Agents compared on 18 criteria
Microsoft Agent 365Okta for AI Agents
What it is
What it is and who it’s forMicrosoft 365 service that provides a centralized control plane to discover, manage, govern, and secure AI agents, for IT and security leaders.⁠Source 1, Source 41An Okta product to discover, manage, and secure the AI agent lifecycle in an Okta org; Okta says it gives agents a first-class identity.⁠Source 5, Source 6
MaturityGenerally available since 1 May 2026 for the Commercial segment.⁠Source 21 Registry sync and multi-tenant management are in preview.⁠Source 30, Source 42, Source 43Okta announced GA in a post dated 29 April 2026.⁠Source 24 On 22 July 2026, Okta said customers could request Agent Gateway, in preview.⁠Source 20
Control
Agent registry and discoveryAgent registry in the Microsoft 365 admin center: one inventory of Microsoft and non-Microsoft agents, including agents without an Entra agent identity.⁠Source 9, Source 19Universal Directory: custom-built agents can be added by hand and given human owners; builder-platform agents can be imported.⁠Source 11, Source 24
Identity and access controlAgent identities come from Microsoft Entra Agent ID, managed with Conditional Access, permission grants, and consent.⁠Source 4 Tool access is set tenant-wide.⁠Source 1Manually added agents identify with a client ID, secret, key pair, or metadata document.⁠Source 12 Admins set which resources each agent can access.⁠Source 13
Ownership, policy, and revocationEntra agent identities need a sponsor.⁠Source 4 Admins can block agents (SharePoint and Foundry ones only in Copilot Chat), approve activations, and apply templates.⁠Source 27, Source 37Okta says admins can deactivate agents and set which may call others.⁠Source 14, Source 20 Access certifications use Okta Identity Governance, an add-on.⁠Source 23, Source 44
Audit log and observabilitySupported agents’ activity shows in Defender, Purview, and the admin center.⁠Source 2, Source 10 Agent 365 keeps it 30 days; Purview’s agent audit logs need E7 or Agent 365.⁠Source 1, Source 10Agent events land in Okta’s System Log, which can stream to Amazon EventBridge or Splunk Cloud.⁠Source 6, Source 39 Okta says agent-to-agent delegation chains are logged.⁠Source 45
Connection
How agents connectThe SDK works with agents on Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or on premises.⁠Source 2 Agent 365’s private networking is not publicly documented.Okta issues agent-to-agent tokens, and the caller sends its token to the agent it calls.⁠Source 22, Source 28 Agent Gateway, in preview, can be an agent’s remote MCP endpoint.⁠Source 36
Agents across organizationsA published agent can join a customer tenant via a multitenant Entra blueprint.⁠Source 4 Microsoft’s separate Foundry agents can call A2A agents hosted elsewhere.⁠Source 46Not publicly documented (checked 2 October 2026)
Protocol supportTenant-wide tool control; your own MCP servers in preview.⁠Source 1, Source 17 Microsoft documents A2A for its separate Foundry and standard-harness Copilot Studio, not Agent 365.⁠Source 46, Source 47MCP servers can be agent resources; Agent Gateway for MCP tools is in preview.⁠Source 13, Source 18 Okta for AI Agents’ docs don’t mention the A2A protocol.
Frameworks, models, and clouds supportedMicrosoft and third-party agents.⁠Source 1 SDK docs name frameworks such as LangChain, CrewAI, and the OpenAI Agents SDK.⁠Source 30Okta says it manages agents from any vendor.⁠Source 20 Its docs cover in-house agents built with code such as Python or LangChain.⁠Source 15
Operations
Deployment options and data residencyA Microsoft 365 service that honors EU Data Boundary commitments.⁠Source 1, Source 10 The observability service stores customer content in the tenant’s default geography.⁠Source 10A subscription on an Okta org.⁠Source 22 Okta says the Core SKU registers agents in an org’s regulated cell.⁠Source 34 Agent Gateway, in preview, has an Okta-hosted URL.⁠Source 36
Compliance attestationsNot yet a Core Online Service; runs on SOC- and ISO-audited services.⁠Source 10 Microsoft announced FedRAMP High authorization is pending.⁠Source 1Okta says the company holds SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 27001 certifications.⁠Source 40 It says its Core SKU is generally available for FedRAMP and HIPAA environments.⁠Source 32, Source 34
Support and SLANo specific SLA for the Frontier preview program.⁠Source 48 An SLA or support plan specific to the generally available service is not publicly documented.Okta suites include online support 24 hours a day, five days a week; Premier Success Plans are sold separately.⁠Source 23
Time and effort to get runningEnterprise customers need Microsoft 365 E5, or E3 with Defender Suite and Purview Suite, and at least one user with an Agent 365 license.⁠Source 8, Source 21An Okta org subscribed to Okta for AI Agents.⁠Source 22 Okta lists prebuilt integrations with Salesforce Agentforce, Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, and ServiceNow AI Platform.⁠Source 24
Pricing model and public pricesPer user, not per agent: lists at $15 a month standalone, or in Microsoft 365 E7.⁠Source 8 Microsoft Cloud subscribers get foundational capabilities at no extra cost.⁠Source 8Okta says it is a separate subscription; Agent SSO is in core Okta SSO.⁠Source 5 It can be added to a suite plan.⁠Source 23 A list price is not publicly documented.
Building
Agent building toolsMicrosoft says the Agent 365 SDK isn’t an agent-building framework.⁠Source 2 For low-code building, the docs point to Microsoft’s separate Copilot Studio.⁠Source 49Not publicly documented (checked 2 October 2026)
Model accessMicrosoft says the SDK doesn’t call or select models; the agent keeps making its own model calls.⁠Source 2, Source 3Not publicly documented (checked 2 October 2026)
Integrations and ecosystemLaunched with preintegrated partner agents and partner agent factories.⁠Source 42, Source 50 Work IQ MCP tools for Mail, Calendar, Teams, and more are in preview.⁠Source 51Imports agents from Microsoft’s separate Copilot Studio and AI Foundry, given an Agent 365 license.⁠Source 15, Source 16 Okta lists Slack among Cross App Access apps.⁠Source 5

Which to choose

Choose Microsoft Agent 365 if

  • You use Microsoft’s separate Copilot Studio or Microsoft Foundry, which Microsoft says can provide built-in Agent 365 integration for some scenarios.⁠Source 30, Source 52
  • Your organization runs on Microsoft Entra and wants agent identities under the same Conditional Access, consent, and lifecycle controls.⁠Source 4
  • You want telemetry from your connected agents to show up in Microsoft Defender, Purview, and the Microsoft 365 admin center.⁠Source 2
  • You want a published list price: $15 per user per month standalone, with no separate license for each agent.⁠Source 8

Choose Okta for AI Agents if

  • You want agents registered in Okta, which Okta says puts them alongside workforce users, with optional human owners.⁠Source 7, Source 12
  • You want shadow agents found: Okta’s ISPM, in the full SKU, discovers them in managed browsers, with endpoint discovery in early access.⁠Source 7, Source 33
  • You want to control which agents may call other agents, with Okta issuing resource-scoped tokens that expire.⁠Source 20, Source 28
  • You want access requests and certifications for agents, which Okta’s docs say use Okta Identity Governance, an add-on on Okta’s pricing page.⁠Source 23, Source 44

Questions buyers ask

Can each one govern agents built on other platforms?

Microsoft says Agent 365 works with Microsoft and third-party agents; agents built outside Microsoft 365 channels and Entra Agent ID need extra steps to appear.⁠Source 1, Source 41 Okta says it manages agents from any vendor; custom-built agents can be registered by hand, and builder-platform agents imported.⁠Source 11, Source 20

How is each one priced?

Agent 365 lists at $15 per user per month standalone, or comes in Microsoft 365 E7; agents themselves aren’t licensed.⁠Source 8 Okta for AI Agents is a separate subscription that can be added to an Okta suite plan.⁠Source 5, Source 23 Its list price is not publicly documented.

Do they support MCP and A2A?

Agent 365 controls agents’ tool access; Okta grants agents resources behind MCP servers.⁠Source 1, Source 13 Each has an MCP gateway in preview.⁠Source 17, Source 18 Microsoft documents A2A for its separate Foundry and standard-harness Copilot Studio, not Agent 365.⁠Source 46, Source 47 Okta for AI Agents’ docs don’t mention the A2A protocol.

Can either one connect agents across organizations?

A published agent can be added to a customer’s Microsoft tenant through a multitenant Entra blueprint.⁠Source 4 Multi-tenant agent management, in preview, lets admins govern agents across tenants they administer.⁠Source 43 An agent calling another organization’s agent is not publicly documented for either product.

How we compare

Read the full method

Every claim on this page links to a public source. Where none answers a question, the page says so.

We re-check every fact at least every 90 days. This page was last checked .

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Sources

57 public sources, each with the date we checked it. Every one opens in a new tab.

  1. Source 1: Microsoft Agent 365 - Service Descriptions | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcdefghijklmnopq

  2. Source 2: Agent 365 SDK frequently asked questions | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcdefgh

  3. Source 3: Microsoft Agent 365 SDK overview | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcd

  4. Source 4: Agent 365 identity | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcdefghijklm

  5. Source 5: Okta brings first-class identity to AI agents with Agent SSO Okta · checked Back:abcdefghijk

  6. Source 6: Okta for AI Agents (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abcde

  7. Source 7: Okta for AI Agents (product page) Okta · checked Back:abcdefg

  8. Source 8: Licensing Documents Microsoft · checked Back:abcdefghij

  9. Source 9: Agent Registry in Microsoft 365 admin center - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcd

  10. Source 10: Data handling, data residency, and compliance in Agent 365 observability | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcdefghi

  11. Source 11: Add and register AI agents (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abc

  12. Source 12: Add AI agents manually (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abcde

  13. Source 13: AI agent resource connections (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abcdef

  14. Source 14: New Okta for AI Agents innovations increase visibility into agent behavior, secure connections at runtime, and enforce continuous agent governance Okta · checked Back:abc

  15. Source 15: Apps that support AI agent imports (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abcd

  16. Source 16: Configure Microsoft Office 365 for AI agent imports (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abc

  17. Source 17: Bring your own (BYO) MCP server in Microsoft 365 admin center - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcd

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  20. Source 20: Okta announces new innovations to secure AI agents at runtime and automate ongoing agent governance Okta · checked Back:abcdefgh

  21. Source 21: Microsoft Agent 365 overview | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:abcde

  22. Source 22: Set up AI agent token exchange (Okta Developer) Okta · checked Back:abcd

  23. Source 23: Plans & pricing (Okta) Okta · checked Back:abcdef

  24. Source 24: Okta for AI Agents is now generally available Okta · checked Back:abcd

  25. Source 25: Your agent IdP for any identity stack Okta · checked Back to text

  26. Source 26: Protect agent identities with Microsoft Entra | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back to text

  27. Source 27: Policy templates | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:ab

  28. Source 28: Agent-to-agent connections (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abcd

  29. Source 29: Connected platforms in Microsoft Agent 365 | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back to text

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  32. Source 32: Discover and assess AI agents (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abc

  33. Source 33: Okta Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) release announcements Okta · checked Back:ab

  34. Source 34: Okta is the first independent and neutral identity platform to bring AI agent governance to highly regulated environments Okta · checked Back:abcd

  35. Source 35: Agent Messaging Endpoint | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back to text

  36. Source 36: Add an Agent Gateway (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:abc

  37. Source 37: Governance and Lifecycle actions for agents available in Microsoft 365 admin center - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:ab

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  44. Source 44: Govern access to AI agents (Okta Help Center) Okta · checked Back:ab

  45. Source 45: Securing your multi-agent workflows with Agent-to-Agent Connections Okta · checked Back to text

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  47. Source 47: Connect to an agent over the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol - Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back:ab

  48. Source 48: Preview Agent 365 features through the Frontier program | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back to text

  49. Source 49: Get started with Microsoft Agent 365 | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back to text

  50. Source 50: Ecosystem partner agents available in Agent 365 | Microsoft Learn Microsoft · checked Back to text

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  55. Source 55: Solutions: Agent sprawl Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  56. Source 56: Solutions: Partner networks Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  57. Source 57: Pricing Blocks.ai · checked Back to text