What is Windows 365 for Agents? (original) (raw)
Windows 365 for Agents provides a brand-new class of Cloud PCs for agent use, built on top of the same Windows 365 platform that powers Windows 365 for Enterprise and Business. At the heart of the platform is the Cloud PC, a virtual Windows desktop hosted in the Microsoft Cloud.
To efficiently manage and allocate these resources, you create provisioning policies for Cloud PCs for Agents. Provisioning policies (agents) allow organizations and partners to group Cloud PCs for Agents for different teams or workloads, which ensures consistent Microsoft Intune policy enforcement and cost control.
Agents interact with Cloud PCs by using a check-out/check-in model. When an agent needs to perform a task, it checks out a Cloud PC. After the task is complete, the agent checks the Cloud PC back in, making it available for others. This approach maximizes resource efficiency and keeps costs predictable.
There are other versions available for Windows 365. For more information, see What is Windows 365?.
Platform capabilities
Windows 365 for Agents enables agent makers to:
- Provision secure Cloud PCs: Instantly create and manage domain-joined, Intune-managed Cloud PCs governed by Microsoft Entra ID, which ensures agents operate within enterprise security and compliance boundaries.
- Orchestrate agent sessions through APIs: Automate lifecycle management - provisioning, session control, and UI automation - by using standardized platform APIs without handling underlying Cloud PC infrastructure.
- Monitor and intervene in real time: Access session logs, observability tools, and human-in-the-loop controls for debugging, trust, and operational reliability.
AI solutions powered by Windows 365 for Agents
Windows 365 for Agents is the trusted platform for secure, scalable agentic compute, which enables enterprise-grade automation and integration across the Microsoft ecosystem.
- Copilot Studio computer use: Empowers custom Copilot agents to automate web tasks right from a prompt in a secure Cloud PC environment. For more information, see Use a Cloud PC pool for computer use runs (preview).
- Project Opal in Microsoft 365 Copilot: Orchestrates dynamic agent workflows for task-based automation in secure and managed Cloud PCs. For more information, see Set up and manage Project Opal (Frontier).
- Researcher Computer Use in Microsoft 365 Copilot: Delivers multi-step website navigation and action automation by using agent-driven sessions on Linux Cloud PCs. For more information, see Researcher agent computer use FAQ.
- Agent 365: Lets customers access publicly available agents or build their own. Along with WorkIQ tools, Windows 365 for Agents can be integrated into Agent 365 agents. For more information, see Microsoft Agent 365.
Device management
Cloud PCs for Agents are managed through the Microsoft Intune admin center.
For Agent 365, to set up Windows 365 for Agents you create a provisioning policy (agents). From an admin perspective, management is policy-based rather than device-based. This model is implemented through Cloud PC agent pools.
For other supported agent solution partners, such as Microsoft Copilot Studio computer use, Project Opal, and Researcher, Cloud PC setup is handled within their portals, and no setup is required in Intune.
After provisioning, you can use Intune to manage and monitor Cloud PCs for Agents. To learn how agents can check out these Cloud PCs, see Agent session lifecycle.
Next steps
- Learn about the Windows 365 for Agents architecture.
- Learn about the Windows 365 for Agents session lifecycle.