Microsoft has announced a new category of AI agents called Autopilots, designed to operate continuously in the background and carry out tasks on behalf of users. Alongside the announcement, the company introduced Microsoft Scout, the first Autopilot agent built for Microsoft 365 environments.
Microsoft launches Autopilots
According to Microsoft, Autopilots are always-on agents that work autonomously, have their own identity, and can act on behalf of users. Unlike traditional AI assistants that respond only when prompted, Autopilots are designed to stay active in the background, understand how work gets done across applications and systems, and take action without requiring repeated instructions.
Because they operate with their own identity, Autopilots can carry out tasks within the permissions and policies established by users and organizations. Microsoft says this allows work to continue even when users are focused on other tasks.
Microsoft Scout integrates across Microsoft 365
Microsoft Scout is the first Autopilot agent introduced by the company. It operates across cloud, desktop, and web environments and is integrated throughout Microsoft 365 applications to stay connected to a user’s daily workflow.
The agent connects with Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint, along with work-related data including chats, emails, calendars, and contacts. Users interact with Scout through Teams, while the desktop application extends its capabilities to web browsers, local resources, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers.
Microsoft says Scout is powered by OpenClaw open-source technology and includes additional security, governance, and management capabilities for enterprise deployments.
Designed to automate coordination work
Microsoft Scout is designed to reduce the coordination work that builds up throughout the day. The agent can help manage meetings, schedules, and deliverables while keeping users informed about actions taken on their behalf.
Key capabilities include:
- Scheduling and coordinating meetings across time zones
- Highlighting important meetings and generating preparation materials
- Identifying upcoming deliverables
- Automatically blocking calendar time
- Detecting workflow risks such as stalled decisions
Work IQ helps Scout build context
Microsoft Scout builds context over time through a system called Work IQ. According to Microsoft, Work IQ learns how users work, what they care about, and what actions are likely needed next.
The company says this information helps Scout carry work forward and align actions with user priorities over time.
Microsoft contributes policy conformance to OpenClaw
Microsoft also announced that it is contributing policy conformance capabilities directly to the OpenClaw open-source project.
Organizations running OpenClaw will be able to validate whether their environments meet security and compliance requirements, verify that deployments are operating securely, and receive verifiable, audit-ready validation results.
Enterprise security and governance controls
Microsoft says Scout is designed to meet enterprise security and compliance requirements from day one. Every Scout agent operates under its own governed Microsoft Entra identity rather than a shared or anonymous service account, allowing actions to be attributed to a known identity already recognized within an organization’s directory.
Microsoft also says credentials are protected end to end, scoped only to the task being performed, excluded from logs and diagnostics, and managed using the same security standards applied to first-party Microsoft services. When Scout acts on behalf of a user, organizations can identify whose authority was used for each action.
Enterprise protections include:
- Dedicated Microsoft Entra identity for every agent
- Task-scoped credentials protected end to end
- Human approval requirements for sensitive actions
- Microsoft Purview policy enforcement
- Support for sensitivity labels and data loss prevention controls
- Access limited to approved resources and destinations
Microsoft says Scout operates within existing organizational controls rather than bypassing them. Data protection policies are enforced in real time before information is sent or written.
Availability
Microsoft employees have already been using an early Microsoft Scout desktop experience to evaluate how always-on agents function in day-to-day work. According to the company, internal testing has shown Scout helping coordinate tasks, identify risks earlier, and continue work without constant prompting.
Microsoft is now expanding access to a select group of customers through a private preview program and to Frontier organizations. Scout is also being offered as an experimental release through Frontier, allowing organizations to explore how the agent can fit into their workflows before broader availability.
To access the preview, organizations must have:
- Frontier enrollment
- Intune policy configuration
- Opt-in attestation
- A GitHub Copilot license for participating users
Eligible users can then download and install the Microsoft Scout experience.