Microsoft plans to license AI agents like employees

Microsoft is gearing up to launch a new subscription service under Microsoft 365, which is to be called as E7. The company with this new strategy plans to manage AI agents in the same way as human employees.

The plan includes a Microsoft 365 Copilot preview service, Agent 365, used in the management and governance of AI agents, and other features not found in the current E5 version.

Analysts say the change came because AI agents are increasingly being used in the same way as human employees.

How Microsoft 365 bundle for AI agents works?

Since AI agents will be incorporated as digital workers, they will now need to have proper identities, email accounts, Teams access, and policy just the way company provides to its human employees.

To date, all of these are associated with user subscriptions. Although Microsoft 365 E5 with Copilot already covers all of this, the new E7 will make it easier for organisations to have all of this in one package. According to Microsoft Directions' Mary Jo Foley, the company plans for AI agents to be licensed in the same way as employees.

The new tier will cost about $99 per month, as it will be the E5 cost plus the monthly cost of Copilot. Although this may be considered pricey, it may be attractive to organisations that need to save money on administrative tasks.

Lane Shelton, Director of Advisory Services at Directions on Microsoft, said the proposed E7 is less about a new tier and more about establishing Microsoft as the “enterprise AI control plane” for digital workers. By licensing AI agents, the company ensures its revenue model adapts as AI-driven workforces grow, maintaining oversight while monetising agent deployment.