Scout finally gives Microsoft’s AI agents the autonomy they’ve been missing

At its annual Construct convention on June 2, Microsoft announced Scout, an “always-on private agent.” Scout is designed to function autonomously within the background and take actions proactively that can assist you get stuff performed.

Introducing Microsoft Scout

A brand new period for Microsoft AI brokers

Microsoft has been on a tear this yr with AI brokers. First, we had Copilot Tasks, announced in February. Then, only a few weeks later, we had Copilot Cowork. Now, now we have Scout.

Nonetheless, Scout is exclusive in just a few key methods. First, not like the others, Scout is constructed on prime of OpenClaw, the powerful, viral agentic AI tool. Not solely that, however Microsoft will contribute “coverage conformance” upstream to the OpenClaw mission in order that others can profit from its work.

Second, Scout is autonomous in a manner that Copilot Duties and Cowork aren’t. It is designed to run within the background with out enter (except it requires it to decide or carry out an motion). It is a part of a brand new class of brokers Microsoft is looking Autopilots.

What can Scout do?

Autonomous actions

Scout runs within the background and “reduces the coordination work that builds all through the day.” Microsoft supplies some examples of what Scout can do:

• Proactively schedule and coordinate conferences throughout time zones
• Flag necessary conferences
• “Generate supplies it is advisable put together” — based mostly on the accompanying video, this possible means issues like reviews and slide decks.
• Determine upcoming deadlines and block time in your calendar to work on them
• Inform you of potential bottlenecks, corresponding to delayed selections

Microsoft says Scout will proceed to be taught over time. It will get a really feel for “how you’re employed, what you care about, and what must occur subsequent,” so it ought to grow to be much more helpful over time.

Safeguards

Clearly, an autonomous AI agent may trigger critical bother, so Microsoft has constructed guardrails into Scout to (hopefully) guarantee it stays in its lane. Every Scout agent is tied to a ruled Entra id, so you’ll be able to at all times see who’s answerable for the work being performed. It is usually ruled by credentials tied to that id, so it must be incapable of accessing data it should not or performing duties exterior its assigned scope.

Now, whether or not these safeguards will truly maintain up stays to be seen. Microsoft says it has been utilizing Scout internally and that it is prepared for a wider launch, so presumably every little thing is working as anticipated. Nonetheless, it requires a whole lot of belief to provide an AI agent authority to make selections and act in your behalf.

Scout availability

Very restricted, for now

Microsoft Scout is being rolled out to a “choose group of shoppers in non-public preview” and Frontier organizations. In different phrases, this can be a very restricted preliminary launch. Accessing Scout requires “Frontier enrollment, Intune coverage configuration, and an opt-in attestation,” which principally means you have to leap by way of some hoops to get to it proper now.

When you’re fascinated with attempting Scout, Microsoft supplies full setup instructions.

What do you consider Scout? Drop us a remark under.