
Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0: Build Production AI Agents in .NET and Python
Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 is the official, production-ready framework from Microsoft for building AI agents and multi-agent systems, available natively in both .NET (C#) and Python. Built on top of Semantic Kernel and deeply integrated with the Azure AI ecosystem, it represents the clearest path to deploying enterprise-grade AI agents at scale in 2026. Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0: The Official Microsoft Path to Production AI Agents Enterprise adoption of Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 grew 350% between 2025 and 2026, driven by organizations that needed a supported, enterprise-grade runtime for AI agents that integrated natively with their existing Azure and Microsoft 365 infrastructure. Unlike research-originated frameworks that were adapted for production use, Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 was designed from the start with production requirements in mind: deterministic orchestration, identity-aware execution, structured observability, and deployment primitives that match enterprise operations. The 1.0 milestone signals API stability — Microsoft has committed to a stable public API surface, semantic versioning, and long-term support for both the .NET and Python SDKs. For organizations running workloads on Azure, the framework eliminates the integration tax that comes with open-source alternatives: Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure Monitor, and Entra ID are all first-class citizens in the framework’s configuration model, not afterthoughts bolted on through community plugins. The framework’s Semantic Kernel foundation means teams that have already built with Semantic Kernel can adopt it incrementally, migrating plugin-based workflows to full agent orchestration without rewriting existing code. ...