Why 2026 will be the year of agents

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A focused conversation on why AI agents will define 2026, how governance must evolve, and the practical skills business and tech professionals need to stay relevant. The episode explores the shift from Power Platform governance to AI‑first governance, the rise of agent orchestration, and the critical importance of data security, testing, and prompt engineering. Listeners gain clear guidance on adapting their roles, scaling responsibly, and preparing for an agent‑driven future. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/795

🎙️ What you’ll learn   

• How AI agents are reshaping governance expectations across organisations 
• Practical steps to evolve your skills for an AI‑centred workflow 
• How to balance innovation with safe, secure agent deployment 
• Why data security and red‑team style testing matter more than ever 
• How to identify when to use Copilot Studio versus Foundry 

✅ Highlights  

• “2026 feels like when people actually start doubling down and taking it seriously.” 
• “AI will not take your job. AI will just change your job.” 
• “How do I become an agent boss?”  
• “Governance does not have to slow innovation.”  
• “You can’t ignore this big thing called AI because you’re going to lose competitive advantage.” 
• “Testing an agent is completely different.”  
• “Prompt engineering is a big one.”  
• “There are now more moving parts… you can’t just get away with building an app anymore.”  
• “My mindset needs to shift from doing things manually to validating what AI gives me.”  
• “Next year is going to be doubling down a lot of that… it’s here, let’s embrace it.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Microsoft Power Platform: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform 
• Copilot Studio: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio/ [microsoft.com] 
• Foundry: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/ai-foundry/ 
• Microsoft Entra: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/fundamentals/what-is-entra 
• Microsoft Purview: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/purview 

✅Keywords   
ai agents, governance, power platform, copilot studio, foundry, data security, prompt engineering, red teaming, power automate, power fx, entra, microsoft purview 

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

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Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith