PrefactorvsMicrosoft Agent 365

Agent 365 manages agent identity and access. Prefactor proves what each agent actually did.

One handles access inside the Microsoft stack, the other evaluates outcomes across your whole fleet, so they answer different questions.[1][2]

support-agent v4 · one run, two layersexample
Illustrative run, showing what each layer tells you
Microsoft Agent 365sees
fetch_customer212ms · 1.2k tok
apply_refund1.4s · 3.1k tok
send_reply340ms · 0.8k tok
trace recorded, no verdict
Prefactoradds
Did its job✓ yes
Quality84 / 100
Cost$0.42 · in budget
Drift vs baselinenone
a run that breaches its schema is held for review
§01 / THE SHORT ANSWERtl;dr: which, and when
TL;DR

Microsoft Agent 365 covers agent identity, access, and inventory inside the Microsoft stack. Prefactor evaluates what each agent's runs achieved, at what quality and cost, on any framework. Use Agent 365 to control access, and Prefactor to check outcomes across the whole fleet.

The short answer

Agent 365 or Prefactor, in one table

Decision factorMicrosoft Agent 365Prefactor
Where it fitsManaging agents inside MicrosoftKnowing each agent did its job
What it coversAgent inventory, access, and permissionsAgent outcomes: quality, drift, cost per run
Framework scopeMicrosoft-native, select third-partyAgent evaluation on any framework
How it attachesBuilt into Microsoft identity and licensingNative SDK, core SDK, or OpenTelemetry ingest, no rebuild
AvailabilityPreview, GA expected 1 May 2026Available now
Use them together?Manage access with Agent 365Evaluate the agents with Prefactor
§02 / HONEST CONTRASTscope: different jobs
Honest contrast

What each one is for

What Microsoft Agent 365 does well
  • Agent inventory: an identity-aware register of agents across the Microsoft stack through Microsoft Entra.
  • Access control: fine-grained permissions for agents on Microsoft platforms, using the policy model IT teams already run.
  • Session activity: agent activity across Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry, and Microsoft-native agents.
  • MCP allowlist: governed MCP tool connections across the Microsoft stack.
  • Procurement fit: part of Microsoft 365 licensing, one vendor and one contract for Microsoft shops.
  • Ecosystem reach: works with Microsoft-native agents and select third-party agents in its ecosystem.

Best for enterprises invested in Microsoft 365, Copilot Studio, and Azure AI Foundry that need access management within that ecosystem.

What Prefactor does
  • Tells you how each run went: outcome quality, cost, and whether the agent stayed in its approved scope.
  • A quality score per agent tracked across versions, so a regression shows up as a trend.
  • Drift detection when behaviour shifts after a model update or a prompt edit, before a user hits it.
  • Holds or escalates a risky action for review before it reaches a user, not after.
  • One record across frameworks: Microsoft-native and other agents, one place for the whole fleet.

Best for teams running agents in production, inside Microsoft and beyond, who need to know each one is doing its job, and prove it.

§03 / CAPABILITY MATRIXside by side: what each covers
Side by side

Side by side, access and evaluation

CapabilityMicrosoft Agent 365Prefactor
Identity and access inside Microsoft
Agent inventory / registerRegisters agents you instrument
Access control and permissions
Session activity across the Microsoft stack
MCP enterprise allowlist
Evaluating agents in production
Quality score per run
Cost attributed per agent and version
Drift detection against a baseline
Hold or escalate a risky actionStatic access policy
Across your stack
Agent evaluation on any frameworkMicrosoft-native, select third-party
One queryable record per agentWithin Microsoft
Audit trail for a decision
§04 / THE QUALITY GAPour take: where it stops
Our take

Where Agent 365 stops: what the agent did with its access

We sell the layer this section describes. Read it with that in mind.

Agent 365 answers who an agent is and what it may touch: identity, permissions, and allowlisted tools. Those are access questions, separate from whether the agent did its job on a given run, at acceptable quality and cost.

01
Outcomes, not permissions

An agent can hold exactly the right permissions and still return a wrong answer. Prefactor measures each run against the agent's objective, whatever the agent was allowed to touch.

02
Drift after a change

An agent can drift after a prompt change and start failing the task while its access stays the same. Prefactor catches the shift before a user hits it.

03
Cost and quality per agent

Spend is attributed per agent, and the quality score is tracked per agent across versions.

04
Any framework, one fleet

Prefactor reads the traces an agent emits on any framework, through a native SDK or OpenTelemetry ingest, so access management inside Microsoft and outcome evaluation across your fleet sit side by side.

See it on your own agents

A working session on a fleet like yours: watch a run evaluated, catch a drift, walk the record.

§05 / WHICH TO PICKdecide: by your stack
Which to pick

Which one fits

Stay with Microsoft Agent 365 alone if

  • Your agent stack is entirely or mostly Microsoft-native.
  • Your priority is agent inventory, access, and permissions.
  • Your buyers are IT and security teams already in the Microsoft stack.
  • Procurement inside existing Microsoft licensing matters most.

Add Prefactor when

  • You run agents across Microsoft, other clouds, and custom frameworks.
  • You need to know whether an agent did its job, not just what it may access.
  • Cost per agent and per version has to be part of the picture.
  • A regression after a prompt or model change has to surface before a user hits it.
§06 / HOW WE REVIEWEDsources: checked March 19, 2026
Methodology

How we reviewed this comparison

Reviewed against public product and documentation pages on March 19, 2026. If a vendor has changed a feature, product name, or positioning since then, send a correction and we will update it. Numbered source links in the page body point to the ordered sources below.

Sources reviewed

  1. Microsoft Copilot Studio product page
  2. Microsoft Copilot Studio documentation
Prefactor context

Methodology

  • Reviewed public product, documentation, and launch material visible at the time of writing.
  • Mapped each page to the primary buyer, control layer, and runtime capabilities each vendor describes publicly.
  • Prefer direct product and documentation pages over analyst summaries or reseller material.
§07 / QUESTIONSfaq: the common ones
Questions
What does Prefactor do that Microsoft Agent 365 does not?
Agent 365 manages agent identity, access, and inventory inside Microsoft. Prefactor knows whether each agent did its job: quality per run, drift against a baseline, and cost per agent, on any framework.
Does Microsoft Agent 365 work with non-Microsoft agents?
Agent 365 is built primarily for Microsoft-native agents, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry, with select third-party agents in its ecosystem. Prefactor is framework-agnostic and works with agents built on any platform.
When does Microsoft Agent 365 reach general availability?
Microsoft Agent 365 is in preview, with general availability expected on 1 May 2026 at $15 per user per month. Prefactor is available now.
Can you use Prefactor and Agent 365 together?
Yes. Keep Agent 365 for identity and access inside Microsoft, and add Prefactor for the outcome side: whether each agent did its job across your fleet. Prefactor reads the traces agents already emit rather than replacing your access model.
Does Prefactor work with agents on any framework?
Yes. It reads the traces an agent already emits, through a native SDK or OpenTelemetry ingest, and judges each run. There is no rebuild and no gateway in the request path.
Reviewed against public sources on March 19, 2026Suggest a correction

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