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]
What is the difference between Microsoft Agent 365 and Prefactor?
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.
Agent 365 or Prefactor, in one table
| Decision factor | Microsoft Agent 365 | Prefactor |
|---|---|---|
| Where it fits | Managing agents inside Microsoft | Knowing each agent did its job |
| What it covers | Agent inventory, access, and permissions | Agent outcomes: quality, drift, cost per run |
| Framework scope | Microsoft-native, select third-party | Agent evaluation on any framework |
| How it attaches | Built into Microsoft identity and licensing | Native SDK, core SDK, or OpenTelemetry ingest, no rebuild |
| Availability | Preview, GA expected 1 May 2026 | Available now |
| Use them together? | Manage access with Agent 365 | Evaluate the agents with Prefactor |
What each one is for
- 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.
- 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.
Side by side, access and evaluation
| Capability | Microsoft Agent 365 | Prefactor |
|---|---|---|
| Identity and access inside Microsoft | ||
| Agent inventory / register | ✓ | Registers 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 action | Static access policy | ✓ |
| Across your stack | ||
| Agent evaluation on any framework | Microsoft-native, select third-party | ✓ |
| One queryable record per agent | Within Microsoft | ✓ |
| Audit trail for a decision | — | ✓ |
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.
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.
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.
Spend is attributed per agent, and the quality score is tracked per agent across versions.
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.
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.
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
Prefactor contextMethodology
- 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.
What does Prefactor do that Microsoft Agent 365 does not?
Does Microsoft Agent 365 work with non-Microsoft agents?
When does Microsoft Agent 365 reach general availability?
Can you use Prefactor and Agent 365 together?
Does Prefactor work with agents on any framework?
Related
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