In a significant development for artificial intelligence interoperability, Microsoft has announced it will support Google's Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol across its AI development platforms. This move, revealed on May 7, 2025, marks an important step toward enabling AI agents to communicate and collaborate across different systems and ecosystems[5].
Breaking Down Barriers Between AI Agents
Microsoft plans to implement Google's recently launched open protocol in both Azure AI Foundry and
Copilot Studio. The company has also joined the A2A working group on GitHub to contribute to the protocol's development and tooling[5].
"By supporting A2A and building on our open orchestration platform, we're laying the foundation for the next generation of software — collaborative, observable, and adaptive by design," Microsoft stated in its blog post. "The best agents won't live in one app or cloud; they'll operate in the flow of work, spanning models, domains, and ecosystems."[5]
What This Means for Developers and Users
The A2A protocol, unveiled by Google in early April, enables AI-powered semi-autonomous programs to work together across different clouds, applications, and services. With A2A, agents can exchange goals and invoke actions while ensuring collaboration occurs securely[5].
Once fully implemented, agents built using Microsoft's platforms will be able to:
- Connect with external agents for specialized tasks
- Work with agents created using different development tools
- Collaborate with agents hosted outside the Microsoft ecosystem
Practical Applications
In practice, this means a Microsoft agent could handle scheduling a meeting while a
Google AI agent drafts the email invitations. This kind of cross-platform functionality represents a significant advancement in AI utility[5].
"Customers can build complex, multi-agent workflows that span internal agents, partner tools, and production infrastructure — while maintaining governance and service-level agreements," Microsoft explained. "We're aligning with the broader industry push for shared agent protocols."[5]
The Growing Importance of AI Agents
This development comes at a time when agentic technology is gaining traction in enterprise environments. According to a recent KPMG survey, 65% of companies are already experimenting with AI agents. Market research suggests the AI agent segment will grow dramatically from $7.84 billion in 2025 to $52.62 billion by 2030[5].
Microsoft's commitment to AI agent technology is further evidenced by several recent initiatives, including the Microsoft AI Agents Day for Partners, a comprehensive virtual training event[1], and the AI Agents Hackathon 2025, a free three-week virtual event featuring over 20 expert-led sessions[3].
In their recent Work Trend Index report titled "2025: The Year of the Frontier Firm," Microsoft highlighted organizations' growing confidence in leveraging agents to expand workforce capacity[2]. Additionally, Microsoft 365
Copilot has been positioned as a window into the world of agents, enabling companies to "scale capacity like never before."[4]
This adoption of Google's A2A protocol represents a notable step toward the industry-wide standardization necessary for AI agents to reach their full potential across platforms and service providers.
