Microsoft has announced it will support Google’s Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol across two major platforms: Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio.
This can be said to be a direct reflection of interoperability and collaboration between AI agents.
Advancing AI with Shared Protocols
Agent2Agent is a protocol designed to help AI agents work together. These agents are semi-autonomous programs that complete specific tasks, such as sending emails or managing schedules.
Agents can now share goals, trigger actions, and communicate across different platforms. Microsoft is not only adopting the protocol but is also joining the A2A working group on GitHub.
This will allow the company to contribute to the development and refinement of the protocol and its tools.
Breaking Down Platform Barriers
Once A2A is fully integrated, agents built in Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio will connect with external agents.
These external agents may come from other tools or even different cloud environments. For example, a Microsoft-built agent could schedule a meeting while a Google agent creates and sends the invites.
This opens the door to more complex, cross-platform workflows: creating software that is collaborative, observable, and adaptive by design.
In other words, AI tools must operate across platforms and ecosystems, not just within one company’s systems.
Benefits for Developers and Businesses
Developers will gain access to a set of interoperable components. These tools will allow them to build AI systems that communicate securely and efficiently.
As a result, businesses can design workflows that include internal tools, partner systems, and cloud services, without compromising security or service quality.
In a blog post, Microsoft explained:
“Customers can build complex, multi-agent workflows that span internal agents, partner tools, and production infrastructure. All the while maintaining governance and service-level agreements.”
This new level of flexibility allows AI agents to support business operations. It also reduces time spent switching between tools and platforms.
AI Agent Market Is Growing Fast
The timing is critical. A recent KPMG survey showed that 65% of businesses are already testing AI agents.
The interest in this technology is rising quickly. Market research firm Markets and Markets predicts that the AI agent market will jump from $7.84 billion in 2025 to $52.62 billion by 2030.
Companies are eager to automate tasks and improve workflows. And AI agents, when able to work together across platforms, provide a powerful solution.
A Pattern
Microsoft’s support for A2A follows another recent move. The company also adopted MCP, a protocol developed by Anthropic.
MCP helps AI systems access the data they need to perform tasks. Google and OpenAI have also embraced MCP, signaling a shared commitment to open protocols.
Together, A2A and MCP are pioneering a trend: major tech firms are building shared standards to ensure AI systems can work well together.
These standards allow businesses to use AI in a flexible, reliable way, no matter which tools they prefer.
