Microsoft CEO says 'I look at all agents as users', and that means AI ones too, as each agentic bot 'will have its own identity'

It seems like the present chunk of our mildly dystopian timeline is in part dedicated to figuring out exactly what is to become of our digital future alongside AI. "Agentic" AI is one lens through which many an AI boffin is considering this future, and it looks like that's to the extent that our human agency might be considered on a level with AI agency, as far as our software is concerned.

At least, that's the message I'm getting from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's public comms on the issue. When speaking to Morgan Stanley about the increase in Microsoft 365's TAM (total addressable market), such as we see through increasing Microsoft 365 subscriptions and users, the CEO was asked specifically whether he thinks about the "agentic future" involving more users or more agents.

He doesn't give a straightforward answer—and let's not blame him for that, as the lack of crystal-balling is actually something I appreciate—but he does conclude: "From a TAM-expansive perspective for us, I look at all agents as users and with maybe more flexibility on how people license that." (I'm not sure whether, by "that", he means Microsoft 365, or the term "agent.")

The background to all this is Microsoft's claim that "Windows is evolving into an agentic OS". The implication is that there will be elements of the OS that give Copilot "agents" autonomy to perform tasks for you, such as rummaging through your local files—all with your permission, of course, and in its own workspace.

What such agential AI implementations will look like in the future, though, is an open question. But it's interesting to consider the fact that, yes, from the perspective of Microsoft's 'addressable market', AI agents are just more MS 365 users like us.

If you're wondering how these different kinds of users might actually, y'know, use the software, the CEO gives some insight:

"There’s chat—let’s call it what we will call tasks or co-work—it’s delegated access. I give something else, which is asynchronous—my credentials—and say, "Please work on my behalf." That’s the second thing.

The third would be a full digital worker, right? Which will have its own identity, it’ll have its own tools, it’ll have its own desktop, whatever, right? That sort of is a third thing. If you take all these three, I think the combination of subscriptions with some limits of usage plus a meter is where I think we will end up."

Sounds mighty confusing to me. How about we just keep subs for regular ol' flesh and blood agents, keep it nice and simple? I'm shouting into the wind again, aren't I?