Microsoft AI & Agents
The Microsoft AI agent stack — clearly mapped.
Agent Builder, Copilot Studio, AI Builder and Microsoft Foundry aren't alternatives you choose between. They're a stack you combine. We show you which tool fits when — and what really matters for governance and data residency in Switzerland.
Our approach
Not four products.
One stack you combine.
At first glance Microsoft's AI landscape looks like a set of competing products. In reality they're layers that build on one another: a no-code entry point, a low-code platform, an embedded AI capability and a pro-code foundation — held together by a governance control plane.
As a Microsoft partner we map these layers for your organisation and tell you honestly where each tool — and each model — belongs.
The four tools
From the no-code entry point to the pro-code foundation.
Four building blocks with a clear gradient of autonomy and depth. Here's how they differ — and where each one lives.
| Tool | What it is | For whom | Autonomy & workflows | Models | Lives in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot | Simplified agent authoring inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. | Business users & small teams | Primarily knowledge and Q&A agents; complex workflows, integrations and ALM belong in Copilot Studio. | M365 Copilot orchestratormodels managed by Microsoft | M365 Copilot |
 Copilot Studio low-code platform | Low-code agent platform with orchestration. | Makers, IT, power users | Autonomous & event-driven agents, multi-agent orchestration, 1,500+ connectors, multi-channel (Teams, web, WhatsApp). | GPT-5 family (status varies by variant)Claude Sonnet / Opus (cross-geo) | Power Platform |
 AI Builder capability layer, not an agent | Capability layer — not an agent builder, but a building block. | Embedded in apps & flows | Not applicable — you call it from Power Apps, Power Automate or Copilot Studio. | Prebuilt & generative modelsvaries by feature and region | Power Platform |
Microsoft Foundry formerly Azure AI Foundry | Pro-code platform plus a managed Agent Service. | Developers | Multi-agent workflows and grounding; 1,400+ connector-based integrations can be configured as MCP tools. Managed memory is in preview. | model catalogue by region & statusincl. Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic | Azure |
AI Builder is the special case — not an agent builder, but the AI block.
AI Builder is the layer for document processing and prompts (Prompt Builder, Intelligent Document Processing) that you embed in Power Apps, Power Automate or Copilot Studio. Microsoft is gradually folding these capabilities into Copilot Studio. Think of it as an AI building block — not a competitor to the other three.
Which tool when
Start simple — graduate when you need to.
Microsoft's own rule of thumb, and it holds: start in Agent Builder, move to Copilot Studio once you need real workflows, and only go to Foundry when developers and complex requirements come into play. Above it all sits Agent 365 as the governance layer.
Agent Builder
Knowledge and Q&A agents that business users build themselves without IT — included in the Copilot licence.
Copilot Studio
Autonomous, event-driven agents with orchestration, connectors and multiple channels.
Microsoft Foundry
Pro-code, any framework, a managed Agent Service and Foundry IQ grounding for demanding scenarios.
And AI Builder? Not a step on this journey, but a building block you embed at every stage — for document processing and prompts.
Agent 365 — the roof
Governance that doesn't stop at build time.
Agent 365 has been generally available to commercial customers since 1 May 2026. The control plane inventories and manages agents and connects their protection with Entra, Defender, Purview and Intune.
This is exactly where Swiss customers in the public sector and healthcare worry — not about “building one agent”, but about governing, securing and tracing agents at scale.
Price and eligibility depend on country, customer segment, agreement and base licences. Standalone purchases have segment-specific prerequisites; Microsoft currently lists Microsoft 365 E5 for enterprise customers. Check the current licensing terms before purchase.
Claude & Cowork
Similar tasks, different operating models.
Copilot Cowork has been generally available to Microsoft 365 Copilot customers since 16 June 2026. The cloud-hosted service uses Work IQ and a multi-model architecture; usage is metered through Copilot Credits.
Copilot Cowork
Cloud-hosted and integrated into Microsoft 365. GA for Microsoft 365 Copilot customers; usage is measured and billed through Copilot Credits, even when E7 supplies the qualifying Copilot licence.
- In the Microsoft 365 Copilot app with M365 data and tools
- Uses Work IQ for organisational context
- Prompts, results and artefacts are subject to available M365 controls
- Multi-model; selection and availability depend on the task
Claude Cowork
Anthropic's separately operated Cowork service with its own licensing, administration and data processing. The better fit depends on the specific workflow and governance model.
- Standalone Anthropic offering
- Microsoft 365 access through separately configured integrations
- Review its data paths and retention separately
- Not natively controlled through Work IQ and Agent 365
Claude is available in selected Microsoft services.
These include Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry and selected Microsoft 365 Copilot experiences. Model version, region and GA or preview status vary by surface. We check those conditions for your use case instead of promising “Claude across the whole stack”.
Switzerland & data residency · EFTA
Switching on Claude is a data-residency decision.
For tenants in the EU / EFTA / UK, requests processed by Anthropic are excluded from Microsoft's EU Data Boundary. Claude models are therefore off by default and require an explicit admin opt-in.
Switzerland is in EFTA. Enabling Claude in Microsoft 365 Copilot or Copilot Studio is therefore a data-boundary decision. Anthropic acts as a Microsoft subprocessor; Microsoft Product Terms, the DPA and Enterprise Data Protection still apply.
Off by default. Anthropic requests fall outside the EU Data Boundary — the opt-in is the admin's.
EFTA affects you directly. Swiss tenants face exactly this choice — knowingly or not.
Go further
From stack to shipped.
Ready for the next step?
Which setup fits your organisation?
Whether it's a no-code entry point, Copilot Studio workflows or Foundry with governance and the data-boundary question — we map the Microsoft AI stack for you and stay with you through to operations.