Microsoft Debuts Scout, an Always-On Desktop AI Agent for Work

Microsoft has started deploying its Scout desktop AI agent to organizations in the Frontier program, offering the first hands-on look at the "Autopilot" category it unveiled at Build 2026. The cross-platform app features a chat interface with model choices from OpenAI and Anthropic, and enables multi-step workflow automation with Zapier-style orchestration, headless browser background tasks, and local file-system access. Access remains gated behind admin approval as Microsoft emphasizes governed Entra identities, positioning Scout as a persistent work assistant integrated deeply into its OS and productivity ecosystem.