{"id":3981,"date":"2025-01-17T09:20:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T17:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/semantic-kernel\/?p=3981"},"modified":"2025-02-10T10:16:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T18:16:32","slug":"guest-blog-leap-forward-with-modern-ai-using-microsoft-365-agents-sdk-and-semantic-kernel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/agent-framework\/guest-blog-leap-forward-with-modern-ai-using-microsoft-365-agents-sdk-and-semantic-kernel\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog: Leap Forward with Modern AI using Microsoft 365 Agents SDK and Semantic Kernel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leap Forward with Modern AI using Microsoft 365 Agents SDK and Semantic Kernel<\/h1>\n

Today we\u2019re featuring a guest author, Arafat Tehsin, who\u2019s a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for AI. He\u2019s written an article we\u2019re sharing below, focused on how to Leap Forward with Modern AI using Microsoft 365 Agents SDK and Semantic Kernel<\/a>. We\u2019ll turn it over to Arafat to share more!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"splash-agents-sdk-sk\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Happy new year. I know you\u2019re excited to see this. It is real, it is happening, but you know what? It is still in preview and things will break. So, get ready for it. If you\u2019re wondering what this SDK<\/a>\u00a0is all about then despite my little coverage about it in this post, you also may want to read the official documentation which Microsoft team has quickly put together for you. The objective of this post is to show you how to use\u00a0Semantic Kernel\u2019s Agent Framework<\/a>\u00a0with Microsoft 365 Agents SDK and why is it a big deal.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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\ud83e\udd14 Evolution or a new skin?<\/h2>\n

Not sure how many times (probably 100-ish?<\/em>) I have mentioned on multiple instances that\u00a0Bot Framework<\/a>\u00a0has been one of the best frameworks produced for Conversational AI by any team. I still remember\u00a0those days<\/a> when it evolved into such a great offering for not just code-first developers but also those who could utilize Composer client to create exceptional\u00a0conversational experiences<\/a>. However, with time and strategy change, Copilot Studio took the charge and started to\u00a0release those cool features<\/a>\u00a0which are essential for today\u2019s conversational experiences.<\/p>\n

In the parallel world, considering multiple focus areas of Microsoft AI, enterprises who were already using Bot Framework SDK are a bit worried of its future. Why? Because they don\u2019t see any advancements with the similar speed as they witness in other products, for example\u00a0.NET AI Extensions<\/a>,\u00a0Semantic Kernel<\/a>,\u00a0Microsoft Copilot Studio<\/a>\u00a0and so on. I think today they have an answer (well, to be fair, an early answer<\/em>) in the form of Microsoft Agents 365 SDK.<\/p>\n

Microsoft 365 Agents SDK (Preview) represents a significant evolution in building enterprise-grade, scalable, multi-channel agents. It enables developers to create agents that integrate AI services of their choice, such as Azure AI Foundry and connect with orchestration layers like Semantic Kernel. These agents can be deployed across various channels including web via Direct Line, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot and more.<\/p>\n

To put it differently, this SDK bridges the gap between the robust foundation laid by the Bot Framework and the cutting-edge capabilities demanded by modern AI-driven conversational experiences. Think of it as a natural evolution rather than a replacement of Bot Framework, because in reality, it isn\u2019t the one.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude80 10x Up with Semantic Kernel<\/h2>\n

Semantic Kernel is an enterprise grade framework to\u00a0build your AI-first apps<\/a>. Every time we see any advancement within the Generative AI space, be it Parallel Function Calling, Vector Stores, Small Language Models and so on, we see these features getting shipped with a speed. Similarly, they already had\u00a0ChatCompletion<\/code>\u00a0capabilities from day 1 and now with the advancements of Agentic AI, we\u2019ve have got an Agent Framework as well.<\/p>\n

However, due to the light-weight nature of the framework, Semantic Kernel relies upon developers to build their own conversational experiences. Such as conversational event handling (i.e. when someone joins the chat<\/em>), effective middleware routing and integration with the external channels such as Direct Line, Telephony, Microsoft Teams, Facebook, Slack and so on. This can now be unlocked by Microsoft 365 Agent SDK, Azure Bot and Semantic Kernel together.<\/p>\n

\"Sequence<\/p>\n

Currently, the functionality doesn\u2019t have much except for a very basic use-case which talks about getting the flight status (mocked up) from Azure OpenAI Service with an Adaptive Card as a response back. I will improve the use-case as we move along in our upcoming posts.<\/p>\n

\"BotFramework-Emulator-Agent\"<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udce6 Project and Packages<\/h2>\n

We will now explore as how you can integrate Semantic Kernel\u2019s Agent Framework with Microsoft 365 Agent SDK agent and surface it to multiple channels via Azure Bot. Unlike Bot Framework SDK, you don\u2019t have any Visual Studio starter templates therefore, you need an Empty ASP.NET Core project. Once you get that project, all you need is the set of\u00a0nuget<\/code>\u00a0packages, just like below.<\/p>\n

\"NuGet<\/p>\n

After that, you may create a similar folder structure as mine which I will explain you one by one. That\u2019s how it looks like.<\/p>\n

\"Solution<\/p>\n

The complete working example is now a\u00a0part of my repo<\/a>\u00a0which you can access. If you like it, give it a star as it will help others too.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: Below code description is generated by o1-preview.<\/em><\/p>\n

Program.cs<\/h3>\n

This is the entry point of the application. It sets up the web application, configures services, and starts the web server.<\/p>\n