We’re excited to announce the release candidate of the Semantic Kernel for Java Agents API! This marks a major step forward in bringing the power of intelligent agents to Java developers, enabling them to build rich, contextual, and interactive AI experiences using the Semantic Kernel framework.

What Are Agents in Semantic Kernel?

Agents are intelligent, autonomous components that can reason, plan, and act using natural language. They leverage large language models (LLMs) to interact with users, invoke tools, and maintain context over time. With this API, Java developers can now create agents that:

• Understand and respond to user input in a conversational way.
• Use tools and plugins to perform tasks.
• Maintain memory and context across interactions.

What’s in the release candidate?

The release includes a solid foundation for building agents in Java, closely aligned with the .NET reference implementation. Key features include:

• ✅ Agent Chat and core agent samples.
• ✅ Agent framework abstractions for extensibility.
• ✅ ChatCompletionsAgent with support for:
  • Tool call behavior
  • Chat history threading
  • Invocation context
• ✅ FunctionChoiceBehavior for OpenAI, replacing the older ToolCallBehavior.

This is designed to give you a first look at the agent development experience in Java and to gather your feedback as we move toward a full release.

What’s Coming Next?

Once we have the Agents API in a stable state, we will then look at working on:

• Adding support for Azure AI (Foundry) and Amazon Bedrock agents.
• Integrating Model Context Protocol (MCP) for seamless tool interoperability.
• Enabling memory in threads, allowing agents to retain and recall information over time.

You can also expect improvements to the core packages and abstractions as we align more closely with the evolving .NET architecture.

We Want Your Feedback!

This is just the beginning—and your input is crucial. Try it out, explore the samples, and let us know:

• What works well?
• What’s confusing or missing?
• What features would you like to see next?

Join the conversation on GitHub and help shape the future of agents in Semantic Kernel for Java.