Microsoft used Build 2026 materials to describe expanded Foundry observability for AI agents, including cross-framework tracing, evaluations, monitoring, optimization, and reporting that links agent behavior with cost, value, and ROI.
Microsoft said its Foundry observability work is being extended to help teams trace, evaluate, monitor, optimize, and measure AI agents across frameworks and deployment targets.
In a Microsoft Foundry Blog post titled “Build 2026: From observability to ROI for AI agents on any framework,” Microsoft described an approach intended to give developers and operators visibility from an agent’s first inference call through production use and business reporting.
The company said the effort covers tracing, evaluations, monitoring, optimization, and production visibility. The stated goal is to help teams understand how agents behave in real deployments, not only during early testing.
A related Microsoft Build session page, “From observability to ROI for AI agents on any framework,” frames the work around cross-framework tracing and evaluations. It also says the session will cover ways to connect agent behavior with business outcomes, value, cost, and ROI.
Microsoft also included the observability work in its broader “What’s new in Microsoft Foundry | Build Edition” recap. That post lists tracing, Agent Optimizer, and Agent ROI among Foundry updates aimed at helping teams evaluate, govern, and improve agents.
The emphasis on “any framework” is notable because many organizations are building agents with a mix of tools, orchestration layers, model providers, and deployment environments. Microsoft’s materials position Foundry observability as a layer that can follow agent activity across those choices, rather than being limited to a single framework.
According to the Build session description, tracing and evaluations are central parts of that approach. Tracing can help teams inspect the steps an agent takes, while evaluations can help measure whether those steps produce acceptable results. Microsoft’s Foundry Blog also points to monitoring and optimization as part of the same lifecycle, suggesting that the company wants observability to continue after an agent is deployed.
The ROI language marks a shift from purely technical monitoring toward business measurement. Microsoft’s Build session page says the work is meant to connect agent behavior to business outcomes, value, cost, and ROI. That could matter for teams that are under pressure to justify production AI systems with measurable operational or financial impact.
Microsoft’s “Build Edition” recap names Agent ROI alongside tracing and Agent Optimizer. Based on the company’s descriptions, these features are intended to help teams move from observing what an agent did to assessing whether it was useful, efficient, and worth the cost of running.
The company’s claims remain product-focused and high level in the cited materials. The sources describe the capabilities Microsoft is presenting at Build 2026, but they do not provide independent benchmarks or customer case studies in the supplied excerpts. For now, the clearest takeaway is that Microsoft is positioning Foundry as an observability and measurement layer for production AI agents, with ROI reporting becoming part of the operational story.
Microsoft said its Foundry observability work is being extended to help teams trace, evaluate, monitor, optimize, and measure AI agents across frameworks and deployment targets.
The company said the effort covers tracing, evaluations, monitoring, optimization, and production visibility.
The stated goal is to help teams understand how agents behave in real deployments, not only during early testing.
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