This week brought major advances in how AI agents work together. Google’s new Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol became the biggest news, letting AI systems from different companies share information safely. For example, a Google agent could now team up with a PayPal agent to handle refunds without human help. Over 50 tech giants like SAP and Workday joined this project, which could change how businesses handle tasks like hiring or customer service.

Microsoft also boosted agent teamwork tools. Their AI Hackathon 2025 started with sessions about Semantic Kernel, a framework for building agents that collaborate on complex jobs. They showed off two new agents: Researcher (for planning projects using OpenAI models) and Analyst (for crunching numbers in Python). These tools aim to help office workers finish reports or budgets faster.

Schools and universities aren’t left out. Clarivate announced AI agents for academics launching in April 2025. One agent will help students write papers by finding research articles, while another helps teachers track classroom performance. They’re also making a no-code Agent Builder so schools can create custom AI helpers without programming.

Security remains a big concern. Researchers found AI hacker agents can now plan multi-step attacks, like breaking into bank accounts. Cloudflare introduced a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to spot shady AI behavior, while others use “honeypot” traps to study dangerous bots.

In customer service, companies like Atlassian and ServiceNow are testing AI teams where one agent checks orders while another updates inventory. Google’s new AI Agent Marketplace lets businesses buy pre-made agents for tasks like data analysis or email sorting.

Hardware got smarter too. Vecow’s new Raptor N3000 chips let factory robots run 12-billion-parameter AI models on-site, reducing cloud costs. This could help manufacturing agents make quicker decisions without internet delays.

While most developments are global, some countries lead specific areas. The U.S. dominates enterprise tools (Google/Microsoft), while Japan’s Sakana AI shared research about AI agents writing scientific papers. Europe focuses on security, with UK/German firms testing new anti-hacker protocols.

Looking ahead, experts predict 1 billion AI agents will be active by 2026. As agents learn to work together, they could handle 80% of routine tasks in fields like shipping and healthcare. However, companies still stress human oversight to fix mistakes and keep data safe.