The week brought groundbreaking progress in AI agent collaboration, reshaping how these tools work together across industries. Microsoft took a lead by announcing open standards for AI agents at its Build conference. This move aims to solve compatibility issues between different agents, letting them share data and tasks more effectively. For example, a customer service agent could team up with a billing agent without manual setup.

AWS boosted developer efforts with its Strands Agents SDK, an open-source toolkit that simplifies building multi-agent apps. One standout feature is the A2A protocol, which lets agents coordinate like a team—imagine a travel-planning agent booking flights while another handles hotels, all in sync. The SDK also cuts costs by filtering unnecessary data, a big plus for large companies.

IBM focused on orchestration, the glue that lets agents navigate complex enterprise systems. By linking AI to platforms like HR and finance, they’re turning agents into productivity powerhouses. Imagine an HR agent auto-filling forms while a payroll agent calculates taxes, all triggered by a single request.

SAS emphasized trust and security in its new AI agent framework. Built into SAS Viya, these agents include bias checks and audit trails—critical for healthcare or banking. Their upcoming co-pilot assistants will guide users through tasks, reducing errors in fields like drug trials.

Elsewhere, Microsoft’s Azure demo showed agents resolving workflow conflicts in real time, like adjusting delivery routes during a storm. Refact.ai claimed its coding agents slash development time by 40%, handling everything from database setup to UI design. For IT teams, TufinMate’s chatbot agent diagnoses network issues via Slack, cutting downtime without expert input.

Together, these advances signal a shift from standalone AI tools to connected agent ecosystems. With better teamwork, security, and ease of use, businesses worldwide can now deploy AI agents that don’t just assist—they execute complex workflows autonomously.