Microsoft Tests Agent Workspace in Windows 11, Can Access Apps and Folders to Complete Tasks

Microsoft is testing a new experimental agentic feature in Windows 11. The Redmond-based tech giant announced the release of a new artificial intelligence (AI) agent to Windows Insiders. Dubbed Agent Workspace, it can access the user's apps and folders and complete tasks in them in the background. The agent comes with several layers of security allowing users to have control over what is being shared and whether or not to use this agent at all. The company said that the new feature is a major step towards creating agent-powered computing.

Microsoft Tests Agent Workspace

In its support page, the tech giant announced and detailed the new AI agent. It is currently available in a private developer preview for Windows Insiders. Some users have already begun seeing it while others will get it via a release in the coming days. It is also Microsoft's first general-purpose agent, which despite a narrow scope, is capable of handling a diverse range of tasks.

Agent Workspace is essentially a separate, contained space in Windows 11, where AI agents can access the user's apps and folders to complete tasks in the background. With this, each agent operates using its own account instead of the user's personal account. This also creates a unique identity for it, which adds transparency to tracking its actions. Microsoft claims users can delegate tasks to agents while “retaining full control, visibility into agent actions, and the ability to manage access at any time.”

Enabling Agent Workspace is fairly straight forward. Users first need to sign in to Windows with an administrator account. Then, they need to navigate to Settings > System > AI Components > Experimental agentic features. Once there, users will have to enable the feature.

Once the feature is active, users can create agent accounts who can then create a sandboxed environment to work on tasks in the background ensuring runtime isolation. These agents can currently only request access to six folders in user profile directory, including Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Music, Pictures, and Videos.

Microsoft recommends only enabling this feature if the user understand the security implications. Some of the risks outlined by the company include occasional hallucinations resulting in unexpected outputs and cross-prompt injection attacks which can lead to data exfiltration or malware installation.