Microsoft Ignite 2026: AI agents, Copilot and security on the agenda
Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft’s flagship annual conference for businesses, takes place from November 17 to 20, 2026, in San Francisco and online. On the agenda: AI agents, Copilot and AI security. Here is what is already confirmed, and how to get your business ready.
Written on November 13, 2026, before the event opens. Official announcements will be made from November 17.
Dates and format
- November 17–20, 2026, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
- A free digital pass gives access to the keynotes and sessions; breakout sessions are recorded and available on demand.
- Opening keynote on Tuesday, November 17, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pacific Time (7 to 9 p.m. Central European Time), with Satya Nadella and Judson Althoff.
AI agents at the heart of the strategy
Microsoft describes its “Frontier Transformation” strategy in three layers: Copilot, where employees work with AI; Microsoft IQ, which brings in each organisation’s own context; and Agent 365, to observe, govern and secure agents. The message is shifting: it is no longer just about building agents, but about controlling and running them in production.
AI models developed by Microsoft (MAI) will also be demonstrated, alongside the Copilot experiences built into Microsoft 365.
AI security, the other big theme
- Defending with AI: security operations centres (SOCs) rebuilt around agents, with Microsoft Defender.
- Securing AI: governing agents from design to runtime, with Agent 365, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview for data governance.
- Zero Trust for agents: protecting against prompt injection, tool misuse and identity abuse.
- The foundations: identity, device trust, data hygiene and phishing-resistant authentication (passkeys).
What is not confirmed yet
New Copilot features, availability dates and any licensing changes have not been announced in advance. It is best to wait for the official announcements before planning a budget or a migration.
How to prepare your business now
- Clean up sharing in SharePoint and OneDrive: Copilot and agents can see everything a user has access to.
- Decide who can create agents and give each agent an owner.
- Strengthen identities: multi-factor authentication for everyone, and passkeys for sensitive accounts.
- Label your sensitive data with sensitivity labels before expanding the use of AI.
- Plan for continuity: the global Microsoft 365 outage of November 12–13 is a reminder that a fallback plan is essential.
ITANIS helps you secure your Microsoft 365 environment and roll out AI with full control.