Microsoft offers devs a better way to control AI agent behavior Microsoft has introduced the Agent Control Specification (ACS), an open-source standard designed to give developers more consistent and granular control over AI agent actions across various environments. The specification allows teams to define policies that dictate an agent’s capabilities, restrictions, and when human approval is needed, with checks implemented at multiple interception points in the agent’s workflow. ACS aims to provide a common governance layer, integrating and standardizing existing fragmented control methods, and is shipping as an SDK with integrations for popular AI development frameworks.

• Microsoft has released an open-source standard called Agent Control Specification (ACS) to control AI agent behavior.
• ACS allows developers, compliance, and security teams to define policies for AI agents.
• Policies can specify allowed actions, restrictions, human approval requirements, and logging.
• The specification aims to solve challenges of controlling AI agents deployed across different environments and frameworks.
• ACS integrates controls into a common governance layer, addressing fragmented approaches.
• Checks can be performed at various points in an agent’s workflow, including before input, before tool calls, and before final responses.
• Policies can be written as single files, making them portable across different systems.
• ACS is available as an SDK with plug-ins for multiple popular AI development frameworks. Continue reading https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/02/microsoft-offers-devs-a-better-way-to-control-ai-agent-behavior/