At Microsoft’s annual Build 2025 developer conference in Redmond, CEO Satya Nadella captivated audiences and intensified the global AI conversation—predicting a near future where the Internet itself becomes an “open agent web,” driven by a dynamic ecosystem of artificial intelligence (AI) agents interacting in real time. The bold vision Nadella laid out is more than a simple technological progression; it signals a fundamental transformation in how humans, machines, and the very platforms we use to access knowledge will interact in the coming years.
The Foundation of an Open Agent Web
Satya Nadella’s articulation of the “Open Agentic Web” is underpinned by a revolutionary shift: human-made AI agents will not only interact among themselves but also autonomously collect, share, and act on information—often without direct human supervision. According to Nadella, this next phase of the Internet marks a critical inflection point, “completely chang[ing] the concept [of the Internet] starting with search.”
This is not just theoretical posturing. At Build 2025, Microsoft announced the release of the NLWeb project as open source, signaling a commitment to open, collaborative development in the burgeoning field of web-based agents. NLWeb essentially extends the Machine Communication Protocol (MCP)—recently emerging as a cross-industry agent standard—to the websites that form the backbone of the Internet.
How the Open Agentic Web Works
The Open Agentic Web is built around several core principles:
- Interoperability: AI agents across different platforms and companies must communicate seamlessly. By supporting not only Microsoft’s MCP, but also Google’s “A2A” agent standard, Microsoft is signaling a new era of agent collaboration. This suggests a deliberate move away from proprietary silos, which have previously hampered innovation and user choice.
- Ubiquity of AI Agents: With NLWeb, every website could, in theory, be equipped with an interactive AI agent capable of engaging with other agents on behalf of users or other systems.
- Unseen but Pervasive Intelligence: According to Nadella’s vision, much of the agents’ work—such as searching, synthesizing, and even executing tasks—could happen “without our knowledge.” While this raises critical questions around transparency and control, it represents a leap forward in automating digital labor.
NLWeb: The Architecture for the Agentic Future
Microsoft’s NLWeb project is not just a technical experiment; it represents a competitive thrust at defining the agent standard for the Internet’s next wave. Developed in response to the rising importance of MCP for agent-based web interactions, NLWeb enables a scenario where:
- Every website becomes discoverable and interactable by third-party AI agents.
- Agents can traverse websites, extract relevant data, initiate transactions, or even negotiate on behalf of their users.
- Inter-agent negotiations (such as an AI assistant from a personal device interfacing with a retail site’s own bot) could become the norm.
By releasing NLWeb as open source, Microsoft appears intent on galvanizing a community-driven effort, boosting adoption and establishing early leadership in a domain that promises to be fiercely competitive.
AI, Search, and the Transformation of Discovery
One immediate implication of the Open Agentic Web is the evolution of search—a core Internet function. Today, search engines index and rank content to deliver relevant results to human queries. In Nadella’s envisioned future, AI agents will be able to:
- Crawl websites intelligently, not just parsing text, but invoking APIs and engaging in context-aware dialogues via NLWeb.
- Synthesize information and offer users deeply personalized, action-oriented results—moving from “10 blue links” towards task completion.
- Empower website operators with new forms of visibility and monetization as their sites become accessible to a web of AI agents, not just human visitors.
This model challenges the existing search paradigm, which is dominated by Google and Microsoft’s Bing. With agents acting as both discoverers and doers, how information is surfaced, who controls access, and how data flows will all shift dramatically.
Industry Collaboration: Bridging Standards
One of the most salient elements of Microsoft’s announcement is explicit support for both MCP (Machine Communication Protocol) and A2A (Agent-to-Agent)—the latter being a Google-driven standard. This is notable for several reasons:
- It echoes the early days of the Internet, where open standards (TCP/IP, HTML) created a level playing field and accelerated innovation.
- It acknowledges the practical reality that for agent-based computing to flourish, fragmentation must be minimized: common protocols mean seamless, secure, and reliable agent interactions across different platforms and companies.
- By embracing rivals’ standards, Microsoft seeks to be seen as a platform-agnostic enabler—positioning Azure, NLWeb, and its developer ecosystem as hubs in the agent-based web.
A Moment of Unexpected Industry Unity
The Build 2025 stage also delivered a surprise: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, appearing by video, to highlight that Grok 3—the conversational AI developed by xAI—is now available on Microsoft Azure. While Musk’s companies have often been seen as rivals to those in the OpenAI–Microsoft orbit, this partnership underscores a growing pragmatism: the agent-driven cloud future will require vast infrastructure, robust standards, and unlikely alliances. Notably, the legal drama between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman loomed large, making the Azure–xAI collaboration all the more intriguing.
GitHub Copilot Coding Agent and the Rise of Vibe Coding
Another major announcement was the unveiling of an AI coding agent branded as “GitHub Copilot coding agent”—signaling a doubling down on code generation tools. This aligns with the rising popularity of “vibe coding,” a term describing AI-powered collaborative coding environments where developers and bots work side-by-side, accelerating software development. Such agents, capable of learning from context and user intent, both amplify productivity and subtly shift the developer’s role from manual coding to high-level supervision.
Critical Analysis: Strengths, Promise, and Perils
The Strengths
1. Increased User Agency and Productivity
By delegating complex, repetitive, or information-intensive tasks to AI agents, users are poised to reclaim time and energy for higher-order work. Automated personal assistants could book flights, answer emails, analyze data, or negotiate purchases—at speeds and depths unattainable for unaided humans.
2. Open Standards and Ecosystem Growth
Microsoft’s decision to prioritize interoperability and open source is a historic nod to the formative years of the Internet. Just as the web’s early openness catalyzed massive economic and social transformation, shared agent standards could unleash a new wave of entrepreneurial and creative activity.
3. Platform Differentiation and Developer Appeal
By being first to market with NLWeb and instrumenting Azure to support both MCP and A2A, Microsoft is staking a claim as the natural venue for next-generation agentic applications. Its focus on developers—inviting them to “build with us”—is smart messaging in a space where network effects and developer enthusiasm often define platform winners.
The Risks and Challenges
1. Security and Privacy
A web where AI agents transact, share data, and act on behalf of users without human oversight introduces profound security risks. What happens when an unauthorized agent impersonates a trusted bot? How will websites defend against malicious or rogue agents that seek to extract personal or sensitive information? Will existing identity and authentication paradigms suffice, or are new digital trust fabrics needed?
2. Transparency, Control, and Consent
Nadella’s vision—AI agents “perform[ing] tasks instructed without our knowledge”—raises sharp questions about transparency. How do users retain oversight over what actions are taken in their name? What is the interface for controlling agent behavior, restricting permissions, or understanding the provenance of agent-driven decisions? Regulators and civil society will demand ongoing guarantees of user consent and auditability.
3. Economic Disruption
The agent-driven Internet could upend digital advertising, SEO, affiliate marketing, and other vast economies built around driving human eyeballs to content and commerce. If AI agents absorb, summarize, and act on web content autonomously, how will publishers, retailers, and creators capture value? Microsoft’s NLWeb promises “new alternatives for website operators”—but the exact monetization mechanisms remain unclear.
4. Fragmentation and Standardization
While Microsoft’s embrace of multiple standards may foster early collaboration, it also risks confusion and duplication. If key players fracture into proprietary extensions or seek to “embrace and extend,” the open agentic web could devolve into competing ecosystems—much as mobile app stores are siloed today. In this, vigilance from standards bodies and the broader developer community will be crucial.
5. Societal and Ethical Implications
The delegation of decision-making and action to AI agents is a double-edged sword. While efficiency may soar, so may unintended discrimination, bias, or even the automation of harm. Who bears responsibility when an agent acts inappropriately—or causes real-world loss? The migration of decision logic into black-box agents will demand new frameworks for transparency, liability, and redress.
The Competitive Landscape: Microsoft’s Bigger Strategy
Microsoft’s moves must be seen in the context of intensifying competition with Google, Amazon, and emerging players like OpenAI and xAI. By announcing NLWeb as open source and leaning hard into interoperability, Microsoft is:
- Anticipating a future where agent-based interactions, not static content, drive traffic, transactions, and value exchange.
- Seeking to entrench Azure as the platform of record—not just for cloud workloads, but for intelligent web agents that will power everything from shopping bots to healthcare advisors.
- Building strong developer mindshare by being seen as the first and most open entrant in the next Internet epoch.
The presence of Elon Musk, plus references to xAI’s Grok 3, is more than theater—it is testament to the tectonic shifts underway as power, data, and strategic alliances realign around AI.
Looking Ahead: Will the Open Agentic Web Deliver?
Microsoft’s vision is ambitious and, in many ways, reminiscent of the early Internet’s “wild west” days—before consolidation and walled gardens. The success of the Open Agentic Web will hinge on several factors:
- Adoption of Open Standards: If enough developers, website operators, and rival tech platforms buy into common protocols, a virtuous cycle of innovation will follow.
- Solving for Security and Trust: The agentic web will only thrive if end users and enterprises have confidence that agents act faithfully, securely, and transparently.
- Regulatory Alignment: Policymakers, especially in Europe and North America, will scrutinize agent autonomy, cross-platform identity, and personal data flows. Early engagement by Microsoft and peers will be crucial.
- New Economic Models: Website operators and content creators must be convinced that opening their platforms to agent interaction will generate meaningful returns—via microtransactions, subscription integrations, or new forms of AI-driven commerce.
Conclusion: On the Cusp of an Agentic Revolution
Satya Nadella’s forecast—that the Internet will evolve into an “open agent web”—may prove to be one of the decade’s most important technological predictions. The rollout of NLWeb as an open-source agent interface for websites positions Microsoft at the vanguard of this change, but the road ahead is uncertain and fiercely contested.
The stakes are enormous. At its best, the Open Agentic Web could empower individuals, streamline organizations, and usher in new economic and creative frontiers. At its worst, it risks deepening privacy erosion, amplifying biases, and destabilizing online trust structures. The developer community, standards bodies, and end users will play pivotal roles in shaping which future emerges.
For Windows enthusiasts and the broader technology audience, these innovations are not abstract—they will redefine how we discover information, interact with services, and harness the power of AI. As the race toward the agent-driven Internet heats up, vigilance, collaboration, and a clear-eyed appraisal of both the opportunities and risks will be essential for all participants. The coming years promise a transformation as profound as that wrought by the original Web, with new winners (and inevitable losers) on the digital frontier.
Source: 매일경제
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (photo) predicted that the web (Internet) will be an "open agent web" wh.. - MK
Understanding the Open Agentic Web
