Microsoft has introduced its latest initiative within the Azure platform, focusing on advanced AI research through its AI Foundry Agent Service. This move aims to boost AI innovation and development, targeting researchers and developers looking to leverage cutting-edge AI tools. The initiative promises to deliver robust AI solutions across various sectors by providing unprecedented access to deep learning frameworks and resources.
Introduction to Azure AI Foundry Agent Service
Azure’s AI Foundry Agent Service represents a significant advancement in the realm of artificial intelligence, paving the way for more integrated and efficient AI capabilities across industries. This new service, as detailed in Microsoft’s announcement blog, aims to enhance AI development by providing researchers and developers with the tools necessary to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve. For more insights, you can explore the [announcement on Microsoft’s blog](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-deep-research-in-azure-ai-foundry-agent-service/).
The introduction of Azure AI Foundry Agent Service is strategically designed to streamline AI operations and facilitate deep collaboration between AI teams. By centralizing AI resources and offering a platform that nurtures innovative research, Azure is setting a benchmark for AI development. Interested individuals can learn more about how this service is transforming AI research by visiting the [Microsoft blog](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-deep-research-in-azure-ai-foundry-agent-service/).
With its launch, the Azure AI Foundry Agent Service is expected to reshape the future of AI by fostering an environment where cutting-edge ideas can flourish. Researchers and technology enthusiasts are encouraged to delve into the potential impact of this service on future technological advancements. For a detailed overview of what this means for the AI landscape, the official [Microsoft announcement](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-deep-research-in-azure-ai-foundry-agent-service/) provides extensive insights.
Overview of Deep Research in Azure AI
Azure AI has been making significant strides in the realm of artificial intelligence research. The introduction of Deep Research in Azure AI represents a major advancement in leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies. This initiative aims to explore advanced models and techniques to solve complex problems, thereby pushing the boundaries of what is possible with machine learning and AI. [Reference](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-deep-research-in-azure-ai-foundry-agent-service/)
The overarching goal of Deep Research in Azure AI is to build a more robust and comprehensive framework for AI applications, which can be seamlessly integrated into real-world scenarios. This includes deploying AI models that not only optimize processes but also bring about transformative changes in industries such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. By focusing on deep learning and neural networks, the program will foster innovation and enhance the capabilities of AI systems. More information can be found through [Azure’s official blog](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-deep-research-in-azure-ai-foundry-agent-service/).
The collaborative nature of Deep Research in Azure AI encourages partnerships with academic institutions and industry leaders. Such collaborations are crucial for addressing the multidisciplinary challenges presented by AI research. By working together, these entities can accelerate the development of sophisticated AI tools and methodologies, ensuring that the innovations are not only theoretical but applicable and pragmatic in nature. Additional insights are available in this [article by Azure](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-deep-research-in-azure-ai-foundry-agent-service/).
Impact on the AI Industry
The introduction of the Deep Research in Azure AI Foundry Agent Service marks a significant milestone in the AI industry, heralding a new era of collaborative innovation and advanced intelligence solutions. This service is designed to drive cutting-edge research and development by providing a platform where developers and researchers can leverage a wide range of tools and frameworks. By fostering a collaborative environment, it catalyzes faster breakthroughs and facilitates the exchange of ideas across various sectors. For more details on this groundbreaking service, visit Azure’s official blog.
This service not only accelerates the pace of AI development but also enhances the quality of AI models by offering robust infrastructure and support. It promises to address some of the industry’s pressing challenges, such as data processing efficiency and model scalability, by allowing seamless integration and deployment of AI solutions. The potential applications of such advancements are vast, promising improvements in fields ranging from healthcare to autonomous driving. For an in-depth understanding, the announcement provides insightful perspectives.
Stakeholders across the AI landscape have expressed enthusiasm about the possibilities introduced by this service. Experts suggest it could democratize access to advanced AI technologies, fostering innovation even among smaller enterprises that previously had limited resources. The public reaction has been mostly positive, with many lauding the potential for this service to create more equitable technological advancements. Interested readers can explore the broader implications by visiting Azure’s blog.
Expert Opinions on Azure AI Foundry Agent Service
In a recent post on the Azure blog, Microsoft introduced the Deep Research initiative within their AI Foundry Agent Service (source). This program is generating a buzz among AI experts for its potential to revolutionize the way organizations leverage AI for complex research tasks. By integrating deep research capabilities, the service aims to offer unparalleled support in processing and analyzing large datasets, which is a critical need identified by industry leaders.
Experts have highlighted the Azure AI Foundry Agent Service as a groundbreaking advancement in the realm of artificial intelligence. According to the information shared on the Azure blog, this service is not only about enhancing AI-driven insights but also about fostering collaboration among researchers globally. Experts are particularly excited about the service’s ability to streamline workflows and encourage innovative approaches to problem-solving in various sectors.
The introduction of the Deep Research node in Azure AI Foundry is seen by experts as a major step towards democratizing AI. As noted in Microsoft’s announcement, the service is designed to be accessible to researchers across different fields, thus promoting inclusivity and cross-disciplinary innovation. This democratization effort, discussed on the Azure blog, is expected to spur new discoveries by providing robust tools and resources that were previously inaccessible to smaller institutions and individual researchers.
Public Reactions to Azure’s Announcement
Microsoft Azure’s recent announcement has struck a chord with technology enthusiasts and industry experts alike, igniting a wave of intrigue and speculative discussions across various online platforms. The introduction of the Azure AI Foundry Agent Service promises to revolutionize how businesses leverage artificial intelligence in their operations. Within hours of the announcement, social media was abuzz with conversations highlighting the potential benefits of this new service in streamlining workflows and enhancing data-driven decision-making. Users on platforms like Twitter praised the move, indicating a strong interest in the practical applications of AI, particularly in enhancing productivity and efficiency across different sectors. See more about the announcement here.
Potential Future Implications of Azure AI Services
The integration of Azure AI services into different sectors is anticipated to revolutionize the way businesses operate by providing enhanced capabilities in data processing and decision-making. These AI services are designed to enable more effective automation processes, leading to significant increases in efficiency and productivity across various industries. As Azure continues to grow its AI offerings, the implications for sectors like healthcare, finance, and retail could be transformative, offering more personalized, efficient, and scalable solutions. More insights can be gleaned from their announcement blog at Azure Blog.
Furthermore, as Azure AI services evolve, potential future implications include the democratization of advanced AI technology, making it more accessible to smaller businesses and organizations. This shift could level the playing field, allowing smaller entities to compete with larger corporations by leveraging the power of Azure’s AI-driven analytics and insights. The expansion of these services might also spur innovations in AI-driven research and applications, leading to breakthroughs in areas like natural language processing, robotics, and autonomous systems. Explore further details in their introductory article here.
The potential future implications of Azure AI services are not limited to economic benefits but also encompass ethical and societal impacts. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into the daily operations of businesses and public services, questions surrounding data privacy, security, and the ethical deployment of AI technologies will arise. Azure’s commitment to responsible AI, as outlined in their development guidelines, aims to address these concerns by ensuring transparent, equitable, and inclusive AI practices. For a deeper understanding of their approach, the Azure blog provides further context here.
Jobs aren’t disappearing. Through AI, talent acquisition is fast evolving from hand-crafted interviewing and recruiting to a data-driven model that ensures the right talent is hired at the right time, for the right role with unmatched accuracy
Traditional recruiting isn’t working: in 2024, only 17% of applicants received interviews and 60% abandoned slow application processes
AI drives 2–3x faster hiring, stronger candidate quality, sharper targeting—and 95% candidate satisfaction at Foundever, from 200,000+ applicants in just six months
OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Josh Bersin Company, the world’s most trusted HR advisory firm, today released new research showing that jobs aren’t disappearing—they’re being matched with greater intelligence. The research, produced in collaboration with AMS, reveals major advances in talent acquisition (TA) driven by AI-enabled technology, which are yielding 2–3x faster time to hire, stronger candidate-role matches, and unprecedented precision in sourcing.
The Josh Bersin Company (PRNewsfoto/The Josh Bersin Company)
The global market for recruiting, hiring, and staffing is over $850 billion and is growing at 13% per year, despite the economic slowdown, though signs of strain are evident. This means TA leaders are turning to AI to adapt, as AI transforms jobs, creates the need for new roles, new skills, and AI expertise.
According to the research and advisory firm, even without AI disruption, over 20% of employees consider changing jobs each year, driving demand for a new wave of high-precision, AI-powered tools for assessment, interviewing, selection, and hiring. Companies joining this AI revolution are hiring 200-300% faster, with greater accuracy and efficiency than their peers, despite the job market slowdown.
According to the report, The Talent Acquisition Revolution: How AI is Transforming Recruiting, the TA automation revolution is delivering benefits across the hiring ecosystem: job seekers experience faster recognition and better fit, while employers gain accurate, real-time, and highly scalable recruitment.
This is against a context of failure with current hiring. In 2024, less than one in four (17%) of applicants made it to the interview stage, and 60% of job seekers, due to too-slow hiring portals, abandoned the whole application process.
The research shows how organizations are already realizing benefits such as lower hiring costs, stronger internal mobility, and higher productivity. AI-empowered TA teams are also streamlining operations by shifting large portions of manual, admin-heavy work to specialized vendors.
Early successes are striking: after deploying conversational AI, a major U.S. resort operator increased scheduled interviews by 423% in 12 months while reducing candidate drop-off by 85%. A new AI TA process at Foundever hit 95% candidate satisfaction rating from over 200,000 applicants in just six months, while a leading global automotive company reported $2 million in savings in its first year using AI-powered interview scheduling.
The research highlights how AI is helping TA overcome frustrations like vague job descriptions, inconsistent interviews, and labor-intensive processes.
HR teams now use AI to automate tasks from profiling and sourcing to screening, scheduling, interviewing, and negotiating offers. Companies showcasing these successes include major international brands spanning the hospitality, food, healthcare, and technology sectors, such as Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Compass Group.
Some organizations are using AI-powered recruiting assistants to manage routine communication and negotiations. Recruiters set parameters for salary, benefits, and start dates, while the AI answers questions, updates offers, and proposes alternatives in real time. By automating tasks and personalizing the experience, AI shortens turnaround times and frees recruiters to focus on strategy.
The vendor market is transforming, with SAP acquiring SmartRecruiters and Workday acquiring Paradox to stay competitive. Innovations include AI agents enabling automation of the full hiring journey (Eightfold AI, Maki People) conversational AI for candidate engagement (Glider AI, Paradox, Radancy), AI-driven assessments (CodeSignal, HireVue, TaTiO), and platforms that benchmark roles against labor market data (Draup, Galileo, Lightcast, Reejig, SeekOut, TechWolf).
Report author and Josh Bersin Company Industry Analyst & Senior Research Director, Stella Ioannidou, says:
“For decades, TA has been viewed as a cost center, focused on using applicant tracking systems to manage incoming candidates and relying on recruiters to screen and interview. This process was slow, expensive, and delivered a poor experience for job seekers.
“Today, by leveraging AI-powered platforms and integrated data, TA teams can identify, attract, and engage the best talent in the market with unparalleled precision, often before competitors even know those candidates are available—resulting in a proactive, data-driven approach that enables organizations to respond quickly to changing business needs, seize new opportunities, and fuel growth from within.”
Chief Executive Officer at AMS, Gordon Stuart, says:
“This research paper captures the urgency and scale of the AI revolution which is transforming TA. It doesn’t just reflect what’s happening now, it helps us understand what’s next. Candidates want speed, clarity, and connection. Recruiters need tools that free them to focus on strategy and relationships. And businesses must rethink how talent acquisition fits into their broader growth agenda. AI is not just automating tasks, it’s redefining roles, workflows, and expectations across the board. The cumulative power of people, process, data and technology is heralding a new era for talent acquisition.”
Global industry analyst and Josh Bersin Company CEO, Josh Bersin, says:
“AI is expected to provide CHROs with a data-rich view of talent comparable to an integrated supply chain, enabling them to track and analyze every detail of each hire with the same precision a luxury Swiss watchmaker applies to every component and its origin.
“This transition transforms HR from handcrafted processes to precision, dynamic hiring—something once unattainable without AI.
“The implications are significant for all stakeholders, particularly CEOs. Organizations that lacked a precision hiring process have historically faced millions in lost revenue, high turnover, and misaligned talent—but those days are now coming to an end.”
This new research follows previous Josh Bersin Company findings demonstrating how AI is transforming another core HR function: Learning & Development.
The Josh Bersin Company’s Galileo Suite delivers both strategic guidance and hands-on tools through its AI Agent for HR, as well as hyper-personalized learning through the exclusive Galileo Learn certificate course, AI-First TA Transformation. The full report is available to download here.
About AMS AMS is a leading global provider of talent acquisition and consulting services, providing unrivalled experience, driven by technology and underpinned by innovation. We help our clients to attract, engage and retain the talent they need for business success.
We have three core areas of service: acquisition, advisory and digital, mainly delivered as an outsourced model, and spanning our clients’ permanent and contingent workforce, and internal mobility requirements.
Our dedicated teams of experts are deeply embedded with our global blue-chip clients, enhancing talent acquisition processes and driving projects which align with overall strategic objectives. This relationship-driven approach is supporting our clients to redefine how they hire and retain top talent. For more, go to www.weareams.com/
About The Josh Bersin Company
The most trusted human capital advisors in the world. More than a million HR and business leaders rely on us to help them overcome their greatest people challenges.
Thanks to our understanding of workplace issues, informed by the largest and most up-to-date data sets on workers and employees, we give leaders the confidence to make decisions in line with the latest thinking and evidence about work and the workplace. We’re great listeners, too. There’s no one like us, who understands this area so comprehensively and without bias.
Our offerings include the industry’s leading AI-powered HR expert assistant, Galileo®, fueled by 25 years of in-depth Josh Bersin Company research, case studies, benchmarks, and market information.
We help CHROs and CEOs be better at delivering their business goals. We do that by helping you to manage people better. We are enablers at our core. We provide strategic advice and counsel supported by in-depth research, thought leadership, and unrivaled professional development, community, and networking opportunities.
We empower our clients to run their businesses better. And we empower the market by identifying results-driven practices that make work better for every person on the planet.
Specialized AI agents automate research workflows and accelerate drug discovery and development with transparent, evidence-backed insights
LONDON, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Causaly today introduced Causaly Agentic Research, an agentic AI breakthrough that delivers the transparency and scientific rigor that life sciences research and development demands. First-of-their-kind, specialized AI agents access, analyze, and synthesize comprehensive internal and external biomedical knowledge and competitive intelligence. Scientists can now automate complex tasks and workflows to scale R&D operations, discover novel insights, and drive faster decisions with confidence, precision, and clarity.
Industry-specific scientific AI agents
Causaly Agentic Research builds on Causaly Deep Research with a conversational interface that lets users interact directly with Causaly AI research agents. Unlike legacy literature review tools and general-purpose AI tools, Causaly Agentic Research uses industry-specific AI agents built for life sciences R&D and securely combines internal and external data to create a single source of truth for research. Causaly AI agents complete multi-step tasks across drug discovery and development, from generating and testing hypotheses to producing structured, transparent results always backed by evidence.
“Agentic AI fundamentally changes how life sciences conducts research,” said Yiannis Kiachopoulos, co-founder and CEO of Causaly. “Causaly Agentic Research emulates the scientific process, automatically analyzing data, finding biological relationships, and reasoning through problems. AI agents work like digital assistants, eliminating manual tasks and dependencies on other teams, so scientists can access more diverse evidence sources, de-risk decision-making, and focus on higher-value work.”
Solving critical research challenges
Research and development teams need access to vast amounts of biomedical data, but manual and siloed processes slow research and create long cycle times for getting treatments to market. Scientists spend weeks analyzing narrow slices of data while critical insights remain hidden. Human biases influence decisions, and the volume of scientific information overwhelms traditional research approaches.
Causaly addresses these challenges as the first agentic AI platform for scientists that combines extensive biomedical information with competitive intelligence and proprietary datasets. With a single, intelligent interface for scientific discovery that fits within scientists’ existing workflows, research and development teams can eliminate silos, improve productivity, and accelerate scientific ideas to market.
Comprehensive agentic AI research platform
As part of the Causaly platform, Causaly Agentic Research provides scientists multiple AI agents that collaborate to:
Conduct complex analysis and provide answers that move research forward
Verify quality and accuracy to dramatically reduce time-to-discovery
Continuously scan the scientific landscape to surface critical signals and emerging evidence in real time
Deliver fully traceable insights that help teams make confident, evidence-backed decisions while maintaining scientific rigor for regulatory approval
Connect seamlessly with internal systems, public applications, data sources, and even other AI agents, unifying scientific discovery
Availability
Causaly Agentic Research will be available in October 2025, with a conversational interface and foundational AI agents to accelerate drug discovery and development. Additional specialized AI agents are planned for availability by the end of the year.
Explore how Causaly Agentic Research can redefine your R&D workflows and bring the future of drug development to your organization at causaly.com/products/agentic-research.
About Causaly
Causaly is a leader in AI for the life sciences industry. Leading biopharmaceutical companies use the Causaly AI platform to find, visualize, and interpret biomedical knowledge and automate critical research workflows. To learn how Causaly is accelerating drug discovery through transformative AI technologies and getting critical treatments to patients faster, visit www.causaly.com.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is often criticised for ripping off artists, but the technology is now being used to combat fake copies of works by the Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau (1932-2007) that have flooded the market over the past two decades.
More than 6,000 pieces were produced and fraudulently sold as authentic works by the Ojibwe artist to collectors worldwide, with financial losses estimated to exceed C$100m ($72.5m). The trial of Jeffrey Cowan, the last of the suspected fraudsters in the tangled web of Morrisseau forgery rings, began this week. Two other men who pleaded guilty to participating in what the Ontario Provincial Police described as “the biggest art fraud in world history”, were each given a conditional sentence of two years less a day in August and September.
In a unique case of fighting fakes with fakes, the Montreal-based start-up Acrylic Robotics announced in July that, in partnership with the Norval Morrisseau Estate, its robots will reproduce five Morrisseau paintings and make the copies available for purchase.
Norval AI
“We have created our own artificial intelligence called Norval AI to help determine the probability of an authentic Norval Morrisseau painting,” Cory Dingle, the Morrisseau estate’s executive director, tells The Art Newspaper. “It has grown to do many other functions that will help with museums seeking provenance as well as law enforcement—such as catching the person who painted the fraudulent work.”
The idea of developing an AI authenticator began in 2023, when Dingle met Stephan Heblich, an economics professor at the University of Toronto, and Clément Gorin, an associate professor at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
“Clément and I were just two art-loving economics professors who are using the latest deep learning and visual recognition techniques to analyse paintings,” Heblich says. “We thought we could help restore Norval’s legacy, so we reached out to Cory and created Norval AI.”
A year later, Dingle met Chloë Ryan, the founder and chief executive of Acrylic Robotics. The artist-turned-engineer had developed technology that allows robots to paint works in the style of individual artists.
Better fakes
“We needed better replicas to test our artificial intelligence programme—the existing fake paintings were so terrible,” Dingle says. “So we collaborated with Acrylic Robotics and helped train their robot to paint more realistic fake paintings.” He adds: “They want to produce very accurate reproductions and our Norval AI tells their robot where it is doing a bad job. They use our data to make the robot do a better job, which makes those better replicas train our Norval AI even better.”
Last year, the Norval Morrisseau Family Foundation helped Acrylic Robotics produce a very accurate replica of one of Morrisseau’s original paintings. This in turn was run through the Norval AI programme and the results were shared with Acrylic Robotics to help improve its replicas.
The resulting works produced by Acrylic Robotics include limited editions of five paintings, including Morrisseau’s In Honour of Native Motherhood (1990), which was inspired by the murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada, and Punk Rockers (around 1991), in which Morrisseau fused traditional Anishinaabe iconography with contemporary idioms.
Marked as replicas
Prices for the Acrylic Robotics works range from C$3,240 to C$45,000. To avoid further fraud, several techniques have been applied to ensure the works are easily identifiable as replicas, including a mark on the back of the canvas.
According to an Acrylic Robotics spokesperson, the company hopes to investigate whether, with the support of Norval AI, its robots may be able to complete some of Morrisseau’s many unfinished or damaged works.
“What’s exciting here, even beyond the technology,” Ryan says, “is the opportunity to push the boundaries of what has been possible, make art history and reclaim a legacy.”
