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Data from last week indicate a shift in capital flows toward a short-term “risk-on” stance, with equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drawing strong net inflows globally while money moved away from defensive positioning into risk assets. U.S. equities extend gains amid ceasefire The U.S. stock market continued its upward momentum into…
A Microsoft executive has proposed that AI agents—autonomous virtual assistants that automate tasks—should be treated as “real employees” for software licensing purposes, meaning they would pay for software licenses as individual users.
At a conference, Rajesh Jha, a Microsoft executive, argued that AI agents require unique identities within software systems, such as login accounts and email, along with a dedicated “seat.” Under this approach, AI would not necessarily reduce software revenue; instead, it could expand it.
Jha suggested that embodied agents should be treated as seats, envisioning organizations that may deploy more agents than humans. In that model, each agent would effectively function as a user that requires a license.
The rationale is that once an agent can read messages, invoke applications, update records, and operate autonomously, software platforms would need to track it as a distinct user to support security, auditing, and workflow control.
Not all observers agree with Microsoft’s framing. Nenad Milicevic, a partner at AlixPartners, argued that AI agents could reduce the number of people interacting with software, potentially lowering the number of licenses needed.
Milicevic described a scenario in which, rather than 20 employees using a system, a single supervisor could oversee multiple agents—implying fewer human users and therefore fewer licenses.
Milicevic also said that open platforms may be the winners. He argued that companies could charge based on machines, but that rivals offering agents greater freedom to operate could attract customers away from licensing models that treat agents like traditional users.
At the center of the dispute is a fundamental question: whether AI agents are truly independent workers or simply tools that help humans work more efficiently. The answer could influence how software is priced over the next decade.
The traditional licensing model has been straightforward: companies buy licenses for each employee, so revenue scales with headcount. AI agents challenge that model because one person could supervise many agents, raising questions for investors about why a company would still need large numbers of separate licenses.
Microsoft’s proposal aims to sustain existing pricing structures by redefining who—or what—counts as a “user” of software. Instead of assuming AI reduces licenses, the argument is that each independently operating AI agent should be counted as a new user.
From a customer perspective, the proposal may appear aimed at preserving vendor revenue in a world where technology is expected to reduce costs rather than increase them. If the purpose of deploying AI is to cut expenses and improve efficiency, paying for each AI agent as if it were a human employee could reduce some of the economic benefits.
Source: Life & Law (DoisongPhapluat) and related coverage
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