Microsoft Defender XDR
FundamentalsGet Started Defender Security For Ai
In brief
The setup guidance now separates local and cloud agent onboarding. Local agent discovery follows separate prerequisites and does not require AI agent runtime protection; runtime protection can be configured independently.
What Defender admins need to know
Admins onboarding local agents should follow the discovery prerequisites and configure runtime protection separately if needed.
Summaries are generated from the documentation change itself.
Documentation change
View on Microsoft LearnThe comparison below shows only the changed extract. Use the full-page view for complete context.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
Onboard to Microsoft Agent 365.- Local agents are onboarded separately from cloud agents.
To includeFor local AIagents that run on endpoints, set upagent discovery, meet the discovery prerequisites. Discovery doesn't require you to enable AI agent runtime protection. To configure runtime protection separately, see Set up AI agent runtime protection.Microsoft Defender for Endpoint must run inactive modeBefore you onboard cloud agents, make sure you have:
- Onboard to Microsoft Agent 365.
- Security Administrator role or higher in Microsoft Entra ID.
- For Copilot Studio real-time protection, you need collaboration with a Power Platform administrator.
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ ms.author: guywild author: guywi-ms ms.reviewer: itaicohen ms.service: microsoft-defender-ms.date: 2026-07-01T00:00:00.0000000Z+ms.date: 2026-10-30T00:00:00.0000000Z audience: Admin ms.topic: how-to ai-usage: ai-assisted@@ -51,10 +51,11 @@ Onboarding includes enabling data collection, connecting the Microsoft 365 app c
## Prerequisites
-Before you start, make sure you have:
+Local agents are onboarded separately from cloud agents. For local AI agent discovery, meet the [discovery prerequisites](/en-us/defender-endpoint/discover-local-ai-agents#prerequisites). Discovery doesn't require you to enable AI agent runtime protection. To configure runtime protection separately, see [Set up AI agent runtime protection](/en-us/defender-endpoint/configure-ai-agent-runtime-protection).
+
+Before you onboard cloud agents, make sure you have:
- [Onboard to Microsoft Agent 365](/en-us/microsoft-agent-365/overview).
-- Local agents are onboarded separately from cloud agents. To include local AI agents that run on endpoints, set up [AI agent runtime protection in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint](/en-us/defender-endpoint/configure-ai-agent-runtime-protection). Microsoft Defender for Endpoint must run in **active mode**.
- Security Administrator role or higher in Microsoft Entra ID.
- For Copilot Studio real-time protection, you need collaboration with a Power Platform administrator.