.NET 10 isn’t just another framework update — it marks a significant shift toward AI‑first development. With built‑in AI tooling, advanced frameworks, and standardized APIs, .NET 10 empowers developers to build intelligent applications more easily than ever before. This release embeds AI support deeply into the core platform, making .NET 10 a powerful foundation for modern AI solutions.
Microsoft Agent Framework — Build Intelligent Multi‑Agent Systems
One of the standout additions in .NET 10 is the Microsoft Agent Framework, a first‑party solution that simplifies the creation of AI‑powered agents and complex workflows. Previously, developers needed to stitch together separate libraries for multi‑agent orchestration. With .NET 10, the Agent Framework unifies these capabilities into a cohesive, scalable foundation.
This framework enables sequential, concurrent, and cooperative agent workflows, making it ideal for building advanced automation systems, AI assistants, and orchestrators.
Unified AI Abstractions via Microsoft.Extensions.AI
.NET 10 introduces standardized abstractions for AI services through the Microsoft.Extensions.AI library. This means developers can use a single API interface, like IChatClient, to integrate models from different providers such as Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, GitHub Models, or other AI services without rewriting application code.
The unified API simplifies switching providers, adds middleware support, and enables dependency injection and telemetry — all within familiar .NET patterns.
Model Context Protocol (MCP) — Extend AI Agents with Tools & Services
To make AI agents more useful, .NET 10 includes first‑class support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
MCP standardizes how AI agents access external tools, APIs, and data sources. This enables agents to perform complex tasks like:
- Accessing databases securely
- Calling external APIs
- Executing workflows
- Plugging in custom services
With MCP baked into .NET tools and templates, developers can build richer and more capable AI systems with lower overhead.
ASP.NET Core & Hosting Integration for AI Workloads
.NET 10 makes hosting intelligent systems easier by integrating agent support directly with ASP.NET Core. Developers can expose agent endpoints as standard web APIs, use middleware pipelines for observability, and build interactive interfaces with AG‑UI, a lightweight protocol designed for agent‑centric user experiences.
Enhanced Integration with AI Providers
Beyond abstractions, .NET 10 strengthens integration with real‑world AI services. Developers can plug in popular AI providers and leverage existing AI ecosystems like Azure AI and OpenAI with minimal configuration. This reduces friction and speeds up the process of building intelligent applications that rely on large language models and cloud‑based AI services.
Conclusion: AI First, Developer Friendly
With .NET 10, Microsoft solidifies .NET’s position as an AI‑centric development platform. Native frameworks for multi‑agent orchestration, unified APIs for provider agnosticism, extensible protocols for tool and service access, and deep integration with ASP.NET Core mean that developers can now build smarter, more scalable, and maintainable AI applications with the same tools they already use for web, cloud, and mobile development.
.NET 10 isn’t just smarter — it makes developers smarter too.