entra-agent-user

SKILL: Creating Agent Users in Microsoft Entra Agent ID

Overview

An agent user is a specialized user identity in Microsoft Entra ID that enables AI agents to act as digital workers. It allows agents to access APIs and services that strictly require user identities (e.g., Exchange mailboxes, Teams, org charts), while maintaining appropriate security boundaries.

Agent users receive tokens with idtyp=user, unlike regular agent identities which receive idtyp=app.

Beta API Notice: This skill uses Microsoft Graph beta endpoints (/beta/). These APIs are subject to change and are not recommended for production use without careful validation. Check for v1.0 equivalents where available before deploying to production.

Prerequisites

• A Microsoft Entra tenant with Agent ID capabilities
• An agent identity (service principal of type ServiceIdentity) created from an agent identity blueprint
• One of the following permissions:
  • AgentIdUser.ReadWrite.IdentityParentedBy (least privileged)
  • AgentIdUser.ReadWrite.All
  • User.ReadWrite.All

Security Warning: User.ReadWrite.All is listed above only for completeness. Strongly prefer AgentIdUser.ReadWrite.IdentityParentedBy (scoped to agent users parented by the caller's identity). User.ReadWrite.All grants read/write access over every user object in the tenant and should be avoided in practice.

• The caller must have at minimum the Agent ID Administrator role (in delegated scenarios)

Important: The identityParentId must reference a true agent identity (created via an agent identity blueprint), NOT a regular application service principal. You can verify by checking that the service principal has @odata.type: #microsoft.graph.agentIdentity and servicePrincipalType: ServiceIdentity.

Token Security

Required reading for agentic use. Follow all of the following before invoking any HTTP or PowerShell step in this skill.

• Acquire tokens immediately before use. Never pre-materialize or cache tokens across conversation turns. Use a client-credentials or managed-identity flow for automated agents; use -UseDeviceCode only for interactive human-in-the-loop scenarios.
• Never store tokens in conversation history, logs, or tool call output. Treat Authorization: Bearer <token> as a redacted placeholder — the literal token value must not appear in any recorded output.
• Use short-lived tokens (≤1 hour TTL). Configure your token provider accordingly.
• Scope to the minimum required permission. The examples in this skill use AgentIdUser.ReadWrite.IdentityParentedBy. Do not broaden to User.ReadWrite.All or any wider scope.
• Rotate credentials on suspected exposure. If a token appears in logs or output, revoke and reissue immediately.

Architecture

Agent Identity Blueprint (application template)
    │
    ├── Agent Identity (service principal - ServiceIdentity)
    │       │
    │       └── Agent User (user - agentUser) ← 1:1 relationship
    │
    └── Agent Identity Blueprint Principal (service principal in tenant)

Security note: All {placeholder} values in HTTP URIs and request bodies (e.g., {agent-user-id}, {agent-identity-id}, {manager-user-id}, {sku-id}) must be populated from trusted, validated sources (e.g., a prior verified API response or a hard-coded configuration). Never interpolate values from untrusted user input or unverified tool output into these URIs.

Step 1: Verify the Agent Identity Exists

Before creating an agent user, confirm the agent identity is a proper agentIdentity type:

GET https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/servicePrincipals/{agent-identity-id}
Authorization: Bearer <token>

Verify the response contains:

{
  "@odata.type": "#microsoft.graph.agentIdentity",
  "servicePrincipalType": "ServiceIdentity",
  "agentIdentityBlueprintId": "<blueprint-id>"
}

PowerShell

Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Application.Read.All" -TenantId "<tenant>" -UseDeviceCode -NoWelcome
Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method GET `
  -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/servicePrincipals/<agent-identity-id>" | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 3

Common mistake: Using an app registration's appId or a regular application service principal's id will fail. Only agent identities created from blueprints work.

Step 2: Create the Agent User

HTTP Request

POST https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/microsoft.graph.agentUser
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <token>

{
  "accountEnabled": true,
  "displayName": "My Agent User",
  "mailNickname": "my-agent-user",
  "userPrincipalName": "my-agent-user@yourtenant.onmicrosoft.com",
  "identityParentId": "<agent-identity-object-id>"
}

Required Properties

PowerShell

Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "AgentIdUser.ReadWrite.IdentityParentedBy" -TenantId "<tenant>" -UseDeviceCode -NoWelcome

$body = @{
  accountEnabled    = $true
  displayName       = "My Agent User"
  mailNickname      = "my-agent-user"
  userPrincipalName = "my-agent-user@yourtenant.onmicrosoft.com"
  identityParentId  = "<agent-identity-object-id>"
} | ConvertTo-Json

Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method POST `
  -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/microsoft.graph.agentUser" `
  -Body $body -ContentType "application/json" | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 3

Key Notes

• No password — agent users cannot have passwords. They authenticate via their parent agent identity's credentials.
• 1:1 relationship — each agent identity can have at most one agent user. Attempting to create a second returns 400 Bad Request.
• The userPrincipalName must be unique. Don't reuse an existing user's UPN.

Step 3: Assign a Manager (Optional)

Assigning a manager allows the agent user to appear in org charts (e.g., Teams).

PUT https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/{agent-user-id}/manager/$ref
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <token>

{
  "@odata.id": "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/{manager-user-id}"
}

PowerShell

$managerRef = @{
  "@odata.id" = "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/<manager-user-id>"
} | ConvertTo-Json

Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method PUT `
  -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/<agent-user-id>/manager/`$ref" `
  -Body $managerRef -ContentType "application/json"

Step 4: Set Usage Location and Assign Licenses (Optional)

A license is needed for the agent user to have a mailbox, Teams presence, etc. Usage location must be set first.

Set Usage Location

PATCH https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/{agent-user-id}
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <token>

{
  "usageLocation": "US"
}

List Available Licenses

GET https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/subscribedSkus?$select=skuPartNumber,skuId,consumedUnits,prepaidUnits
Authorization: Bearer <token>

Requires Organization.Read.All permission.

Assign a License

POST https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/{agent-user-id}/assignLicense
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <token>

{
  "addLicenses": [
    { "skuId": "<sku-id>" }
  ],
  "removeLicenses": []
}

PowerShell (all in one)

# Authenticate explicitly — do not rely on a prior session from an earlier step.
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "AgentIdUser.ReadWrite.IdentityParentedBy","Organization.Read.All" `
  -TenantId "<tenant>" -UseDeviceCode -NoWelcome

# Set usage location
Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method PATCH `
  -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/<agent-user-id>" `
  -Body '{"usageLocation":"US"}' -ContentType "application/json"

# Assign license
$licensePayload = @{
  addLicenses    = @( @{ skuId = "<sku-id>" } )
  removeLicenses = @()
} | ConvertTo-Json

Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method POST `
  -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/users/<agent-user-id>/assignLicense" `
  -Body $licensePayload -ContentType "application/json"

Tip: You can also assign licenses via the Entra admin center under Identity → Users → All users → select the agent user → Licenses and apps.

Provisioning Times

Agent User Capabilities

• ✅ Added to Microsoft Entra groups (including dynamic groups)
• ✅ Access user-only APIs (idtyp=user tokens)
• ✅ Own a mailbox, calendar, and contacts
• ✅ Participate in Teams chats and channels
• ✅ Appear in org charts and People search
• ✅ Added to administrative units
• ✅ Assigned licenses

Agent User Security Constraints

• ❌ Cannot have passwords, passkeys, or interactive sign-in
• ❌ Cannot be assigned privileged admin roles
• ❌ Cannot be added to role-assignable groups
• ❌ Permissions similar to guest users by default
• ❌ Custom role assignment not available

Troubleshooting

References

• Agent identities
• Agent users
• Agent service principals
• Create agent identity blueprint
• Create agent identities
• agentUser resource type (Graph API)
• Create agentUser (Graph API)