Eduard van Valkenburg
d08200d00e
* Bump Python package versions for 1.12.0 release Bump packages represented in the 1.12.0 changelog, promote Foundry Hosting, Azure Content Understanding, Gemini, Mistral, Monty, and Tools to beta, and apply the requested beta cohort date stamp. Root and core move to 1.12.0, released and RC packages use their selected increments, alpha packages including Hosting MCP use the 260721 stamp, and core floors are raised only for proven consumers. Copilot-Session: 2dd9980a-b869-4c16-8642-75b7a6d6ebdf * fix version in readme * Add Responses conversation ID changes to release notes Include the breaking Hosting Responses conversation ID helper changes from #7234 in the Python 1.12.0 changelog. Copilot-Session: 2dd9980a-b869-4c16-8642-75b7a6d6ebdf
Get Started with Microsoft Agent Framework Azure AI Search
Please install this package via pip:
pip install agent-framework-azure-ai-search --pre
Azure AI Search Integration
The Azure AI Search integration provides context providers for RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) capabilities with two modes:
- Semantic Mode: Fast hybrid search (vector + keyword) with semantic ranking
- Agentic Mode: Multi-hop reasoning using Knowledge Bases for complex queries
API versions: stable vs preview
The integration auto-detects which build of azure-search-documents is installed — there is
nothing to configure in code:
| Channel | Install | Data-plane api-version (chosen by the SDK) |
|---|---|---|
| Stable | pip install azure-search-documents (>=12.0.0) |
2026-04-01 |
| Preview | pip install --pre azure-search-documents (e.g. 12.1.0b1) |
2026-05-01-preview |
The provider never pins an api-version; the installed build selects its own, so newer
releases work without code changes.
Agentic output modes (answer_synthesis) and extended reasoning effort (low/medium)
ship only in the preview build. When a stable build is installed, the provider uses extractive
output with minimal reasoning effort and raises an actionable error if a preview-only option is
explicitly requested. Switching channels is a single change — the install — with no code edits.
Basic Usage Example
See the Azure AI Search context provider examples which demonstrate:
- Semantic search with hybrid (vector + keyword) queries
- Agentic mode with Knowledge Bases for complex multi-hop reasoning
- Environment variable configuration with Settings class
- API key and managed identity authentication