This release introduces new capabilities to help you build and manage AI agents more effectively. You can now evaluate and optimize agents with AgentOps (preview on AWS), register external A2A agents through Connection Manager, and use Agent Skills to keep agent behavior focused on specific workflows.
Simplify agent evaluation with AgentOps in watsonx Orchestrate (AWS preview)
The new Agent Optimization Assistant in AgentOps provides a conversational workspace where builders can review agents, run evaluations, analyze quality signals, and optimize prompts. Instead of manually testing and refining agent behavior, teams can use AI-assisted workflows to identify improvement opportunities and accelerate agent development.
This angle makes the feature immediately relevant while highlighting the core value proposition: faster iteration, higher-quality agents, and simplified optimization.
Highlighting that AgentOps is currently available in preview for AWS deployments only. Features and functionality might change before general availability.
Starting your learn accessing the AgentOps documentation.
Connect your workflows to the tools that drive your business
Workflows don't exist in isolation. Teams need visibility into what's happening, when action is required, and whether processes are running as expected. With runtime event notifications, you can send workflow events directly to external systems such as ticketing tools, messaging platforms, and monitoring services.
By connecting workflow activity to the tools your teams already use, you can respond to issues faster, improve operational visibility, and create automated processes that keep work moving without constant manual oversight.
For configuration details, see the documentation: Configuring external system notifications in agentic workflows.
Manage external A2A agents with greater visibility
Importing external agents with the A2A protocol is now simpler and more transparent. During import, you're prompted to select or create an A2A agent connection in the Connect step, making it easier to define how watsonx Orchestrate authenticates with the external agent.
With this enhancement, you can:
- Select an existing A2A-compatible connection or create a new one during import.
- Authenticate using an API key, bearer token, or OAuth 2.0 client credentials.
- Map multiple external agents to a single connection that works across both draft and live environments.
This update streamlines agent onboarding and provides better visibility and centralized management of external A2A agents.
See more in Adding an agent-to-agent connection.
New demo available: Build AI Agents with IBM watsonx Orchestrate
Looking for a hands-on way to explore agent creation in IBM watsonx Orchestrate? We’ve published a new interactive demo that walks you through the experience of building and configuring AI agents.
Give it a try and see how easy it is to start building intelligent agents: Creating an agent on watsonx Orchestrate demo
Also in this release...
IBM watsonx Orchestrate introduces several other improvements for workflows, agent building, integrations, analytics, and administration help streamline development, improve visibility, and enhance the overall user experience. See more in the What’s new documentation.
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