Microsoft announces Work IQ Retrieve tool for agent grounding

Microsoft has announced the Work IQ Retrieve tool, a new MCP tool that grounds agents in workplace context to produce more relevant and trustworthy responses.

The tool searches across authorized work sources. Retrieve pulls from email, files, meetings, Teams messages, people records and connected enterprise sources. Each user receives results only from data they are already authorized to access, with security and access controls enforced at every step.

Responses include both raw hits and model-ready markdown. The tool returns structured retrieval hits carrying metadata such as URL and sensitivity label, plus a grounding markdown field that contains inline citations. Developers are instructed to base agent answers on the markdown while preserving the citation IDs that link back to the individual hits.

Two retrieval strategies are supported. The default copilot strategy searches indexed Microsoft 365 content along with federated connectors and external sources. The grounding strategy limits results to indexed SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Outlook content only.

Capabilities parameter allows source filtering. Developers can supply an optional allow-list that restricts retrieval to specific families such as Email, TeamsMessages or OneDriveAndSharePoint, or to individual sites, mailboxes or connectors. The parameter accepts the Declarative Agent capability shape.

Retrieval remains separate from delegation. The retrieve operation collects context for the current agent, while ask or do_action calls are used when work should be handed to another agent. This separation keeps retrieval queries focused on evidence gathering.