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Will Azure OpenAI Assistants API specifically be deprecated on August 26th?

Jonathan Delgado 0 Reputation points
2026-02-26T16:39:32.9433333+00:00

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/openai/concepts/assistants?view=foundry-classic
Recently saw this message in the documentation "The Assistants API is deprecated and will be retired on August 26, 2026. Use the generally available Microsoft Foundry Agents service. Follow the migration guide to update your workloads. Learn more."

I recalled this post from a few months ago stating that "users of Azure OpenAI can continue building assistants and agents as usual" following the depreciation of the open ai assistants August 26th.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5571874/openai-assistants-api-will-be-deprecated-in-august?utm_source=copilot.com

Aside from that little announcement box in the docs, I can't seem to find other sources regarding my question.

So, I wanted to know if current users of the Azure OpenAI Assistants API will actually be affected and would need to migrate to agents.

Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models
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  1. AI answer

    2026-02-26T16:39:46.9233333+00:00

    Yes. The Azure OpenAI Assistants API itself is now deprecated and is scheduled to be fully retired on August 26, 2026. That deprecation notice in the documentation is explicit:

    "The Assistants API is deprecated and will be retired on August 26, 2026. Use the generally available Microsoft Foundry Agents service. Follow the migration guide to update your workloads."

    This means:

    1. Current Assistants API users will be affected.
      • Existing applications that rely on the Assistants API will need to be migrated before August 26, 2026.
      • After that retirement date, the Assistants API will no longer be available for use.
    2. The recommended path forward is Microsoft Foundry Agents.
      • The documentation directs customers to the Microsoft Foundry Agents service as the generally available replacement.
      • A dedicated migration guide is provided to help move from classic Assistants to the new Agents service.
    3. Scope of impact.
      • The deprecation applies specifically to the Assistants API feature in Azure OpenAI within Microsoft Foundry (classic).
      • Other Azure OpenAI capabilities (models, chat completions, etc.) are not implied to be deprecated by this notice; the change is about the Assistants API feature and its associated workflow.

    In practice, anyone currently building or running solutions on the Azure OpenAI Assistants API should plan and execute a migration to the Microsoft Foundry Agents service following the official migration guidance well before August 26, 2026.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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