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July 15, 2025The world of AI agents is evolving rapidly, with new protocols and frameworks emerging to enable sophisticated multi-agent communication. Google’s Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol represents one of the most promising approaches for building distributed AI systems that can coordinate tasks across different platforms and services.
I’m excited to share how you can leverage Azure App Service to build, deploy, and scale A2A applications. Today, I’ll walk you through a practical example that combines Microsoft Semantic Kernel with the A2A protocol to create an intelligent travel planning assistant.
What We Built: An A2A Travel Agent on App Service
I’ve taken an existing A2A travel planning sample and enhanced it to run seamlessly on Azure App Service. This demonstrates how A2A concepts can be adapted and hosted on one of Azure’s platform-as-a-service offerings. What started as a sample implementation has been transformed into a full-featured web application with a modern interface, real-time streaming, and production-ready deployment automation.
Acknowledgments and Attribution
Before diving into the technical details, I want to give proper credit where it’s due. This application was adapted and enhanced from excellent foundational work by the Microsoft Semantic Kernel team and the A2A project community:
- Original inspiration: Microsoft DevBlogs – Semantic Kernel A2A Integration
- Base implementation: A2A Samples – Semantic Kernel Python Agent
This contribution builds upon these samples to demonstrate how you can take A2A concepts and create a complete, deployable application that runs seamlessly on Azure App Service with enterprise-grade features like managed identity authentication, monitoring, and infrastructure as code.
Why A2A on Azure App Service?
Azure App Service provides the perfect foundation for A2A applications because it handles the infrastructure complexity while giving you the flexibility to implement cutting-edge AI protocols. Here’s what makes this combination powerful:
πRapid Deployment & Scaling
- Deploy A2A agents with a single
azd up
command - Auto-scaling based on demand without managing servers
- Built-in load balancing for high-availability agent endpoints
πEnterprise Security
- Managed identity authentication eliminates API key management
- Built-in SSL/TLS termination for secure agent communication
- Network isolation and private endpoint support for sensitive workloads
πReal-time Capabilities
- WebSocket support for streaming A2A protocol responses
- Always-on availability for agent discovery and task coordination
- Low-latency communication between distributed agents
πObservability & Monitoring
- Application Insights integration for comprehensive telemetry
- Built-in logging and diagnostics for debugging agent interactions
- Performance monitoring to optimize multi-agent workflows
Understanding the A2A Travel Agent Architecture
Our sample demonstrates a multi-agent system where a main travel manager coordinates with specialized agents:
βββββββββββββββββββββββ ββββββββββββββββββββββββ βββββββββββββββββββββββ
β Web Browser β ββββ β FastAPI App β ββββ β Semantic Kernel β
β β β β β Travel Agent β
β β’ Modern UI β β β’ REST API β β β
β β’ Chat Interface β β β’ A2A Protocol β β β’ Currency API β
β β’ Responsive β β β’ Session Management β β β’ Activity Planning β
βββββββββββββββββββββββ ββββββββββββββββββββββββ βββββββββββββββββββββββ
β
βΌ
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β A2A Protocol β
β β
β β’ Agent Discovery β
β β’ Task Streaming β
β β’ Multi-Agent Coord β
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Key Components
- TravelManagerAgent: The orchestrator that analyzes user requests and delegates to specialized agents
- CurrencyExchangeAgent: Handles real-time currency conversion using the Frankfurter API
- ActivityPlannerAgent: Creates personalized itineraries and activity recommendations
- A2A Protocol Layer: Manages agent discovery, task coordination, and streaming responses
Practical Example: Multi-Agent Travel Planning
Let’s see this in action with a real user scenario:
- TravelManager receives the request and identifies it needs both currency and activity planning
- CurrencyExchangeAgent is invoked to fetch live USDβKRW rates
- ActivityPlannerAgent generates budget-friendly recommendations
- Response Compilation combines results into a comprehensive travel plan
- Streaming Delivery provides real-time updates to the user interface
Implementation Highlights
Modern Web Interface
The application includes a responsive web interface built with modern HTML/CSS/JavaScript that provides:
- Real-time chat with typing indicators
- Streaming responses for immediate feedback
- Mobile-responsive design
- Session management for conversation context
A2A Protocol Compliance
Full implementation of Google’s A2A specification including:
- Agent Discovery: Structured Agent Cards advertising capabilities
- Task Coordination: Multi-agent task delegation and handoffs
- Streaming Support: Real-time progress updates during complex workflows
- Session Management: Persistent conversation context
Azure-Native Features
- Managed Identity: Secure authentication without API key management
- Bicep Templates: Infrastructure as code for reproducible deployments
- Azure Developer CLI: One-command deployment with
azd up
Getting Started: Deploy Your Own A2A Agent
Ready to try it yourself? Here’s how to deploy this A2A travel agent to Azure App Service:
Prerequisites
- Azure CLI and Azure Developer CLI (azd)
- Python 3.10+ for local development
- An Azure subscription
Deployment Steps
cd app-service-a2a-travel-agent
Β
That’s it! The Azure Developer CLI will:
- Create an Azure App Service and App Service Plan
- Deploy an Azure OpenAI resource with GPT-4 model
- Configure managed identity authentication
- Deploy your application code
- Provide the live application URL
Beyond This Example: A2A Possibilities
While Semantic Kernel was chosen for this sample, we recognize that developers have many options for building A2A applications. The A2A protocol is framework-agnostic, and Azure App Service can host agents built with:
- LangChain for comprehensive LLM application development
- LlamaIndex for data-augmented agent workflows
- AutoGen for multi-agent conversation frameworks
- Custom implementations using OpenAI, Anthropic, or other AI APIs
- Any Python web framework (FastAPI, Django, Flask, etc.)
- And many more!
The key insight is that Azure App Service provides a robust, scalable platform that adapts to whatever AI framework or protocol you choose.
Why This Matters for the Future
The AI agent ecosystem is evolving rapidly. New protocols, frameworks, and integration patterns emerge regularly. What excites me most about Azure App Service in this context is our platform’s adaptability:
- πFramework Flexibility: Host basically any AI framework or custom implementation
- πProtocol Support: WebSocket, HTTP/2, and custom protocols for agent communication
- πSecurity Evolution: Managed identity and certificate management that scales with new auth patterns
- πPerformance Optimization: Auto-scaling and performance monitoring that adapts to AI workload patterns
- π οΈDevOps Integration: CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation for rapid iteration
Looking Ahead
As A2A protocols mature and new agent frameworks emerge, Azure App Service will continue evolving to support the latest innovations in AI application development. Our goal is to provide a platform where you can focus on building intelligent agent experiences while we handle the infrastructure complexity.
We’re particularly excited about upcoming enhancements in:
- Integration with Azure AI services for even richer agent capabilities
- Streamlined deployment patterns for AI application architectures
- Improved monitoring and observability for multi-agent workflows
Try It Today
The A2A travel agent sample is available now on GitHub and ready for deployment. Whether you’re exploring multi-agent architectures, evaluating A2A protocols, or looking to modernize your AI applications, this sample provides a practical starting point.
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πΒ Deploy the A2A Travel Agent
We’d love to hear about the A2A applications you’re building on Azure App Service. Share your experiences, challenges, and innovations with the communityβtogether, we’re shaping the future of distributed AI systems.
Questions about this sample or Azure App Service for AI applications? Connect with us in the comments below.