查看“Microsoft Agent”的源代码

{{Infobox Windows component
|name = Microsoft Agent
|introduced in = [[Windows 2000]]
|last included in= [[Windows Vista]]
|logo= MS Agent icon.png
|screenshot= Microsoft Agent test page.png
|caption= [[Windows XP]] 中的 Microsoft Agent
}}
Microsoft Agent 是 Microsoft 开发的一项技术，它采用动画角色、文本转语音引擎和语音识别软件来增强与计算机用户的互动。Microsoft Agent 功能作为可供网页使用的 ActiveX 控件公开。

它通过作为 [[Windows 2000]] 至 [[Windows Vista]] 的一部分预装。从 [[Windows 7]] 开始，Microsoft 停止将此技术与操作系统捆绑在一起。

Microsoft Agent 背后的理论来自斯坦福大学语言与信息研究中心的克利福德·纳斯（Clifford Nass）和拜伦·里夫斯（Byron Reeves）在社交界面方面的工作。

== 历史 ==
交互式角色技术最初是在 [[Microsoft Bob]] 中引入的，它使用了早期版本的 Agent 技术，内部称为“Microsoft Actor”。Actor 用于 [[Office 97]] 中 Office 助手的初始版本。

Microsoft Agent 随后由坦迪·特劳尔（Tandy Trower）创建，旨在提供更灵活的技术，并可供第三方开发人员包含在他们的应用程序和网页中。此软件版本还包括四个交互式角色以及一个实用程序，使开发人员能够组合自己的角色和交互。

Microsoft Agent 取代了 [[Office 2000]] 中原来的 Microsoft Actor，尽管这不包括Agent大肆吹捧的语音合成或识别功能或四个 Microsoft Agent 角色中的任何一个。相反，Office 团队创建了自己的角色，包括一个被称为“Clippit”或“Clippy”的角色。但是，Bob Actors 或 Office 97 助手与 Office 2000 及更高版本不兼容，反之亦然。

当前版本的 Microsoft Agent 于 1997 年在 MSDN 上悄悄发布，并与 [[Internet Explorer 4]] 的安装媒介捆绑在一起。IE 4 的原始版本包括版本 1.5，而 IE 4.01 SP2 的安装程序包括版本 2.0。它还包含在适用于 [[Windows NT 4.0]] 和 [[Windows 98]] 的 [[Office XP]] 的 Office System Pack 中。

==Overview==
Microsoft Agent characters are stored in files of the .ACS extension, and can be stored in a number of compressed .ACF files for better World Wide Web distribution. Microsoft Office 97 and Microsoft Bob Actor characters are stored in files of the .ACT extension.

The speech engine itself is driven by the Microsoft Speech API (SAPI), version 4 and above. Microsoft SAPI provides a control panel for easily installing and switching between various available Text to Speech and Speech to Text engines, as well as voice training and scoring systems to improve the quality and accuracy of both engines.

Microsoft provided four agent characters for free, which could be downloaded from the Microsoft Agent website. These were called Peedy, Merlin, Genie, and Robby. Some characters also shipped with Microsoft Office up to version 2003 as the Office Assistants and with Windows XP as search assistants. New Agent characters could also be created using Microsoft's development tools, including the Agent Character Editor. 

Agents could be embedded in software with Visual Basic for Applications and in web pages with VBScript, and automated tools for the purpose of simplifying this exist. However, web page agents are only compatible with Internet Explorer, since alternative browsers like Opera or Mozilla Firefox do not support ActiveX. Additionally, users of Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP and later or owners of Microsoft Office 2000 and later are the only ones who have the software pre-loaded on their computers; others have to download the software and install it manually.

==Discontinuation==
In Windows Vista, Microsoft Agent uses Speech API (SAPI) version 5.3 as its primary text-to-speech provider. (In previous versions of Windows, Agent uses SAPI version 4.) Multilingual features of Microsoft Agent under a particular language version of the OS are not supported and Microsoft Agent still functions in other languages only under a localized Windows version of the same language.

Microsoft announced in April 2009 that all Microsoft Agent development and support would be discontinued with the release of Windows 7. Microsoft also ceased offering licenses and distributing the SDK to developers.

However, due to customer feedback, Microsoft provided an installation package of the Microsoft Agent core components for use on Windows 7. The download supports SAPI 5.3 compatible speech engines, and also contains the character “Merlin”, which shipped with Windows Vista.

It is possible to restore Microsoft Agent functionality on [[Windows 8]] and later by downloading the components from Microsoft's website. However, the normally transparent space around the Agent becomes solid-colored pink, blue, or green.

There are still third-party websites where users can still download Agent characters from despite the technology being discontinued.

== 图库 ==
<gallery>
Office-Assistant.png|Office 2003 中的 Clippit（也称为 Clippy）。
Windows XP Search Companion.png|Windows XP 搜索功能中的 Rover。
MS Agents.png|主要的 Microsoft Agent 角色。
Windows XP OOBE RTM.jpg|Windows XP [[全新安装体验|OOBE]] 中的问号
2428-OOBE-1.png|[[Windows XP Build 2428.1.idx01.010129-1827|Windows XP Build 2428]] 的 OOBE 中的 Merlin
</gallery>

[[分类:在 Windows 2000 中推出]][[分类:Windows 组件]][[分类:组件与应用]]