What Is Agent Activity in Microsoft Clarity?
Agent Activity is a Microsoft Clarity dashboard that identifies sessions run by supported AI agents, the software that browses, shops and fills in forms on a person’s behalf, and shows which agents came and what actions they took on your site.
Microsoft Clarity is Microsoft’s free website analytics tool, best known for heatmaps and session recordings. On November 4, 2026, Microsoft announced “Agentic Analytics,” made up of the Agent Activity dashboard and simulation assessments, and said the new capabilities are “available globally to all our users” (Microsoft Clarity). Search Engine Roundtable reported the launch the same day (Search Engine Roundtable). Microsoft’s October 29 study describes the dashboard as “generally available for projects with agentic traffic” (Microsoft Clarity).
For PR and communications teams, the question it answers is new: when an assistant is sent to book a demo, download a press kit or fill in a media inquiry form, does it get through? Our explainer Do AI Agents Fill Out Your Contact Form? covers why that matters.
How to See AI Agent Traffic at a Glance
| Step | Action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Install the Clarity tracking code and verify it | Live sessions appear in the project |
| 2 | Check that your key actions are smart events | Forms, bookings, downloads and logins are tracked |
| 3 | Open the Agent Activity dashboard | Agentic traffic over time and the agents that visited |
| 4 | Read which actions agents took | A list of actions recorded in agent sessions |
| 5 | Run a simulation assessment, if offered for your site type | Completion, time taken, interaction count and suggested fixes |
| 6 | Connect a server or CDN for Bot Activity | AI crawler and bot requests from server logs |
Time: 15 to 30 minutes to install and review, plus a few days for data to build up. Tools: a Clarity account and access to the site’s <head>, a supported platform plugin, or the site’s CDN. Cost: Clarity is free; a CDN log integration may cost money on your provider’s bill. Skill level: beginner, intermediate for the CDN step.
What Do You Need Before Starting?
You need edit access to the website, a Clarity project for it, and a short list of the actions that matter most. For a communications site that list is usually the contact or media inquiry form, the newsletter sign-up, press kit downloads and any booking link.
- Site access. Manual installation needs access to the site’s
<head>section; Clarity also installs through third-party platforms such as WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace and Wix, or through NPM (Microsoft Learn). - An admin role. Only project admins can create or edit smart events (Microsoft Learn).
- An age check. Microsoft says Clarity “shouldn’t be used on any websites/apps targeting users under the age of 18 globally” (Microsoft Learn).
- Your privacy notice. Clarity records sessions. It masks sensitive content by default (Microsoft Learn), but your site’s disclosure should still mention it.
Step 1: Install Clarity and Verify the Tracking Code
In your Clarity project, go to Settings, then Setup, and choose a platform install, a manual install or NPM. Microsoft lists those three methods and says you can start viewing data “as soon as you add the code” (Microsoft Learn). To verify, either watch live users appear in the project or open your browser’s developer tools, go to the Network tab and look for POST requests to https://www.clarity.ms/collect (Microsoft Learn).
Step 2: Make Sure Your Key Actions Are Smart Events
Open Settings, then Smart events, and check that each action on your list appears, creating any that are missing with New event. Clarity defines nine automatic events: Purchase, Add to Cart, Begin Checkout, Contact Us, Submit Form, Request Quote, Sign Up, Login and Download (Microsoft Learn). Custom events are code-free, built from button clicks, page visits or API events, and a project can have “a maximum of 20 custom smart events” (Microsoft Learn). This matters because Clarity’s agent study measured what agents did through smart events (Microsoft Clarity); an action that is not tracked will not show up as something an agent did.
Step 3: Open the Agent Activity Dashboard
Open the project’s dashboards and find Agent Activity; Microsoft says it shows agentic traffic over time, which agents visited and what they did. The actions Microsoft lists range “from searches and form submissions to logins, downloads, appointment bookings, and checkout” (Microsoft Clarity). Two caveats apply. Microsoft describes the dashboard as available for projects with agentic traffic (Microsoft Clarity), so a site no supported agent has visited may have nothing to show. And as of November 5, the Microsoft Learn pages we read did not yet document the dashboard’s exact menu location, so we do not give one.
Step 4: Read What the Agents Did
Look at which agents arrived and which smart events their sessions recorded, then compare that with your human visitors. Supported agents currently come from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic agent operators (Microsoft Clarity). Read every figure with Clarity’s own caution: an agentic session “may also include a human handoff,” and Clarity “cannot currently separate the agent and human portions,” so the data describe “activity recorded during sessions involving agents, not necessarily actions completed autonomously by an agent” (Microsoft Clarity).
How Do Agent Sessions Differ From Human Sessions?
In Clarity’s study, sessions involving agents recorded checkouts, searches and bookings at higher rates than human sessions, and outbound clicks at about half the rate. Clarity analyzed 5.23 million agentic sessions across 230,511 projects between August 13 and September 9, 2026 (Microsoft Clarity; Microsoft Clarity).
% of agentic sessions
Source: Microsoft Clarity, “What AI Agents Do on Websites: Insights From 5.2 Million Sessions,” October 29, 2026; 230,511 Clarity projects, August 13 to September 9, 2026. Read November 5, 2026.
Clarity’s own figures. Actions are not mutually exclusive, are not steps in one funnel, and sessions may include a human handoff, so they are not proof an agent completed a task alone.
The chart shows that sessions involving agents lean toward finishing tasks, checkout and forms, rather than clicking away.
The ratio column below is our arithmetic from the percentages Clarity published for the same cohort of projects.
| Action | Agentic sessions | Human sessions | Agent rate vs human rate (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkout | 25.21% | 14.65% | 1.72× |
| Submit form | 19.85% | 18.56% | 1.07× |
| Outbound click | 14.28% | 26.99% | 0.53× |
| Search | 7.16% | 4.79% | 1.49× |
| Show more | 4.31% | 6.37% | 0.68× |
| Add to cart | 2.33% | 3.31% | 0.70× |
| Download | 1.69% | 2.97% | 0.57× |
Form submissions are the closest match between the two groups, which is the figure most relevant to a media inquiry form. Downloads, such as a press kit, appeared in a smaller share of agent sessions than human ones.
Step 5: Run a Simulation Assessment
If your site is in a supported category, run a simulation to test whether an agent can finish a key task before a real one fails. Microsoft says simulations show “whether the task was completed, how long it took, how many interactions it required, and where the experience could be improved,” and that it is “starting with commerce and travel scenarios” (Microsoft Clarity). A PR firm’s or newsroom’s contact flow is not one of those scenarios yet, so most communications sites will rely on Steps 3 and 4 for now.
Step 6: Connect Bot Activity for Crawlers
For AI crawlers and other bots, go to Settings, then AI Visibility, and connect a supported server or CDN; the data then appear under Dashboards, AI Visibility, Bot Activity. This dashboard is built from “real server-side logs collected through supported CDN and server integrations,” and on WordPress the integration is “enabled by default when using the latest Clarity WordPress plugin” (Microsoft Learn). Microsoft is explicit about its limit: bot activity “doesn’t indicate that content was retrieved, grounded, cited, or surfaced in AI generated responses” (Microsoft Learn). Clarity does not charge for it, but the integration can add costs from Fastly, CloudFront, Cloudflare or Azure Front Door (Microsoft Learn). Our guide to whether robots.txt stops AI agents covers what you can control on the crawler side.
How Do You Verify It Worked?
It worked if live sessions appear, your smart events show counts on the dashboard, and Agent Activity shows a trend once supported agents have visited. Our suggested check, not a Microsoft instruction: send a supported agent yourself to complete one task on the site, then look for that session. For referral traffic from AI assistants, which is a different measure, cross-check with our guide to tracking AI referral traffic in GA4.
Common Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No data at all | Tracking code missing or blocked | Look for POST requests to clarity.ms/collect in the Network tab |
| Agent Activity is empty | No supported agent has visited yet | Wait, or send a supported agent to complete a task yourself |
| An action never appears for agents | It is not defined as a smart event | Create it in Settings, Smart events, New event (admins only) |
| Cannot create more events | The 20 custom smart event limit | Edit or remove an unused custom event |
| Bot Activity is blank | No server or CDN connected | Connect one under Settings, AI Visibility |
| Unexpected CDN charges | Log delivery billed by your provider | Review provider pricing or disconnect at the server or CDN level |
What Not to Do
Do not count an agent session as an agent conversion. Consequence: you overstate what agents do. Correction: Clarity says sessions may include a human handoff and its action counts are not a funnel (Microsoft Clarity).
Do not read Bot Activity as AI citations. Consequence: a crawl is reported as visibility. Correction: Microsoft says bot activity does not indicate content was cited or surfaced in AI answers (Microsoft Learn).
Do not install Clarity on a site aimed at children. Consequence: you use the tool on an audience Microsoft says it is not meant for. Correction: Microsoft says it should not be used on sites targeting users under 18 (Microsoft Learn).
Do not assume every agent is covered. Consequence: a false all-clear. Correction: supported agents are currently Google, OpenAI and Anthropic operators (Microsoft Clarity); others may not be identified.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I see if AI agents visit my website?
Install Microsoft Clarity and open its Agent Activity dashboard, launched on November 4, 2026. Microsoft says it shows agentic traffic over time, which agents visited and what they did on the site.
Which AI agents does Microsoft Clarity detect?
For Agentic Analytics, Microsoft says supported agents are currently those of Google, OpenAI and Anthropic agent operators.
Is Microsoft Clarity’s Agent Activity dashboard free?
Yes. Clarity is free. Bot Activity is also free from Clarity, but connecting a CDN or server for it can add costs on your provider’s bill.
What do AI agents do on websites?
In Clarity’s study of 5.23 million agentic sessions, checkout appeared in 25.21% of sessions, form submissions in 19.85% and outbound clicks in 14.28%. Sessions can include a human handoff.
What is the difference between Agent Activity and Bot Activity in Clarity?
Agent Activity covers agents browsing and acting on the site in tracked sessions. Bot Activity uses server or CDN logs to show requests from AI crawlers and other bots, which Microsoft says does not mean content was cited.
Can Clarity tell whether an agent finished a task by itself?
Not yet. Clarity says it cannot currently separate the agent and human portions of a session, so its figures describe sessions involving agents.
Sources and Methodology
This guide is built from Microsoft’s November 4, 2026 Clarity announcement, Clarity’s October 29, 2026 agentic-sessions study, and Microsoft Learn pages on Clarity setup, smart events, Bot Activity and its costs, all read November 5, 2026, plus Search Engine Roundtable’s report of the launch. The ratio column is our arithmetic from Clarity’s published percentages. Step timings and the action list for communications sites are our recommendations. We did not test the Agent Activity dashboard in a live project, and the Learn pages we read did not yet document its menu path.
- vendor Microsoft Clarity, Agents act, LLMs recommend, and people browse. Microsoft Clarity connects all three journeys.. November 4, 2026 launch: Agent Activity, simulations, supported agents, weekly session growth, study footnote. Read November 5, 2026.
- vendor research Microsoft Clarity, What AI Agents Do on Websites: Insights From 5.2 Million Sessions. Study method, 230,511 projects, human-handoff caveat, action tables, availability wording. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Microsoft Learn, Clarity setup. Install methods, verification, under-18 note, default masking. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Microsoft Learn, Smart events. Nine auto events, 20 custom event limit, admin requirement, menu path. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Microsoft Learn, Bot Activity overview. Server-side logs, menu path, WordPress default, citation caveat. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Microsoft Learn, Cost considerations for Bot Activity integrations. No Clarity charge; possible CDN and cloud costs. Read November 5, 2026.
- trade press Search Engine Roundtable, Microsoft Clarity With New Agentic Analytics & Ask Clarity. Independent report of the November 4, 2026 launch. Read November 5, 2026.