Microsoft to Launch AI Safety Rankings on Azure
Microsoft is set to launch a new safety ranking system for artificial intelligence (AI) models as part of its ongoing effort to build trust with enterprise customers, particularly those using its Azure cloud platform.
The initiative will add a “safety” category to Microsoft’s existing AI model leaderboard, which currently evaluates models based on quality, cost, and throughput, the speed at which models generate outputs.
Enhancing Transparency in the AI Marketplace
The leaderboard is available to developers through Azure Foundry, Microsoft’s development platform that supports over 1,900 AI models from providers including OpenAI, xAI, DeepSeek (China) and Mistral (France).
With the addition of the safety metric, Microsoft aims to help clients more clearly assess and compare the privacy, security, and responsibility standards of AI models before integrating them into their products.
“People can just directly shop and understand” said Sarah Bird, Microsoft’s Head of Responsible AI, in an interview with Financial Times. She emphasized that the safety rankings would provide a more complete picture for decision-makers navigating the fast-evolving AI landscape.
A Growing Need for Responsible AI Tools
The move comes amid growing concern among enterprise customers about the risks of deploying autonomous AI agents, particularly in sensitive environments like finance, healthcare, and legal services. These risks include potential data misuse, privacy breaches, and lack of oversight.
Also read: Microsoft Unveils New European Security Program to Strengthen Digital Sovereignty
The Agentic Era in Compliance and Beyond
Will Lawrence, Greenlite AI CEO, said, “Right now, banks are getting more risk signals than they can investigate. “Digital accounts are growing. Backlogs are growing. Detection isn’t the problem anymore — it’s what to do next.”
He added, “AI is only scary until you understand how it works,” Lawrence added. “Then it’s just a tool — like a calculator. We’re helping banks understand how to use it safely.”
Microsoft’s forthcoming safety ranking system reflects a broader industry shift toward accountability, transparency, and trust in the deployment of AI technologies, values that are increasingly critical as AI becomes embedded in enterprise decision-making.
