SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT )

has combined the separate marketplaces for its

artificial intelligence tools aimed at businesses into one

offering, it said on Thursday.

It previously offered tools for software developers, who use

its Azure cloud computing service, on one marketplace and

applications and so-called "agents" - AI tools designed to carry

out tasks on behalf of human users within applications - on

another.

Starting on Thursday in the United States and rolling out

globally in the coming weeks and months, Microsoft ( MSFT ) will be

moving them all onto its new "Microsoft Marketplace" aimed at

corporate technology buyers.

Apps and services on the marketplace will be streamlined for

easy use with existing Microsoft ( MSFT ) products. And Microsoft ( MSFT )

customers will pay for them via their existing Microsoft ( MSFT ) billing

relationships, Alysa Taylor, the company's chief marketing

officer for commercial cloud and AI, told Reuters.

Unlike consumer app stores, Microsoft ( MSFT ) will not charge a

commission on apps available on the marketplace.

Instead, Microsoft ( MSFT ) charges a publishing fee to apps listed

there, and then makes money from whatever Microsoft ( MSFT ) cloud

services developers selling on the marketplace may be using,

Taylor said.

Apps on the store must pass a security and compliance review

from Microsoft ( MSFT ) to ensure that businesses using them will be able

to control what corporate data they access, she added.

"There's a gate to get into the marketplace," Taylor said.