Azure AI Gateway

SkillCloud & infra

This skill gives your AI the ability to work with Azure cloud services. Once added, it can help you manage resources and handle deployments in Azure. It comes from Microsoft's official collection of Azure skills.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

No other account needed.

Add the skill, then ask your AI to take on an Azure task, such as managing a resource or running a deployment.

Then ask your AI: use the Azure AI Gateway skill

What your AI can do with it

Manage Azure resources
Run and track deployments
Work with Azure cloud services through conversation
Follow official Microsoft guidance for Azure tasks

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by microsoft/azure-skills in skills/azure-aigateway/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Configure Azure API Management (APIM) as an AI Gateway for governing AI models, MCP tools, and agents.

To deploy APIM, use the azure-prepare skill. See APIM deployment guide.

When to Use This Skill

Category	Triggers
Model Governance	"semantic caching", "token limits", "load balance AI", "track token usage"
Tool Governance	"rate limit MCP", "protect my tools", "configure my tool", "convert API to MCP"
Agent Governance	"content safety", "jailbreak detection", "filter harmful content"
Configuration	"add Azure OpenAI backend", "configure my model", "add AI Foundry model"
Testing	"test AI gateway", "call OpenAI through gateway"

Quick Reference

Policy	Purpose	Details
`azure-openai-token-limit`	Cost control	Model Policies
`azure-openai-semantic-cache-lookup/store`	60-80% cost savings	Model Policies
`azure-openai-emit-token-metric`	Observability	Model Policies
`llm-content-safety`	Safety & compliance	Agent Policies
`rate-limit-by-key`	MCP/tool protection	Tool Policies

Get Gateway Details

# Get gateway URL
az apim show --name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> --query "gatewayUrl" -o tsv

# List backends (AI models)
az apim backend list --service-name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> \
  --query "[].{id:name, url:url}" -o table

# Get subscription key
az apim subscription keys list \
  --service-name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> --subscription-id <sub-id>

Test AI Endpoint

GATEWAY_URL=$(az apim show --name <apim-name> --resource-group <rg> --query "gatewayUrl" -o tsv)

curl -X POST "${GATEWAY_URL}/openai/deployments/<deployment>/chat/completions?api-version=2024-02-01" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: <key>" \
  -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}], "max_tokens": 100}'

Common Tasks

Add AI Backend

See references/patterns.md for full steps.

# Discover AI resources
az cognitiveservices account list --query "[?kind=='OpenAI']" -o table

# Create backend
az apim backend create --service-name <apim> --resource-group <rg> \
  --backend-id openai-backend --protocol http --url "https://<aoai>.openai.azure.com/openai"

# Grant access (managed identity)
az role assignment create --assignee <apim-principal-id> \
  --role "Cognitive Services User" --scope <aoai-resource-id>

Apply AI Governance Policy

Recommended policy order in <inbound>:

Authentication - Managed identity to backend
Semantic Cache Lookup - Check cache before calling AI
Token Limits - Cost control
Content Safety - Filter harmful content
Backend Selection - Load balancing
Metrics - Token usage tracking

See references/policies.md for complete example.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Token limit 429	Increase `tokens-per-minute` or add load balancing
No cache hits	Lower `score-threshold` to 0.7
Content false positives	Increase category thresholds (5-6)
Backend auth 401	Grant APIM "Cognitive Services User" role

See references/troubleshooting.md for details.