diff --git a/pipelines/azure-benchmarks.yml b/pipelines/azure-benchmarks.yml
index e2f9ab13a..5c67d6dd4 100644
--- a/pipelines/azure-benchmarks.yml
+++ b/pipelines/azure-benchmarks.yml
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ stages:
   - job: RunBenchmark
     displayName: 'Run Copilot Benchmarks'
     steps:
-    - task: UsePythonVersion@0
-      displayName: 'Use Python 3.12'
-      inputs:
-        versionSpec: '3.12'
+    - template: /pipelines/templates/steps/install-uv.yml
+
+    - pwsh: uv python install 3.12 && uv python pin 3.12
+      displayName: 'Install Python 3.12 with uv'
 
     - task: PipAuthenticate@1
       displayName: 'Authenticate pip with MicrosoftSweBench feed'
@@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ stages:
         addSpnToEnvironment: true
         scriptType: 'pscore'
         scriptLocation: 'scriptPath'
-        scriptPath: $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/pipelines/scripts/Invoke-CopilotBenchmarks.ps1
+        scriptPath: $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/pipelines/scripts/Invoke-CopilotBenchmarks.ps1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pipelines/scripts/Activate-Venv.ps1 b/pipelines/scripts/Activate-Venv.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1db307b3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pipelines/scripts/Activate-Venv.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+<#!
+.SYNOPSIS
+Activates a virtual environment for a CI machine. Any further usages of "python" will utilize this virtual environment.
+
+.DESCRIPTION
+When activating a virtual environment, only a few things are actually functionally changed on the machine.
+
+# 1. PATH = path to the bin directory of the virtual env. "Scripts" on windows machines
+# 2. VIRTUAL_ENV = path to root of the virtual env
+# 3. VIRTUAL_ENV_PROMPT = the prompt that is displayed next to the CLI cursor when the virtual env is active
+# within a CI machine, we only need the PATH and VIRTUAL_ENV variables to be set.
+# 4. (optional and inconsistently) _OLD_VIRTUAL_PATH = the PATH before the virtual env was activated. This is not set in this script.
+
+.PARAMETER VenvName
+The name of the virtual environment to activate.
+
+.PARAMETER RepoRoot
+The root of the repository.
+#>
+param (
+    [string]$VenvName = "venv"
+)
+
+Set-StrictMode -Version 4
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+
+$repoRoot = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot ".." ".." -Resolve
+$venvPath = Join-Path $repoRoot $VenvName
+$pipelineRun = $env:TF_BUILD -eq "True"
+
+if (-not (Test-Path $venvPath)) {
+    Write-Error "Virtual environment '$venvPath' does not exist at $venvPath"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+Write-Host "Activating virtual environment '$VenvName' via VIRTUAL_ENV variable at $venvPath.'"
+$env:VIRTUAL_ENV = $venvPath
+if ($pipelineRun) {
+    Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=VIRTUAL_ENV]$($env:VIRTUAL_ENV)"
+}
+
+$venvBinPath = $IsWindows ? (Join-Path $venvPath "Scripts") : (Join-Path $venvPath "bin")
+
+Write-Host "Prepending path with $venvBinPath"
+$env:PATH = $IsWindows ? "$venvBinPath;$($env:PATH)" : "$venvBinPath`:$($env:PATH)"
+if ($pipelineRun) {
+    Write-Host "##vso[task.prependpath]$venvBinPath"
+}
+
+if ($pipelineRun) {
+    Write-Host "Unset of PYTHONHOME"
+    Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=PYTHONHOME]"
+}
diff --git a/pipelines/scripts/Create-Venv.ps1 b/pipelines/scripts/Create-Venv.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0743b4c39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pipelines/scripts/Create-Venv.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<#!
+.SYNOPSIS
+Creates a virtual environment for a CI machine.
+
+.DESCRIPTION
+If the virtual environment directory already exists, it will skip the creation. The location of the virtual environment will be stored in a variable
+named <VenvName>_LOCATION. The location will be RepoRoot + VenvName.
+
+.PARAMETER VenvName
+The name of the virtual environment which will be created.
+
+.PARAMETER RepoRoot
+The root of the repository.
+#>
+param(
+    [string] $VenvName = "venv"
+)
+
+$repoRoot = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot ".." ".." -Resolve
+$venvPath = Join-Path $repoRoot $VenvName
+
+if (!(Test-Path $venvPath)) {
+    if (Get-Command uv -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
+        Write-Host "Creating virtual environment '$VenvName' using uv."
+        uv venv $venvPath  --verbose
+    }
+    else {
+        $invokingPython = (Get-Command "python").Source
+
+        Write-Host "Creating virtual environment '$VenvName' using virtualenv and python located at '$invokingPython'."
+        python -m pip install virtualenv==20.25.1
+        python -m virtualenv $venvPath
+    }
+    $pythonVersion = python --version
+    Write-Host "Virtual environment '$VenvName' created at directory path '$venvPath' utilizing python version $pythonVersion."
+    Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=$($VenvName)_LOCATION]$venvPath"
+}
+else {
+    Write-Host "Virtual environment '$VenvName' already exists. Skipping creation."
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pipelines/scripts/Invoke-CopilotBenchmarks.ps1 b/pipelines/scripts/Invoke-CopilotBenchmarks.ps1
index 1cf03886e..cef5108a5 100644
--- a/pipelines/scripts/Invoke-CopilotBenchmarks.ps1
+++ b/pipelines/scripts/Invoke-CopilotBenchmarks.ps1
@@ -24,97 +24,104 @@
 .LINK
     https://github.com/devdiv-microsoft/MicrosoftSweBench/wiki
 #>
+param(
+    [string]$Benchmark = "azure",
+    [string]$Model = "claude-sonnet-4.5-autodev-test",
+    [switch]$NoWait
+)
 
-    param(
-        [string]$Benchmark = "azure",
-        [string]$Model = "claude-sonnet-4.5-autodev-test",
-        [switch]$NoWait
-    )
+Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
 
-    Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
-    $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+if (!$Benchmark) {
+    throw "Benchmark parameter is required."
+}
 
-    if (!$Benchmark) {
-        throw "Benchmark parameter is required."
-    }
-
-    if (!$Model) {
-        throw "Model parameter is required."
-    }
-
-    $vaultName = "kv-msbench-eval-azuremcp"
-    $secretName = "azure-eval-gh-pat"
+if (!$Model) {
+    throw "Model parameter is required."
+}
 
-    Write-Host "Benchmark: $Benchmark"
-    Write-Host "Model: $Model"
-    Write-Host "NoWait: $NoWait"
+$repoRoot = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot ".." ".." -Resolve
+$vaultName = "kv-msbench-eval-azuremcp"
+$secretName = "azure-eval-gh-pat"
 
-    $pipelineRun = $env:TF_BUILD -eq "True"
+Write-Host "Benchmark: $Benchmark"
+Write-Host "Model: $Model"
+Write-Host "NoWait: $NoWait"
 
-    # --- Retrieve GitHub PAT from KeyVault ---
-    try {
-        Write-Host "Retrieving GitHub PAT from KeyVault $vaultName secret $secretName"
-        $pat = az keyvault secret show --vault-name $vaultName --name $secretName --query value -o tsv
+$pipelineRun = $env:TF_BUILD -eq "True"
 
-        if (!$pat) {
-            throw "Secret $secretName not found in KeyVault $vaultName."
-        }
+. "$PSScriptRoot/Create-Venv.ps1" -VenvName "venv" -RepoRoot $repoRoot
+. "$PSScriptRoot/Activate-Venv.ps1" -VenvName "venv" -RepoRoot $repoRoot
 
-        $env:GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN = $pat
-        
-        # Log the PAT as a secret variable to avoid exposing it in logs
-        if ($pipelineRun) {
-            Write-Host "##vso[task.setsecret]$pat"
-        }
-    }
-    catch {
-        throw "Failed to retrieve GitHub PAT from KeyVault: $_"
-    }
+# --- Retrieve GitHub PAT from KeyVault ---
+try {
+    Write-Host "Retrieving GitHub PAT from KeyVault $vaultName secret $secretName"
+    $pat = az keyvault secret show --vault-name $vaultName --name $secretName --query value -o tsv
 
-    # --- Feed auth is handled by the PipAuthenticate@1 pipeline task ---
-    # PipAuthenticate sets PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL for the azure-sdk/internal/MicrosoftSweBench feed.
-    if ($env:PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL) {
-        Write-Host "PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL is set (feed auth configured by PipAuthenticate task)"
-    } else {
-        Write-Warning "PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL is not set. Feed authentication may fail. Ensure PipAuthenticate@1 runs before this script."
+    if (!$pat) {
+        throw "Secret $secretName not found in KeyVault $vaultName."
     }
 
-    $pythonCommand = Get-Command python
-    Write-Host "Using python from: $($pythonCommand.Path). Version: $(python --version 2>&1)"
-
-    Write-Host "Install/upgrade pip"
-    python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
-        throw "pip install/upgrade failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
+    $env:GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN = $pat
+    
+    # Log the PAT as a secret variable to avoid exposing it in logs
+    if ($pipelineRun) {
+        Write-Host "##vso[task.setsecret]$pat"
     }
-
-    Write-Host "Installing/upgrading MSBench CLI"
-    python -m pip install msbench-cli --no-input
-    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
-        throw "pip install msbench-cli failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
+}
+catch {
+    throw "Failed to retrieve GitHub PAT from KeyVault: $_"
+}
+
+# --- Feed authentication ---
+# In CI, PipAuthenticate@1 sets PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL automatically.
+# For local runs, fall back to az CLI token acquisition.
+if ($env:PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL) {
+    Write-Host "PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL is set (feed auth configured by PipAuthenticate task). Forwarding to UV_EXTRA_INDEX_URL for MSBench CLI."
+    $env:UV_EXTRA_INDEX_URL = $env:PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL
+} else {
+    Write-Host "PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL not set — acquiring Azure DevOps AAD token for local feed auth"
+    $feedUrl = "https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/azure-sdk/internal/_packaging/MicrosoftSweBench/pypi/simple/"
+    $adoResourceId = "499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798"
+    $adoAccessToken = az account get-access-token --resource $adoResourceId --query accessToken -o tsv
+
+    if (!$adoAccessToken) {
+        throw "Failed to acquire Azure DevOps AAD token. Run 'az login' first."
     }
 
-    Write-Host "MSBench CLI version"
-    & 'msbench-cli' version
-    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
-        throw "msbench-cli version failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
-    }
-
-    $runArgs = @(
-        "run",
-        "--agent", "github-copilot-cli",
-        "--benchmark", $Benchmark,
-        "--model", $Model,
-        "--env", "GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN"
-    )
-
-    if ($NoWait) {
-        $runArgs += "--no-wait"
-    }
-
-    Write-Host "Running: msbench-cli $($runArgs -join ' ')"
-    & 'msbench-cli' @runArgs
-
-    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
-        throw "msbench-cli run failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
-    }
+    $encodedToken = [System.Uri]::EscapeDataString($adoAccessToken)
+    $env:UV_EXTRA_INDEX_URL = $feedUrl -replace "https://", "https://vsts:$encodedToken@"
+    Write-Host "UV_EXTRA_INDEX_URL set via az CLI token"
+}
+
+
+Write-Host "`n> uv pip install msbench-cli"
+& uv pip install msbench-cli
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+    throw "uv pip install msbench-cli failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
+}
+
+Write-Host "`n> uv run 'msbench-cli' version"
+uv run 'msbench-cli' version
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+    throw "uv run msbench-cli failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
+}
+
+$runArgs = @(
+    "run",
+    "--agent", "github-copilot-cli",
+    "--benchmark", $Benchmark,
+    "--model", $Model,
+    "--env", "GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN"
+)
+
+if ($NoWait) {
+    $runArgs += "--no-wait"
+}
+
+Write-Host "`n> msbench-cli $($runArgs -join ' ')"
+uv run 'msbench-cli' @runArgs
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+    throw "msbench-cli run failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
+}
diff --git a/pipelines/templates/steps/install-uv.yml b/pipelines/templates/steps/install-uv.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3f3993dbf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pipelines/templates/steps/install-uv.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+steps:
+  - task: Bash@3
+    displayName: 'Install uv (Linux/macOS)'
+    inputs:
+      targetType: inline
+      script: |
+        curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
+    condition: or(eq(variables['Agent.OS'], 'Linux'), eq(variables['Agent.OS'], 'Darwin'))
+
+  - task: Bash@3
+    inputs:
+      targetType: inline
+      script: |
+        echo "##vso[task.prependpath]$HOME/.local/bin"
+    displayName: 'Prepend path for MacOS'
+    condition: eq(variables['Agent.OS'], 'Darwin')
+
+  - task: PowerShell@2
+    displayName: 'Install uv (Windows)'
+    inputs:
+      targetType: inline
+      script: |
+        iex (irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1)
+        Write-Host "##vso[task.prependpath]$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin"
+    condition: eq(variables['Agent.OS'], 'Windows_NT')
\ No newline at end of file