Plant-beneficial microbes are a perennial ally in an agroecosystems, providing multiple benefits to crop plants. The present study explored the potential of two microbial biocontrol agents (MBCAs), viz., Trichoderma asperellum and Pseudomonas fluorescens, against the bacterial blight pathogen of rice, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. In vitro, MBCAs resulted in significant inhibition of X. oryzae pv. oryzae, as evidenced through the distortion of pathogen cell morphology and formation of a pathogen biofilm. Pot studies on the effect of MBCAs in rice showed increased germination, increased vigor index of seedlings, increased tiller numbers, a 10.29% reduction in percentage disease incidence (PDI), and low disease severity following individual inoculation. Activity of plant defense enzymes also increased with MBCA treatment (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, 2.7-fold increase; peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase, 5-fold increase), establishing the priming effect of MBCAs on host defense. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction data revealed that pathogenesis-related genes (OsPR1a, OsPR1b, and OsPR10a) and X. oryzae pv. oryzae resistance genes (Xa1 and Xa26) were upregulated 4- to 14-fold in MBCA-treated rice plants over control plants. These results provide insights into the phenological, physiological, and molecular responses of rice crops treated with MBCAs in the presence of X. oryzae pv. oryzae and could be used to develop an effective field management strategy.