Copilot and Copilot Studio: same credits, separate controls
Full guide, as at 31 October 2026Copilot
Controlled per person
Strategy 7: One control plane
A resource-based spending policy moves cost management for the resources you choose from the Power Platform admin centre into the Microsoft 365 admin centre. [3]
You opt in. General availability by 20 November. [4] How One control plane works
Copilot Studio
Charged per environment
Longer answers How is Copilot priced now?
Also see: what Microsoft doesn't publish, claims tested, plain definitions, sources. Press / to search.
Five things that clear up most confusion
- A Copilot licence holds no credits. Everyday AI stays covered per user. Advanced work is metered on top. [2]
- Buying credits gives nobody Copilot access. A spending policy gives access, and even a very small limit does this. [9]
- Buying packs can start Copilot Studio spending by itself. Environments with no allocation draw on the pool by default. [6]
- Spending limits stop usage. Azure budgets only warn. Neither kind of limit acts instantly. [5, 9]
- A Copilot licence removes the Copilot Studio charge only under conditions. The GitHub Copilot harness bills "regardless of the user's license". [10, 5]
Where to start, by role
Licence manager
Helpdesk and change lead
How far to trust this guide
Everything comes from Microsoft's own pages. The small numbers link to each source. Our reading marks our inference. Not published means we looked and Microsoft hasn't said. Reported marks a claim resting on a third-party repost, such as the mid-November date for direct Copilot Business purchases.
Nobody opened a tenant for this guide. Paths, labels and defaults are as Microsoft documents them, so confirm them on screen before you change anything. Message center posts sit behind admin sign-in, so we read them on a public mirror. Where Microsoft's sources disagree, the guide shows both sides.
What's included and what's metered
Your Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, enterprise or Business, covers everyday AI. Credits pay for work you hand off to run on its own.Built on Microsoft's own split between "Everyday AI" and "Advanced AI". [2]
Where the line sits
Included in the Microsoft 365 Copilot licence
Everyday AI
- Chat
- Auto, which picks the model for you
- Models such as GPT-5.6 and Sonnet
- Opus, with limits. Coming soon at a limit: move to credits, or switch to Auto at no extra cost where that applies
Why it's split
- Cost. Advanced experiences "deliver more value and cost more to run."
- Access. "when every task has a meter, companies may ration access and only some people get to use AI."
- Fit. Simple tasks reach "the point where a more capable model stops changing the result", so a fixed price suits them.
- Our reading Hand-off work varies too much from task to task for one flat fee.
Microsoft's words, 25 September 2026. [2]
What's optional
For enterprise customers, Microsoft says usage-based services "stay off until an admin creates a spending policy", "and nothing is billed before that." [2] People can still see them in the product. Run the five checks on your tenant.
Copilot Studio uses the same credits for what you build, with separate controls unless you use One control plane (Strategy 7).
What to expect Our reading
Plan for a mix of seats and metered use in some teams, not everywhere. Credits suit long, multi-step work that you hand off. Quick tasks, like summarising a document, don't need them.
Expect the line to keep moving. Microsoft says "some capabilities will start on UBB and move into the USL as the economics allow". UBB means usage-based billing. Microsoft also says "More usage-based services may be added over time." [2] [14]
What share of users need credits: Not published
What changes on 1 December
New Copilot Business through a partner gets usage-based billing on by default. The default limit is 4,000 credits a user a month, and admins can adjust it. [15] Seats added through the portal and converted trials are also covered (pre-release page). [16]
Excluded at first: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain. [15] Our reading Microsoft gives no date, so treat this as a delay, not an exemption.
Enterprise Copilot is not in scope. [16]
What 4,000 credits means: a maximum, not an allowance. Our arithmetic At the list price of $0.01 a credit [17 p4] that's up to US$40 a user a month. From Microsoft's planning bands, it's about 13 to 40 light Cowork tasks a month, or fewer than 6 heavy ones. [17 p7]
Separately, same date: new Copilot and Copilot Business offers can be bought without a qualifying Microsoft 365 base subscription, though Copilot still depends on the Microsoft 365 apps and services a customer has. [15] The stated Australian exclusion is for default-on billing. It isn't shown as covering this purchase change.
Reported, third-party reposts only Default-on billing for direct Copilot Business purchases from mid-November, Business Premium tenants only, same excluded markets. [18]
How will this affect existing licences?
Talk to your partner or Microsoft representative before you add seats, convert a trial or change your Copilot subscriptions.
Adding seats can start billing. Our reading One seat added in the Partner Center portal can switch on metered billing for the whole tenant, not just the new seats, and everyone with a Copilot licence gets access. Microsoft's warning: "Because a seat addition can trigger tenant-level UBB enablement, partners might see consumption charges appear for a tenant even when only a subset of seats generated the triggering purchase event." [16]
The table covers Cloud Solution Provider (partner) purchases only. Our reading The excluded markets also cover seat additions and trial conversions, though Microsoft doesn't say so. Most rows rest on a pre-release Partner Center page, which "describes features and functionality that aren't released." [16]
| Situation | Default-on billing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Existing Microsoft 365 Copilot (enterprise) | Doesn't apply | Stays as it is. You can renew and change seats. [15] [16] |
| Existing Copilot Business, no change made | No | Stays as it is. Product IDs, price and renewal terms don't change. No migration is needed. Whether renewal counts as a trigger isn't published (see below). [15] |
| Existing Copilot Business, seats added in the Partner Center portal | Starts | Default-on billing starts, for the whole tenant, unless a policy already exists. [16] |
| Existing Copilot Business, seats changed through the API | No | Doesn't start billing. [16] |
| Trial converts to a paid Copilot Business SKU | Starts | Starts at conversion. [16] |
| Upgrade to an eligible SKU | No | Doesn't start billing automatically. The partner can turn it on afterwards. [16] |
| Move between partners | No | Doesn't start billing automatically. The new partner creates any new spending policy. [16] |
| New Copilot Business or an eligible bundle | Starts | Starts with the purchase. [16] |
| Tenant already has a spending or billing policy | No new policy | No second policy is created, whichever channel or partner made the first. [16] |
| Education, nonprofit, government | Doesn't apply | Their offers aren't included at launch. [16] |
- 4,000 credits a user a month are not granted or included. It's a spending limit, and customers pay only for what's used. [15]
- Nothing needs setting up first. Partner Center creates the Azure plan, subscription and resource group, plus a tenant-wide spending policy. If the customer has Azure through that partner, the partner picks where it attaches. The default tenant limit is 1,200,000 credits a month. [16]
- SKU changes, all channels. Current offers were renamed "(add-on)" on 16 October and reach end of sale in CSP on 1 December. "End of sale isn't end of life": existing customers can keep renewing and changing seats. New offers have their own SKU IDs, the same price and no base subscription requirement. [15] Microsoft's stated Australian exclusion isn't shown as covering this.
- Not published Whether renewal counts as a trigger. Auto-renewal isn't listed, and Microsoft says billing is "only enabled as part of a purchase." [16]
- Unclear Turning default-on billing off. The same page says it "can't be fully turned off". It also says to set the limit to zero, that you can't go below a platform minimum, and that deleting the policy is "the only way to stop spend entirely." [16] Test this on a tenant.
- Not published Whether an older Copilot Chat billing policy counts as an existing policy.
- Not published This level of detail for direct purchases.
Strategy 8 and the full checklist tell you what to do.
How billing works
Start with one question: does this usage belong to a person, or to something running in an environment? A limit, default or role that applies on one side often doesn't apply on the other.
Two systems, one credit pool
Copilot Credits are one currency, "pooled at the tenant level", [17 p4] but different people control them from two places. If the usage belongs to a person doing advanced work in Copilot, use the Copilot column. If it belongs to an agent, workflow or app running in a Power Platform environment, use the Copilot Studio column. The exception is when a Microsoft 365 spending policy covers that usage: see One control plane.
Copilot
| Question | Copilot | Copilot Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Controlled for | A person [1] | An environment, then an agent [7] |
| Where | Microsoft 365 admin centre Cost Management [1] | Power Platform admin centre Licensing [5] |
| Who | A Global Administrator or Billing Administrator creates the policy [8] | A Power Platform Administrator [5] |
| Out of the box | Off until a spending policy exists, [2] except new Copilot Business purchases from 1 December (see the Copilot Business default) [15] | Starts as soon as the tenant holds packs, for an environment with no allocation configuration [6] |
| How it stops | A per-user or policy limit [1] | An allocation with the draw setting off and no billing plan, or an agent limit [7, 5] |
| What people see when usage stops | They lose access until the 1st, and can ask for more [1] | The agent stops responding. Microsoft documents two messages: "You need credits to continue." [19] and, at tenant enforcement, "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." Licensed users "might not be blocked." [10] |
The two systems start in opposite states, as the diagram shows. Copilot Business is the exception on the Copilot side, for new purchases, seats added in the Partner Center portal and trial conversions. Our reading So on the enterprise Copilot side, your job is to open access deliberately. On the Copilot Studio side, your job is to close it deliberately.
The full side-by-side, in Microsoft's wordsWho is charged, default settings, who controls it, roles, how usage stops, reporting and running out of credits
Copilot
Microsoft 365 admin centre
- Charged to whom
- The billing method on the spending policy that covers the person. Each policy can have its own, which "enables you to do departmental billing". [1] Usage stays with the person: "Moving a user between groups or spending policies doesn't reset the user's consumption." [1]
- Default state
- Off for enterprise: "UBB services stay off until an admin creates a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and nothing is billed before that." [2] Copilot Business is the exception for new purchases, seats added in the Partner Center portal and trial conversions: see what happens to existing licences and the Copilot Business default.
- Who controls it
- Microsoft 365 administrators, working in Cost Management. Funding can sit with the business: "UBB may be better funded by business units that can manage UBB along with cost-benefit tradeoffs." [11]
- Unit of control
- The person, set through spending policies scoped to all users or security groups, with a per-user limit, a policy limit and a chosen list of services. [1]
- Admin centre
- Copilot > Cost Management > Configuration [1]
- Roles
- "Global administrator and Billing administrator roles can add, select, and change billing methods". AI Administrator and License Administrator can edit policies but "can't create spending policies". AI Reader and Global Reader can view. The same page also lists License Administrator as read-only, so test that role before relying on it. [8] Other Microsoft pages word this differently: see Turn off spending in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
- What stops spend
- A per-user or policy limit: at the limit "they lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month". [1] A limit doesn't act instantly: "Credit limits are a spending safeguard, not a real-time access gate." [9] Taking a person out of every policy for a service removes their access to it. [9]
- What reports it
- Cost Management in the same admin centre: "The Overview tab refreshes every 4 hours." "The Consumption tab refreshes every 2 hours." [20] Azure shows the bill, up to 24 hours behind. [21]
- When it runs out
- The person stops until "credits reset on the first of the month", and "they can request more credits but they don't default to other policies". [1] Billing moves down the funding order first: prepaid credits, then pay-as-you-go if selected. [1] Where no source is left, "Requests are blocked". [21]
Copilot Studio
Power Platform admin centre
- Charged to whom
- The environment: "Copilot Credits are charged to the environment where the agent runs, from prepaid capacity or through the environment's pay-as-you-go billing plan, and not to the individual makers or users who run agents." [5]
- Default state
- Spending can start if the tenant holds packs: "For eligible Copilot Studio environments that don't have an allocation configuration, Draw from the available capacity in my tenant is selected by default." [6] Microsoft warns that "New environments can appear with tenant-capacity draw turned on". [7]
- Who controls it
- Whoever runs the Power Platform estate. The tenant setting for add-on capacity assignments decides who can allocate, and letting environment admins do it gives them "allocation control across every environment in the tenant". [7]
- Unit of control
- The environment first, then the agent. Microsoft's advice: "Govern at the environment level, not just the published agent." [7]
- Admin centre
- Licensing > Copilot Studio > Manage Copilot Credits and Manage Agents [5]
- Roles
- "the Power Platform Administrator or Global Administrator role, or an equivalent role that can manage licensing and capacity." [5] Environment admins and Dynamics 365 admins can also create billing plans, given Azure rights. [22]
- What stops spend
- Three settings together set a fixed limit: "Allocate a defined amount of prepaid capacity, turn off Draw from the available capacity in my tenant, and don't connect the environment to pay-as-you-go billing." [7] Or an agent limit with Stop usage. This doesn't act instantly and "doesn't stop the agent flows that the agent calls". [5, 6] Or unlinking the billing plan. [22]
- What reports it
- The Summary, Copilot Credit capacity and Environments views in Licensing, plus downloadable reports by environment, agent and user. [6] "The data is aggregated daily, although some data might be delayed." [23]
- When it runs out
- That depends on what is running. "Enforcement is triggered when a tenant reaches 125% of their prepaid capacity" for custom agents, while new agent flow runs are blocked when the environment has no Copilot Credits available. [10] The usage-based billing page says "any experience that requires credits stops working", with no percentage. [19] With a pay-as-you-go billing plan "that includes Copilot Studio" linked, "enforcement doesn't apply because overage is billed to your Azure subscription", but "Agents that an admin turned off, or that reached a monthly limit set to stop usage, are still blocked." [10] Detail in When credits run out.
Which metered service is managed whereEvery metered service and the admin centre that manages it
| Metered service | Managed in | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cowork, Code, advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive, Work IQ API, Teams Phone Agent | Microsoft 365 admin centre | Services listed under spending policies. Code is Frontier. [13] |
| Copilot Managed Runtime Preview | Microsoft 365 admin centre for running. For building, the admin centre of the building tool | "Are build costs and runtime costs billed together? No." [24] A Copilot Studio-built app is built on the environment and run on people. [24] |
| Copilot Studio agents, agent flows, workflows, apps while being built | Power Platform admin centre | Unless covered by a resource-based spending policy. [3] Partner Center lists the GitHub Copilot harness among services covered on default-on Copilot Business, [16, 15] but Microsoft's services list doesn't name it, [13] and how a person-scoped policy limits Copilot Studio usage: Not published |
| Dynamics 365 and Power Apps credit use | Power Platform admin centre | "Copilot Credit usage for Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, and Power Apps are managed in PPAC" [25 p13] |
| Contact Center Intelligence Preview | Power Platform admin centre | Microsoft points to "Microsoft Copilot Studio management capabilities". [17 p21] Whether a Microsoft 365 policy can cover it: Not published |
| Copilot Chat agents, SharePoint agents, Retrieval API Preview | Microsoft 365 admin centre, separate page: Copilot > Billing & usage | Older pay-as-you-go billing policies, outside spending policies. [13, 26, 27] Their budget doesn't stop use: "the system doesn't enforce the budget or prevent your organization from exceeding it." [27] A Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat billing plan in the Power Platform admin centre is a second route. [22] |
| Autopilot | Not published | Absent from Microsoft's list of services and from the Credits Guide. [13, 17] Admin control details are still to come. [28] |
The Copilot Credits Guide and the Copilot Studio Licensing Guide disagree on this point. Both PDFs carry a 29 October creation stamp (US Pacific time), the same day as the Message center post. The Credits Guide says usage "is centrally managed through the Microsoft 365 admin center". [17 p5] The Copilot Studio Licensing Guide says it is "managed in PPAC". [25 p13] The newest and most specific source is Microsoft's 30 October Learn page. It settles the point: Copilot Studio stays in the Power Platform admin centre unless you opt in. [3]
One control plane: Copilot Studio under a Microsoft 365 spending policy
General availability by 20 Nov 2026 Microsoft 365 admin centre
One control plane (Strategy 7) uses a resource-based spending policy to move cost management from the Power Platform admin centre into the Microsoft 365 admin centre. It covers the Copilot Studio environments or agents you choose, or all environments. An identity-based policy follows a person. A resource-based policy follows an agent or environment "rather than the identity of the person using it". [3] For whatever it covers, it takes over from the Power Platform admin centre, AI Builder credits aside. Everything else in Copilot Studio stays where it was. You can reverse it: remove the environment from the policy, or delete the policy, and the Power Platform controls resume automatically. [3]
You opt in
Nothing moves automatically. Creating the policy is how you opt in. There is no separate step. [4, 3]
What it replaces
Allocations and linked billing plans stop applying to what it covers. [3]
What it can't cover
AI Builder. Microsoft says not to move anything that uses it. [3]
Start small
Pick Specific environments. All environments replaces your controls in every environment at once. [3]
The All environments scope is the main risk. It "automatically includes new environments", and "the corresponding Power Platform admin center capacity allocations and linked billing plans no longer apply." [3] Every allocation, draw setting and billing plan you've set up stops applying at once. One policy setting replaces the Power Platform controls on every environment. AI Builder usage sits outside the policy. Microsoft's own advice: "Start by creating a resource-based spending policy and set Policy scope to Specific environments to transition gradually." [3]
All environments is especially risky if any agent or agent flow uses prompts, because Microsoft says not to move resources that use AI Builder. [3]
Our reading It's also the only Copilot Studio spending control that reaches every future environment, which is why some tenants will want it. See Strategy 7 and check 14 of the Microsoft 365 checks.
Three questions for any Copilot Studio usage
- Does a resource-based policy cover the agent or its environment? Then that policy governs it, except AI Builder features, whoever's using the agent. [3]
- If not, the environment's Power Platform configuration applies: "Environments that aren't linked to a Microsoft 365 admin center resource-based spending policy continue under their applicable Power Platform configuration during the opt-in period." [3] An identity-based policy may also come into it: Microsoft ranks one below a resource-based policy [3] without saying which Copilot Studio usage it covers.
- Then ask whether the usage bills at all. A qualifying licensed user on the standard harness is usually free of charge, with the exceptions in what always bills, and the GitHub Copilot harness always bills. See when a Copilot licence removes the charge and what always bills.
Every question about One control planeIs it live, how it switches on, which control wins, what happens to reporting
| Question | What Microsoft says |
|---|---|
| Is it live? | The newest date: "This feature will reach general availability by November 20, 2026." [4] It was first promised for October. [2] The public roadmap reads In development, October CY2026. [29] The Learn page dated 30 October carries no preview label and writes in the present tense. [3] The only way to know whether your tenant has it today is to check the tenant. |
| Is it automatic? | No: "This experience is not enabled automatically for existing Copilot Studio environments." [4] "Until then, your existing Power Platform admin center configuration remains in effect." [3] |
| How is it switched on? | "To opt in, create a Microsoft 365 admin center resource-based spending policy." "No separate migration step is required", and "You don't need to remove the existing Power Platform policy or complete a separate opt-in step." [3] The earlier post says moving is "controlled by an administrator for each environment". [4] Our reading Expect no confirmation step. |
| What can it cover? | Specific resources (agents you pick, across environments), Specific environments, or All environments. Apps and workflows can't be selected one at a time: "To cover them, create a policy for the environment where they're deployed." [3] |
| What can't it cover? | AI Builder. "Resource-based policies created in the Microsoft 365 admin center don't apply to AI Builder features or the credits they consume. AI Builder powers prompts used as tools, in topics, and as nodes in agent flows. Don't move resources, agents, workflows or environments that use AI Builder to these policies." [3] |
| Which control wins? | "Microsoft 365 admin center before Power Platform admin center." "Resource-based policy before identity-based policy." Between policies of the same type, "the policy with the highest applicable per-agent or per-user limit applies." "Spending limits from overlapping policies aren't combined." [3] |
| What happens at the limit? | "If the agent reaches that limit, usage does not fall back to the user's identity-based policy." [3] How quickly a limit stops Copilot Studio usage: Not published |
| What stops applying? | "For resources covered by the spending policy, Copilot Credit management moves to the Microsoft 365 admin center, replacing their Power Platform admin center capacity allocations and linked billing plans." [3] |
| What stays put? | "Other Copilot Studio administration will remain in the Power Platform admin center. Only cost-policy management and associated reporting for moved environments will change." [4] Our reading Data policies, publishing rights and sharing limits stay in the Power Platform admin centre. |
| What happens to reporting? | Reporting splits on the day you move. "After an environment is moved, new usage information for that environment will appear in the Microsoft 365 admin center and will no longer appear in the Power Platform admin center." Earlier usage stays in the Power Platform admin centre. [4] Our reading A report that spans the move date needs both sources. Anything you've built on Power Platform data will stop showing new usage for that environment. |
| How long does it take? | "allow up to 12 minutes for the new policy to apply." [3] |
| Can it be undone? | Yes: "the applicable Power Platform admin center policy resumes for that environment automatically." [3] Microsoft doesn't say how long opting in stays optional. It calls this "the opt-in period" and gives no end date: Not published [3] |
| Who does it? | "an existing Power Platform role does not itself become a Microsoft 365 role." Microsoft recommends AI Administrator for Power Platform admins, to "Manage spending policies", and AI Reader for environment admins. [3] Our reading Another page says AI Administrators "can't create spending policies", [8] so plan for a Global Administrator or Billing Administrator to create the first one. |
| How do I see which admin centre controls an environment? | In the Power Platform admin centre, Manage capacity shows when an environment is managed by a Microsoft 365 policy, and Manage agent shows a message. [3] |
| What comes next? | "Resource-based policies for environments and agents are the first planned scopes, with broader user and group policy support planned for a later phase." [29] Cost Management will also show cost "in the organization's local currency". [4] |
The shared credit pool
Control is split, but funding isn't. Pack credits can fund services in either admin centre. Credits allocated to an environment leave less for Microsoft 365 services, [8] and credits Copilot Studio consumes leave less for Cowork and Work IQ. [5] Microsoft gives the sum: "Available credits = Total purchased credits - Credits pre-allocated to environments in Power Platform admin center". [8]
An environment draws when it takes credits from this pool. The Microsoft setting is "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant", and this guide calls it the draw setting.
| Source | Copilot (spending policy) | Copilot Studio (environment) |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity pack | Used first, from what's left after allocation [8] | Allocated to an environment, or drawn from the tenant pool. Both use pack credits: "Environment-level allocation and drawing from tenant capacity leverage credits from prepaid capacity packs." [5] Our reading Pre-Purchase Plan and pay-as-you-go credits reach an environment only through a billing plan. |
| Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan | Comes through the Azure subscription on the policy. It shows inside the Pay-as-you-go card. [8, 20] | Our reading Not allocatable. Reached "through assigning a pay-as-you-go billing plan under Capacity overages". [5] |
| Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan | Usable, but "the Microsoft 365 admin center displays only the credits available from Copilot Credit P3." [8] | "Per environment via billing plan" [25 p16] |
| Pay-as-you-go | Azure subscription chosen on the policy [8] | Billing plan linked to the environment [6] |
- On the Copilot side, the published order is packs, then the Pre-Purchase Plan, then pay-as-you-go. [8] On the Copilot Studio side, each environment has its own order: allocation, then whichever overage options are ticked. [6] See Which credits go first.
- A spending policy can't guarantee supply: "Spending policies are limit-based controls and don't reserve or allocate Copilot Credits to users or groups." [1]
- Azure won't show you the split. "Cowork, Copilot Studio, and Work IQ consumption is billed through a single common Copilot Credits service that is labeled as Microsoft Copilot Studio." [21] A line labelled Copilot Studio on the Azure bill can be Cowork. To attribute cost, separate spending by Azure subscription or resource group. [21]
- Whether credits allocated to an environment return to the pool once a Microsoft 365 policy covers that environment: Not published
Australian tenants: spending limits reset "at the start of the month (00:00 UTC)". [30] Our reading That's 10:00 AEST or 11:00 AEDT on the 1st in eastern Australia. Someone at their limit stays stopped until mid-morning. Copilot Business default-on will "initially not be available in Australia". [15] Microsoft publishes one Australian figure, AU$299.30 per pack per month excluding GST. [31] Australian prices for pay-as-you-go and Pre-Purchase Plans: Not published
The rules that clear up most confusion
What bills
- A Copilot licence holds no credits. Everyday AI stays covered per user, and advanced work is metered on top. [2] No Microsoft page we read gives a seat a monthly credit allowance. See The per-user licence.
- A Copilot licence removes the Copilot Studio charge only under conditions: standard harness, Microsoft channel, licensed and authenticated user, fair usage. [10, 17 p18] Even then, computer use, autonomous runs and agent flows on other triggers bill. [5, 10] GitHub Copilot harness agents bill "regardless of the user's license". [5]
- Control is split, but there is one pack pool. Credits allocated in the Power Platform admin centre are gone from the Microsoft 365 admin centre. [8]
- Pack credits last a month. Pre-Purchase Plan credits last the year: "Unused credits do not roll over to the next month." [25 p16] "Unused credits expire at the end of the annual term." [17 p5]
- Published credit bands are planning aids. "These figures are rough planning estimates." [17 p7] Credit rates per model or step for Cowork and Code aren't published.
What gives access
- In Copilot, buying credits gives nobody access, because access comes from a spending policy: "A spending policy is an access control, not only a budget." [9] In Copilot Studio, buying packs can start spending by itself, because an environment with no allocation configuration draws on the tenant pool by default. [6]
- In Copilot, a small limit still gives access. "A policy with a limit of one credit still grants access." [9] To keep someone out, leave them out of every policy that selects the service. [9]
- Enterprise Copilot is off until an admin acts. [2] Copilot Business is the exception for new purchases, seats added in the Partner Center portal and trial conversions (see what happens to existing licences, pre-release page [16]): default on through Cloud Solution Provider from 1 December 2026, with a 4,000 credit per-user limit, but not in Australia at first. [15]
- Under Power Platform controls, Copilot Studio is charged to the environment, not to the person. [5]
- A spending policy grows by itself unless you turn that off. "When the setting is on, newly supported Microsoft Copilot services and agents are automatically added to the policy." It's on by default. [1] Our reading On an All users policy, that hands every future service to everyone in scope.
What stops it
- Spending limits stop usage. Azure budgets only warn: "Budgets and alerts help finance and service owners monitor spending, but they don't stop usage." [5] Neither kind of limit acts instantly. [9, 6]
- Across policies the highest limit wins, and "settings from other policies aren't combined". [1] "A more restrictive policy doesn't override a more permissive one." [9]
Could we be billed today?
Run the five checks to see whether Copilot Credits could bill you today. Looking is safe: you won't change any settings. Start by looking only. Change nothing yet.
1. Spending policies
Microsoft 365 admin centre Copilot > Cost Management > Configuration [1]
You could be billed if: Any policy exists. The risk is higher if one is on All users or has Auto-apply on
Next: Microsoft 365 checks, checks 1, 3 and 5
2. Classic pay-as-you-go
Microsoft 365 admin centre Copilot > Billing & usage, Pay-as-you-go services tab [27]
You could be billed if: Any service has a billing policy connected
Next: Microsoft 365 checks, check 13
3. Prepaid capacity
Power Platform admin centre Licensing > Copilot Studio, Summary tab [6]
You could be billed if: The Prepaid capacity card shows any credits, or there's any pay-as-you-go use
Next: Power Platform checks, checks 5 and 6
4. Billing plans
Power Platform admin centre Licensing > Pay-as-you-go plans [22]
You could be billed if: Any plan has an environment linked
Next: Power Platform checks, checks 8 to 10
5. Azure resources
Azure resource list, "View hidden types" [22]
You could be billed if: Any Power Platform account resource exists
Next: Azure checks, check 1
Our reading All five empty: nothing can bill Copilot Credits today. Run the five checks again after any purchase or seat change. Your answers are saved on this device only.
Stop spending today
Find your situation. Look before you change anything: the first row changes nothing.
| Situation | Do this | Takes effect | Side effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsure what's spending | Open the Environments tab, then the Cost Management Consumption tab, before changing anything [6, 20] | Nothing to undo. Consumption refreshes "every 2 hours", Environments daily [20, 6] | None |
| One person is spending fast | Lower their limit, or remove them from every policy for that service | Not immediate. Microsoft gives no time. [9] | A running task can finish [20] |
| A whole policy is spending fast | Delete it, or reduce its limit | Not published | People in another policy carry on under it [1] |
| One agent is spending fast | Turn off the agent in Manage Agents [6] | Not published | Agent flows are checked separately [6] |
| An environment is on pay-as-you-go | Unlink it from the billing plan [22] | "As soon as" [22] | Our reading Other pay-as-you-go products there stop too |
| An environment is on prepaid | Turn off the draw setting and reduce its allocation [5] | Not published | Every feature that uses credits there can stop. If a billing plan is linked, usage moves to Azure instead [5] |
| A covered environment | Reduce the Microsoft 365 policy limit, or remove the environment | Removing it returns it to its Power Platform settings [3] | Old allocations and plans resume. Check them first |
| Last resort, and only if you've already tested it | A Microsoft 365 policy on All environments with a low limit. Not for any tenant with prompts in use, because Microsoft says not to move AI Builder resources [3]. Our reading Don't reach for this first. It's new, you may not have it yet, and the lowest allowed limit isn't published. For most tenants, unlink billing plans and turn off the draw setting one environment at a time | "up to 12 minutes" for a new policy [3] | It replaces every allocation and billing plan at once. [3] How fast a limit stops usage once reached: Not published |
Choose a strategy
You have two decisions: whether people may use metered Copilot experiences, and whether makers may build agents that spend credits. Decide each one, then choose how to fund it. The ten strategies are our way of grouping the controls Microsoft documents.
Find your strategy
Answer the questions to reach a strategy, then choose how to fund it. Our reading Treat the answer as a starting point. Most tenants end up combining two or three, and the table below shows which combine.
An environment draws when it takes credits from the tenant's shared pool. The Microsoft setting is "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant", and this guide calls it the draw setting.
Are you on or buying Copilot Business, outside the excluded markets?
What do you want beyond the licence?
Who will use the agents?
Do the agents need anything that always bills?
Do you want Copilot and Copilot Studio spending managed in one admin centre?
If credits are needed: how must it end when the money runs out?
Are you on, or buying, Copilot Business (the plan for up to 300 users), from a partner or directly?
Is the tenant in Australia or another of the eleven markets Microsoft excluded at first?
Default-on doesn't apply to you yet. No date is published [15]. Our reading If you want no metered use, do nothing now, because you turn it on by creating a spending policy [9]. If you want metered use anyway, a policy you've built before the default arrives stays in place: "Default spending policies are only created if one doesn't already exist." [16] The same exclusion is reported to cover direct purchases too [18], so check your Message center. Then carry on.
What do you want beyond what the licence already gives people?
Which side do you want to turn on first?
Run Strategy 2 for the people side, scoped to people who hold a Copilot licence, since Cowork and Code each carry "Copilot license required" [13]. Then add the agent result that follows to it. Our reading If both sides use capacity packs, turn off the draw setting on every environment first. Packs are one pool across both admin centres [8].
Do the people who'll use them hold a Copilot licence?
Who will use the agents?
Does the agent read SharePoint, connectors or Dataverse?
Do agents need anything that always bills: AI-assisted building, event or schedule triggers, apps, computer use or Work IQ APIs? Or voice? Cover for licensed users on voice is Not published, so plan for it to bill. [5, 10, 25 p7]
Do you want Copilot and Copilot Studio spend managed in one admin centre?
How must it end when the money runs out?
Do you have three months of real usage, running steadily above 20,000 credits a month?
How must it end when the money runs out?
Off Strategy 1: Licence only, everything locked. Nothing bills. Licensed staff keep everything in the licence, including standard harness agents in Microsoft channels [17 p18]. Next: run the five checks.
Limited Strategy 2: Metered Copilot, no agents for a named group. Also running agents? If both use capacity packs, turn off the draw setting on every environment first [8].
Limited Strategy 2, with the policy limited to a group of licensed people only. The rest need a licence first, because Cowork and Code each carry "Copilot license required" [13].
Included Strategy 3: Included agents only. Standard harness, Microsoft channels, licensed users, no credits bought.
Limited Strategy 4: Funded Studio agent building with a prepaid boundary per environment.
Bills credits Strategy 5: Agents for unlicensed staff through Copilot Chat pay-as-you-go, or, for Copilot Chat agents only, capacity packs allocated to the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat environment.
Included Agent Builder agents "grounded in public data or instructions are free to use" [32]. Nothing to fund. Add tenant knowledge later and you're in Strategy 5.
Bills credits Built in full Copilot Studio: generative answers bill 2 credits each for unlicensed users, and classic authored answers 1 credit [10], so fund the environment as in Strategy 4.
Bills credits Strategy 3 for licensed staff, plus Strategy 5 for agents that read tenant data, which bill for the unlicensed users only [10]. Agent Builder agents on instructions or public websites need no billing [32, 10]; agents built in full Copilot Studio bill generative answers for unlicensed users [10].
Bills credits Strategy 6: Customer-facing agents. Every conversation bills, so choose between keeping the service running and stopping at a limit.
Limited Strategy 7: One control plane. Test it on one environment once your tenant shows it. If you must fund agents before then, use Strategy 4 on that one environment only.
Bills credits Strategy 8: Default-on Copilot Business. Decide before the purchase whether to accept the default or replace it. It triggers on a new Cloud Solution Provider purchase, a portal seat addition or a trial conversion from 1 December [16], and, reported from mid-November, on direct purchases by tenants that hold Business Premium, with other tenants at a later date (reported, [18]). If none of these happens, nothing changes.
Limited Scope a spending policy to a security group holding the Teams Phone Agent resource accounts, or for app hosting the people who run the apps [1, 33], as in the Strategy 2 steps. How to limit Work IQ API usage for a custom app is Not published. Teams Phone Agent setup is in Strategy 6. Teams Phone Agent needs "Microsoft Teams Phone", a "Teams Phone Resource Account license" and usage-based billing [17 p24, 34]; the Microsoft 365 services table marks "Copilot license required" on Cowork, SharePoint, OneDrive and Code only [13].
Off Cowork, Code and advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive each carry "Copilot license required" [13]. Without licences, there is nothing to turn on for people on the Copilot side. Agents for unlicensed people are Strategy 5; services with no licence mark (Teams Phone Agent, Work IQ API, Copilot Managed Runtime) are covered by the services answer in this tree.
Limited Stay on Strategy 7. Choose a billing method with pay-as-you-go behind the packs. The policy's monthly and per-agent limits then set the maximum [3, 1]. Allocations and billing plans don't apply to a covered environment [8].
Limited Pay-as-you-go with limits, and no packs. Our reading Start here until you have three months of real usage, then answer again. Pay-as-you-go has no limit of its own [22], so set a per-user limit and a policy limit. Without packs, Copilot Studio can't spend from the pool.
Limited Strategy 9: Prepaid only, no overage. Packs with no pay-as-you-go behind them, so spending ends when the pool is empty. Before you buy a pack, check the draw setting.
Bills credits Strategy 10: Base plus overflow. Packs or an allocation for the steady load, with pay-as-you-go behind them. Limits set the maximum and a budget sends alerts. Before you buy a pack, check the draw setting.
What we'd do at a mid-market Australian firm.
Our reading Now: run the five checks, then Strategy 1 or Strategy 3, with Auto-apply new services off on any existing policy [1]. Next 90 days: Strategy 2 for one sponsored team of 20 to 50 people, on pay-as-you-go with a per-user limit [1], so no capacity packs start Copilot Studio spending [6]. When a real agent case appears: one environment on a prepaid boundary (Strategy 4), or Strategy 10 if people will depend on the agent. After 20 November, once your tenant shows it: test one resource-based policy (Strategy 7) [4]. Review every month for three months, then decide on packs.
All ten on one screen
Here are the ten strategies in three groups. Each name links to the full strategy. Each strategy has a "What your people see" block. For an item-by-item view of the app, see What people see in the Copilot app.
| Strategy | In one line | What people get | What they don't get | Credits can bill? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choose one main strategy | ||||
| 1. Licence only, everything locked | No spending policy and no credits anywhere. People get what the licence includes. | Chat, Copilot in the Office apps, Researcher and Analyst, the free parts of the app, rule-based agents in Teams and Chat. | Cowork, Code, Autopilot, the frontier models, natural-language agent building. They see the tabs and get a message asking them to request access. | No "nothing is billed before" a policy exists [2] |
| 2. Metered Copilot, no agents | One security group gets Cowork and the services you tick, under a per-user limit. | In the group: Cowork, Code, advanced SharePoint work, usage-based models where eligible, Automations and "/cost". | Anyone outside the group gets Strategy 1. Nobody gets credit-funded Copilot Studio agents. | Limited Per-user and policy limits [1] |
| 3. Included agents only | Rule-based agents for licensed staff, built and run without buying credits. | Agents in Teams, Chat and SharePoint; makers get Agent Builder and publishing. | Natural-language building, autonomous agents, apps, agents for unlicensed people, external channels. | No while every condition holds; fair usage limit Not published [17 p18] |
| 4. Funded Studio agent building | Named environments get prepaid credits and nothing behind them. | Makers build with the GitHub Copilot harness; their agents run until the allocation ends. | Cowork or Code for people, since no user policy exists. Continuity past the allocation. | Limited The allocation. Usage can run a little past it before agents stop [10] |
| Add if you have this audience | ||||
| 5. Agents for unlicensed staff | Pay-as-you-go so Copilot Chat users can use agents that read tenant data. | Shared knowledge agents in Chat and SharePoint for everyone, licence or not. | Researcher, Analyst, Cowork, Code, frontier models, or any view of credits. Those need the licence. | Yes Per interaction at the rate card [10] |
| 6. Customer-facing agents | Agents for people outside the tenant. Every conversation bills. | Customers get web, voice and phone agents. | Any licence coverage, or a quiet stop: a halted agent tells the customer so. | Yes Every conversation [35] |
| Add-ons and events | ||||
| 7. One control plane General availability by 20 Nov 2026 | Copilot Studio environments governed by Microsoft 365 spending policies, beside the people policies. | The same as 4 or 6, with one admin centre and one report. | A published stop speed, or any cover for AI Builder credits. | Limited Policy and per-agent limits, AI Builder excepted [3] |
| 8. Default-on Copilot Business via CSP From 1 Dec 2026 | A partner purchase, even a few added seats, turns on metered billing for the whole tenant: every Copilot licence holder, not just the new seats. | Cowork, and Work IQ APIs if used, from day one, up to 4,000 credits a user a month. Code only if the tenant is in Frontier and Auto-apply adds it. | A turned-off position without admin work. Not in Australia at first. | Yes, by default [15] |
| 9. Prepaid only, no overage | Capacity packs only, with no pay-as-you-go behind them. An add-on to 2, 4, 5 (Copilot Chat agents only), 6 and 7. | A fixed monthly figure. | Continuity. Everything on credits stops when the pool is empty. | Limited The packs are the spend [21] |
| 10. Base plus overflow | Packs or an allocation for the steady load, with pay-as-you-go behind them. Limits set the maximum and an Azure budget sends alerts. An add-on to 2, 4, 5 and 6. | Services and agents that keep running when the pool is empty. | A fixed monthly figure. | Yes Past the packs, at pay-as-you-go rates [8] |
Our reading If you've never bought credits or linked a billing plan, an enterprise tenant is at Strategy 1 today. If you hold packs, Dynamics 365 Premium capacity or any billing plan, Copilot Studio may already be able to spend [6]. Run the five checks.
Strategies side by side
Amounts use the pay-as-you-go list price of "$0.01/Copilot Credit" [17 p4]. The Effort column is our estimate.
| Strategy | Most you could be billed | What's on | Managed in | Can usage be stopped? | Effort | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Licence only, everything locked | Nil on enterprise tenants: "nothing is billed before" a policy exists [2] | Everything in the licence, including Researcher, Analyst and standard harness agents in Microsoft channels [17 p27, 17 p18] | Both admin centres, with nothing turned on | Yes No funding, no policy | Our reading Half a day if nothing is funded, then a monthly check | Tenants waiting for a business case, regulated tenants, anyone with no credit owner |
| 2. Metered Copilot, no agents | Group size times per-user limit; minimum 2,000 a user a month ($20) [1] | Cowork, and whichever services you tick, for one security group [1] | Microsoft 365 admin centre | Yes Per-user and policy limits. Not immediate [9] | Our reading A day, then a weekly check | A named team with a sponsor who'll pay the metered bill |
| 3. Included agents only | Nil if every condition holds; fair usage limits Not published [10] | Standard harness agents and Copilot Chat agents in Microsoft channels for licensed users [17 p18] | Power Platform admin centre access controls and data policies | Yes No credits in any environment [19] | Medium: someone must enforce the design rules | All-licensed tenants that want internal agents without a credit budget |
| 4. Funded Studio agent building | The allocation per environment. Microsoft "allows some level of overage consumption" before it blocks agents [10]. Whether that usage is ever charged is Not published; Our reading with no billing plan linked, treat it as a late stop and not as extra spend. For standard custom agents enforcement starts "when a tenant reaches 125% of their prepaid capacity" [10]; for the GitHub Copilot harness the percentage is Not published | GitHub Copilot harness build and run, autonomous agents, app building, in named environments [5] | Power Platform admin centre | Yes Prepaid boundary and agent Stop usage [7, 6] | High: a register of environments, regular sweeps and limits per agent | Tenants with a Power Platform team and a named cost owner per environment |
| 5. Agents for unlicensed staff | Per unlicensed user per interaction, at the rate card: 1, 2, 5 or 10 credits a feature [10] | Copilot Chat and SharePoint agents grounded in tenant data for people without a Copilot licence [32] | Microsoft 365 admin centre Copilot > Billing & usage, or the Copilot Chat billing plan in Power Platform admin centre [26, 22] | Weak Budgets don't enforce a limit [27]. A standalone Copilot credit policy with packs does stop usage, for Copilot Chat only. It takes Chat away from covered users until credits replenish. SharePoint agents stay on pay-as-you-go with no stop [36] | Medium | Tenants with a large unlicensed population and a few shared knowledge agents |
| 6. Customer-facing agents | Every conversation: digital 5 to 50, voice 20 to 220 credits a conversation on the customer conversation harness bands [17 p17] | External channels, voice, Teams Phone Agent, Contact Center Intelligence [35, 37] | Power Platform admin centre per environment and agent; Teams Phone Agent in Microsoft 365 admin centre [37] | Yes, but customers notice "This agent is currently unavailable." [10] Teams Phone Agent falls back to an auto attendant [37] | High | Service and contact centre teams with a monthly budget they can forecast |
| 7. One control plane General availability by 20 Nov 2026 | The policy's monthly limit and per-agent limit, with AI Builder credits outside it [3] | Whatever Strategy 4 or 6 turned on, now governed by Microsoft 365 spending policies | Microsoft 365 admin centre for covered environments. Everything else stays where it is [4] | Yes Speed Not published | Medium, after Strategy 4 | Tenants whose cost owner works in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, or who want one invoice view in local currency |
| 8. Default-on Copilot Business via CSP From 1 Dec 2026 | Every Copilot licence holder in the tenant: 4,000 credits a user a month by default ($40); tenant default 1,200,000 ($12,000) [15, 16] | Cowork, Work IQ APIs and the GitHub Copilot harness for everyone in scope, from purchase [16] | Partner Center defaults; Microsoft 365 admin centre for anything more [16] | Yes, by deleting the policy The Azure setup stays in place. The same page says "Usage-based billing can't be fully turned off once configured." [16] Confirm what remains with your partner. Our reading Deleting the policy lasts only until the next qualifying purchase. With no policy in place, a portal seat addition can create the default again [16]. Agree with your partner that seat changes are checked, and re-check Configuration after each one. | Low, if decided before purchase | Small businesses outside the excluded markets who'd rather accept a default than design one |
| 9. Prepaid only, no overage (funding add-on) | Fixed: the packs you buy, 25,000 credits a month each at $200 [25 p16] | Whatever the main strategy turns on, until the pool is empty | Both: a billing method without pay-as-you-go, and the prepaid boundary [8, 7] | Yes "Requests are blocked when limits or available credit sources are exhausted." [21] | Low to set up, but you must manage the risk of services stopping | Procurement-led tenants that need a fixed monthly figure and can accept services stopping |
| 10. Base plus overflow (funding add-on) | The packs, then pay-as-you-go up to the per-user, policy or agent limits. There is no fixed figure [8, 6] | Whatever the main strategy turns on. It keeps running after the pool is empty | Both: packs with pay-as-you-go behind them, and an allocation with a billing plan behind it [8, 7] | Only the limits Per-user and policy limits on the Copilot side [1]. Agent Stop usage on the Copilot Studio side [6]. Azure budgets "don't stop usage" [5] | Medium: a budget and a limit per thing that bills | Tenants with agents or services people depend on, and a cost owner who'd rather read an alert than take an outage |
Which strategies combine
- Strategy 1 stands alone: nothing is turned on, on either side.
- Strategies 2 and 3 fit together with no extra funding, because included agents need no credits and Cowork is funded by the spending policy [17 p18, 1].
- Strategies 4, 5 and 6 each run in their own environments, so a tenant can run all three. Our reading Give each a separate billing plan or allocation so you get separate reports and budgets too [21].
- Strategy 7 replaces the Power Platform controls for the environments it covers and leaves the rest alone: "Environments that are not moved will continue to use their existing cost controls in the Power Platform admin center." [4] It sits beside Strategy 2 in the same admin centre.
- Strategy 8 comes from how you buy. It leaves you with a wide version of Strategy 2. Narrow it to the people who need it.
- Strategy 10 is an add-on to 2, 4, 5 and 6. Microsoft's own setup advice points to it: "Enable a pay-as-you-go meter to ensure your services continue once Prepaid Capacity pack credits are exhausted." [8] You don't need it with 7, where the policy limit sets the maximum [3].
- Strategy 9 is an add-on to 2, 4, 5 (Copilot Chat agents only), 6 and 7. Strategy 3 spends nothing, so it doesn't apply there. It can't be added to 8, where "Pay-as-you-go will be the default billing configuration" [15]. It also rules out the E7 pack offer, which requires that the customer "enables pay-as-you-go usage-based billing" [15].
- Our reading Running Strategy 2 and any funded Studio strategy on the same capacity packs needs care: "Credits allocated to environments in the Power Platform admin center reduce the credits available for other services in the Microsoft 365 admin center." [8]
How the two sides work
Copilot Credits are one currency pooled "at the tenant level" [17 p4], but you make two independent decisions. Our reading Decide each one on purpose, because leaving either alone is also a choice. On the Copilot side the default is off. On the Copilot Studio side the default is on once credits exist.
Side 1: Copilot usage-based experiences
Microsoft 365 admin centre Cowork, Code, advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive, Work IQ API, Copilot Managed Runtime, Teams Phone Agent [13]. "For enterprise customers, UBB services stay off until an admin creates a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and nothing is billed before that." [2] The policy both turns services on and limits spending: "A spending policy is an access control, not only a budget." [9] You control people and groups, with a per-user limit that stops them at the end of the month's allowance [1].
Side 2: Copilot Studio agents
Power Platform admin centre Credits are "charged to the environment where the agent runs" and "not to the individual makers or users who run agents" [5]. No policy is needed to start: where packs exist, "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant is selected by default" for eligible environments with no allocation configuration [6]. GitHub Copilot harness agents bill from the first prompt: "Consumption starts at design time, before an agent is published." [7] You control environments, then agents.
One control plane is coming. A resource-based spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin centre can cover a Copilot Studio environment or agent, and then "its controls take precedence over the Power Platform admin center controls for that usage" [3]. Microsoft says this "will reach general availability by November 20, 2026" [4]. Strategy 7 below is built on it. General availability by 20 Nov 2026
The three questions
1. Who is the audience?
Licensed staff, unlicensed staff, or customers. The licence changes the price of the same agent: standard harness agents in Microsoft channels are "included with the Microsoft Copilot USL (fair usage limits apply)" for licensed users, "Otherwise, Copilot Credits are required." [17 p18] Customer-facing use "isn't covered by a user's Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [35]
2. Which side are you turning on?
Copilot experiences, Copilot Studio agents, both or neither. You decide each side separately. A tenant can be fully metered on one side and turned off on the other. The side-by-side table shows which combinations make sense.
3. How is it funded, and who controls it?
Microsoft's own advice: the licence "is generally purchased by IT and provided across the organization" while usage-based billing "may be better funded by business units that can manage UBB along with cost-benefit tradeoffs." [11] Spending policies allow "departmental billing" with a billing method per group [1]. Our reading Copilot Studio costs on the Azure side split by "billing scope, subscription, resource, meter, and invoice period", and Azure "doesn't show the same user-level or spending-policy context as the Microsoft 365 admin center" [21].
Funding and who controls what
| Control | Admin centre | Who can set it | Can it stop usage? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spending policy (people and groups) | Microsoft 365 admin centre | Create: Global or Billing Administrator. Edit limits and alerts: AI Administrator. License Administrator is listed both as able to edit and as read-only [8] | Yes, with a delay: limits are "evaluated asynchronously" [9] |
| Resource-based spending policy (environments and agents) | Microsoft 365 admin centre | Create: Global or Billing Administrator [8]. Power Platform administrators need the AI Administrator role, since "an existing Power Platform role does not itself become a Microsoft 365 role" [3] | Yes. How fast it stops usage: Not published |
| Allocation, draw setting and billing plan link | Power Platform admin centre | "Power Platform Administrator or Global Administrator role, or an equivalent role that can manage licensing and capacity" [5]. Allocation can be opened to environment admins, which "gives them allocation control across every environment in the tenant" [7] | Only when all three are set together: "An allocation isn't a boundary if the environment can continue drawing from tenant capacity or pay-as-you-go billing." [5] |
| Agent limit with Stop usage | Power Platform admin centre | Same roles [5] | Yes, with a delay: "Limits aren't applied instantly." It doesn't stop agent flows [6] |
| Pay-as-you-go billing plan | Power Platform admin centre and Azure | Environment, Power Platform, Global or Dynamics 365 admin with rights "to create new resources and register resource providers in the subscription" [22] | There is no field for a limit. Unlinking stops it: "no further usage is charged" [22]. Budgets "don't stop usage" [5] |
| Pre-Purchase Plan | Azure, and Microsoft 365 admin centre Cost Management for the Copilot Credit plan [8] | "the owner role or reservation purchaser role is required" [38] | No. When it runs out, "usage automatically continues on a pay-as-you-go basis." [8] |
Our reading How you fund usage decides how spending stops. Capacity packs are the only source that can be allocated to an environment and the only source that runs out and stops [5, 21]. Pay-as-you-go and both Pre-Purchase Plans keep going until someone unlinks or deletes something. Strategy 9 is the prepaid-only add-on. Strategy 10 puts pay-as-you-go behind the packs so services keep running.
What Microsoft publishes, and what is ours
Microsoft documents two approaches for a Copilot Studio environment: a "Prepaid boundary" ("Allocate a defined amount of prepaid capacity, turn off Draw from the available capacity in my tenant, and don't connect the environment to pay-as-you-go billing.") and "Continuity through Azure billing" [7]. It also distinguishes three kinds of environment: "Exploration and prototyping environments need a deliberate boundary, test and validation environments need time-bound controls, and funded production environments need an accountable owner and intentional funding." [7] On the Copilot side it recommends starting narrow: use "Customize setup configuration" before you activate the first policy [8], and set a per-user limit "to prevent runaway spending of Copilot Credits by one individual user" [8].
Our reading Everything else on this page is FutureAbility's way of grouping those controls: the ten strategies, the names, the comparison table and the decision tree. A step that is a Microsoft control carries a citation. A step that is our advice is marked.
Two things people ask for aren't available today: a pilot with an end date, and a per-user limit on Copilot Studio agents.
A pilot with an end date. Nothing ends a pilot automatically. Spending policies have no end date, and agent limits reset monthly. Microsoft's "time-bound controls" for test environments are a process you run, so a pilot is any strategy here plus a calendar entry.
A per-user limit for Copilot Studio agents. This isn't documented as available today. Copilot Studio bills the environment and agent "not at the user level" [35], and user and group policies are "planned for a later phase" [29]. The newer Microsoft 365 page ranks a resource policy above "a policy for the person using the agent" [3] without saying a user policy can limit an agent on its own. Don't rely on one until your tenant shows it.
Strategy 1: Licence only, everything locked
No spending policy and no credits anywhere. People get what the licence includes.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping of each kind of person to this strategy is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- Licensed people open the Copilot app (Home, in Frontier tenants [28]) with Chat, Library, Notebooks, Pages and the Plugins page (still called Agents until the rename lands in late November [40]). The Cowork, Code and Autopilot entry points are "visible by default to users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license", and clicking one gives "an in-product message after clicking on the entry points to request access or learn more" [28]. If you set who can request to "No users", they get "a link to learn more about Advanced AI experiences that require usage-based billing" instead [41]. Education users only ever see the learn-more link [28]. The model picker shows included models only: "Users will not have access to UBB models unless UBB is enabled." [42] Researcher and Analyst work, from Plugins or the pinned list. Researcher is limited to "a maximum of 25 queries per user per month" [43]; a published limit for Analyst is Not published. Tools come from the Agent store with "Add" or "Request approval" [44]. At a licence model limit, the only option is Auto. Using credits needs a policy and is "coming soon" [11].
- People without a Copilot licence get Chat with "Standard access" and "Limited (no advanced agents)" [39], Library with "Copilot Chat eligibility" [45], Pages "including ones without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license" [46] and Notebooks, since "A Microsoft Copilot or Copilot Chat license is required" [47]. Agents answer from instructions and public websites only [32]. Whether they see the Cowork and Code tabs at all: Not published.
- Makers reach Agent Builder from "New Agent" [48] and can open Copilot Studio, because the licence "lets you use Copilot Studio to build agents for the GitHub Copilot harness" [49]. The first natural-language prompt there fails with "You need credits to continue. This environment doesn't have credits available right now." [19] Expect helpdesk tickets about this.
Best-practice steps
- Confirm the policy list is empty: Microsoft 365 checks, check 1. Microsoft's own test is to "check every spending policy" [9].
- Set who can ask to "No users" or a small group: check 11. Users then get "a link to learn more about Advanced AI experiences that require usage-based billing" [41].
- Leave classic pay-as-you-go disconnected: check 13. "By default, pay-as-you-go billing is disabled." [26]
- Hold no capacity packs, or if Dynamics 365 Premium licences bring capacity [6], allocate nothing and turn off the draw setting everywhere: Power Platform checks, checks 5 and 6.
- Unlink every billing plan and check the Copilot Chat plan: checks 8 to 10. After unlinking, "no further usage is charged." [22]
- Restrict who can create environments and who can allocate: checks 2 and 3 [50, 51].
- Block Copilot Studio trial sign-ups and self-service purchases: Access checks, checks 3 to 6 and check 15. Microsoft's published script needs the parameter set to false to block existing staff [52, 53].
- Remove Azure rights to create billing plans: Azure checks, check 2 [22].
Who it suits
Our reading Tenants with no agreed owner for a metered bill, tenants in regulated settings that need a decision record before any usage charge, and tenants waiting to see the first months of Cowork pricing data from others. It costs nothing but you give up a lot, so treat it as a temporary position.
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
On Copilot Chat, Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Teams, "Researcher, Analyst, and Facilitator", Work IQ grounding and model selection [17 p27]. Off Cowork, Code, Autopilot, advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive, and frontier models "such as Astra and Fable" [11]. Nothing bills: "UBB services stay off until an admin creates a spending policy" [2].
Copilot Studio
On Standard harness agents in Microsoft channels for licensed users, which are "included with the Microsoft Copilot USL (fair usage limits apply)" [17 p18], and test chat, where the agent's own activity "doesn't consume Copilot Credits" [23]. Off Every GitHub Copilot harness action: with no credits, makers "can't use natural language to author solutions, preview and test agents, or generate and create agent evaluations." [19] Customer conversation harness, computer use and non-Microsoft channels, which all need credits [5, 35].
What you give up
Cowork, Code and the SharePoint work "at scale" [54]. The frontier models arriving in Chat, Word, Excel and PowerPoint in November, where "GPT-6 Astra and Claude Fable 5.1 will be generally available as UBB models" [42]. Eligibility requirements apply, and Fable 5.1 depends on your organisation's eligibility [42, 55]. What people can do when licence limits apply: "After reaching the limit, they have the option to continue with UBB by consuming Copilot Credits or, if applicable, reroute to Auto" [11]; without a policy, the only option is Auto. Any GitHub Copilot harness agent, including the ones Microsoft now encourages makers to build.
Common mistakes
- Copilot Business through a partner from 1 December turns on metered billing by itself outside the excluded markets: see Strategy 8 [15].
- Teams Phone Agent is "enabled by default" in the Teams admin centre [56]. It bills only "after an administrator completes the required spending configuration" [57], so it can't bill by itself, but it will look turned on.
- Everyone with a Copilot licence can still open Copilot Studio: the licence "lets you use Copilot Studio to build agents for the GitHub Copilot harness" [49]. With no credits their attempts fail with "You need credits to continue." [19] Expect helpdesk tickets.
- Entry points stay visible: "Cowork, Code, and Autopilot entry points in the Copilot app will be visible by default to users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [28]
- Microsoft dated the move of developer and trial environments to usage-based billing at 1 September 2026 [5], with no confirmation since (see developer and trial environments). With no packs there's nothing to draw, but a pack bought later for any reason lets them spend, because the draw setting is on by default [6].
- Agents built outside Copilot Studio that read tenant data for unlicensed users bill "via Copilot Studio" once billing exists [58]; with nothing connected they simply lack that knowledge [32].
What to watch
- Monthly: Copilot > Cost Management > Configuration still shows no policy; Licensing > Pay-as-you-go plans shows no plan [1, 22].
- Monthly: Power Platform admin centre Licensing > Copilot Studio Summary shows no prepaid capacity and no pay-as-you-go credits [6].
- Quarterly: Azure for hidden "Power Platform account resource" objects, with "View hidden types" [22]: Azure checks, check 1.
- Before mid-November (direct) or 1 December (partner) and at each renewal: your channel and product, in case Strategy 8 applies.
Changing strategy later
Our reading To Strategy 2: fund the tenant, then create one policy for a named group, following steps 1, 6 and 7 of turning spending back on. To Strategy 3: there is nothing to fund. Publish the data policy and design rules.
Strategy 2: Metered Copilot, no agents
One security group gets Cowork and the services you tick, under a per-user limit.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- People in the policy open Cowork from the left navigation, or from Home in Frontier tenants [28], and work. If Code is in the policy, or Auto-apply added it, they get "Code with cloud coding sessions" [59]. From November the Chat and Office pickers offer Astra, and Fable 5.1 where your organisation is eligible [42, 55]. The criteria are Not published, so ask your account team. In Frontier tenants Automations also appears in their Home pane, because that move is "For users with access to Cowork" and rolls "out to Frontier in October" [28]. Plugins come from the Plugins page and "the Microsoft 365 plugin marketplace" [60]; ones you deployed carry "a Managed by your organization label" [61]; ones you blocked still show, with "This plugin is blocked by your organization's policy." and a "Request access" button [62]. They can type "/cost" to see "the approximate Copilot Credit usage for a task, how many credits you have used this month, and how many remain", at no cost [30]. As people near their limit: an email at your threshold [1]; in SharePoint a confirmation before advanced work and a warning at 20% remaining [54]; at the limit "they lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month until credits reset on the first of the month" [1] and can click "Request more" [63]. Over a per-user limit in a group policy, a task already running "can complete without interruption" [20].
- Licensed people outside the policy see Strategy 1: the tabs, then the request message [28]. Their requests land in your admin centre with "the requested service, license status, current policy" [20].
- People without a licence are unchanged from Strategy 1. The policy does nothing for them, because Cowork and Code need the licence [13].
- Makers are unchanged from Strategy 1: the policy funds Cowork and leaves Copilot Studio unfunded.
The reset is "00:00 UTC on the first of each month" [64], which is mid-morning on the 1st in eastern Australia. Our reading Anthropic models are on by default for Australian commercial tenants and are "currently excluded from the EU Data Boundary, and when applicable, in-country processing commitments." [55] Fable-class models are the exception: they depend on eligibility, and models with Data Retention are off by default everywhere and need a separate opt-in [55]. Decide that before step 3.
Best-practice steps
- Decide funding. Our reading Pay-as-you-go or a Pre-Purchase Plan leaves Copilot Studio unfunded without any extra steps. Capacity packs need checks 5, 6 and 12 done on every environment first. Buying options are in every way to buy.
- Pick the Azure subscription under your commitment's billing account if you hold one: "MACC benefits apply only when the selected subscription links to a billing account that includes the commitment." [65]
- Build the security group, then follow Cowork, in order, using "Customize setup configuration" before "Activate" [8].
- Set a per-user limit of at least 2,000 credits [1] and a policy limit: checks 6 and 7. Microsoft's reason: "to prevent runaway spending of Copilot Credits by one individual user" [8].
- Turn off Auto-apply new services on the policy: check 5. "Turn off Auto-apply new services for any policy that shouldn't automatically govern future supported services or agents." [1]
- Set alerts to a monitored mailbox and turn on user threshold notifications: checks 9 and 10 [8, 1].
- Set who can request access and where requests go: checks 11 and 12 [41, 20].
- Review the model and browser settings: checks 16 to 18. Cowork browsing is off by default and "browser tasks count toward your organization's consumption" [66, 67].
- For Code, follow Code, in order. Keep execution on cloud, since "Local coding sessions are disabled by default." [59]
Who it suits
Our reading A team with a sponsor who has agreed to pay the metered bill: a sales team for Cowork, a SharePoint content team for advanced work, a few developers for Code once your tenant is in Frontier. It fits Microsoft's own funding advice that usage-based billing "may be better funded by business units" [11].
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
Limited The services you tick, for the groups in scope, up to the per-user and policy limits [1]. Cowork has reached General availability. Code is Frontier and needs the tenant in the Frontier program [68]. Advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive reached General availability on 30 September [54].
Copilot Studio
Off As Strategy 1, with one new risk. If you fund the policy with capacity packs, those packs are a tenant pool. Environments with no allocation configuration draw from it by default [6].
What you give up
Agents. The GitHub Copilot harness, autonomous workflows and apps stay off. Your people lose nothing they had: the licence is unchanged. Microsoft's planning bands for Cowork are "100 - 300", "300 - 700" and ">700" credits a task [17 p7], which is $1 to $7 or more a task at list price (Our reading). Per-model credit rates are Not published.
Common mistakes
- The policy's scope decides who gets the service. "A policy with a limit of one credit still grants access." [9] Leaving "All users" selected [1] gives the whole tenant Cowork.
- Auto-apply can widen an existing policy. Code is the current example: covered users "automatically receive access to Code" [59], and SharePoint warns "Existing cost management policies might automatically include newly available services" [54]. Whether the usage-based models arriving in Chat and Word count as a new service for this switch is Not published [42].
- Limits don't act instantly. "Credit limits are a spending safeguard, not a real-time access gate." [9] Over a per-user limit in a group policy, a running task "can complete without interruption" and the excess "isn't billed (at Microsoft's sole discretion)" [20].
- The more generous policy wins. Users in several policies get the one with the "Highest per-user limit" [1], and "A more restrictive policy doesn't override a more permissive one." [9]
- Scheduled Cowork tasks run "without a person present" [67] under the creator's policy, so a user's limit is the only control on unattended spending. Frequency limits are Not published.
- Reasoning effort is a user choice: "Higher reasoning effort is more thorough, but is slower and uses more credits." [69] Admin control of effort on Learn is Not published.
- A subscription with a Pre-Purchase Plan doesn't set a maximum: "usage automatically continues on a pay-as-you-go basis." [8] Use Strategy 9 if you need one.
What to watch
- Weekly: Copilot > Cost Management Consumption tab, Users and Agents and services views. It "refreshes every 2 hours" [20].
- Daily in the first month: policy alert emails, which "continue daily until the monthly usage period resets" [8].
- Monthly: the Configuration list for policies you didn't create, and each policy's Auto-apply state [1].
- Monthly: Azure Cost Management for the invoice view, where Cowork, Copilot Studio and Work IQ "is labeled as Microsoft Copilot Studio" [21], and "usage can take up to 24 hours to appear" [21].
- For managers: the Viva Insights Consumption Dashboard, "for reference only", covering Cowork and the Work IQ API [70].
Changing strategy later
Our reading To widen: add a group, then a service, then raise limits, "one change per review" as in step 8 of turning spending back on. To add agents: Strategy 3 needs no money; Strategy 4 needs an allocation and the Power Platform checks.
Strategy 3: Included agents only
Rule-based agents for licensed staff, built and run without buying credits.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- Licensed people find your agents in the Agent store under "All Agents", soon the Plugins page, and "Add" them, or see "Request approval instead of Add" where you've kept approval [44, 40]. Only agents you've allowed appear: "Members of your organization can only access the agents that you have allowed." [71] Agents work in Teams, Chat and SharePoint with no credit prompt, since their use "have zero-rated usage" for licensed users [49]. Cowork, Code and Autopilot still show the request message, as in Strategy 1 [28].
- People without a licence get agents that answer from instructions and public websites; SharePoint, connector and Dataverse knowledge needs usage billing or a licence [32]. What they see when they ask such an agent on an unfunded tenant: Not published. The Copilot Studio enforcement page says only that "Agents stop responding to requests." [19]
- Makers use Agent Builder from "New Agent" [48]. It can't add actions: "To add low-code actions, connectors, or workflows, copy the agent to Microsoft Copilot Studio." [72] In Copilot Studio, natural-language building, preview or evaluation answers "You need credits to continue." [19], and an upgrade to the GitHub Copilot harness fails for the same reason [73]. Sharing is limited by your "Sharing" setting [74].
Best-practice steps
- Confirm the conditions in when a Copilot licence removes the charge: standard harness, Microsoft channel, employee-facing, licensed user, the agent "operates using the authenticated Microsoft Copilot USL user's identity", within fair usage [10].
- Don't fund anything: Power Platform checks, checks 5 to 8. With no credits in the environment the GitHub Copilot harness can't be used by accident [19]. Publishing still works for licensed makers: a maker can publish when "You have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license assigned." [23]
- Publish a tenant-wide data policy with "Add all environments" that blocks the external channels and "Chat without Microsoft Entra ID authentication in Copilot Studio": check 14 and the connector table [75].
- Block the "Microsoft Copilot Studio" connector if you want no event triggers. Triggers can be restricted "to prevent data exfiltration or unwanted consumption or quota usage" [75]. Autonomous runs bill even for licensed users [5].
- Adopt the design rules for makers: agent flows only through "When an agent calls the flow" [10], no computer use [10], no Work IQ APIs [25 p7].
- Control who can build with environment roles, since the authors setting "doesn't automatically revoke access from other users" [76]: Access checks, checks 1 and 2.
- Share agents only to licensed people. No setting restricts an agent to licence holders, so sharing to a licensed group is the practical way to limit it (Our reading). Sharing limits are in check 15 [77].
Who it suits
Our reading Tenants where everyone who'll use an agent holds a Copilot licence, and the agents are rule-based: FAQ bots, HR and IT helpers, knowledge agents in Teams and Copilot Chat. It suits a tenant that wants makers building without a credit budget and is prepared to enforce the design rules.
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
Unchanged from Strategy 1 or 2, whichever you run beside it.
Copilot Studio
Included "Authoring and runtime execution in Microsoft channels for agents and agent flows built using the Standard harness are included with the Microsoft Copilot USL (fair usage limits apply), including Copilot Chat agents." [17 p18] Off The GitHub Copilot harness, computer use, Work IQ APIs, autonomous triggers, external channels and unlicensed users, all of which bill [5, 10].
What you give up
Natural-language building, which is GitHub Copilot harness only and bills from the first prompt [78]. Apps, which "can only be built in Copilot Studio using the GitHub Copilot harness" [25 p7]. Reasoning-heavy and autonomous agents, which Microsoft built that harness for [79]. Anyone without a licence: in Microsoft's own example, an agent used by 50 licensed and 100 unlicensed users bills for the 100 [10]. Voice, where free use for licensed users is Not published [10]. The fair usage limit itself is Not published, so "included" has a limit that Microsoft doesn't state.
Common mistakes
- A maker can upgrade an agent to the metered harness: "The upgrade creates a copy on the GitHub Copilot harness" and "The upgrade consumes credits." [73] With no environment credits this fails, which is the point of step 2.
- The harness can't be blocked: "The GitHub Copilot harness doesn't have its own maker-access setting." [5] Only funding and access control stop it.
- Any Copilot licence holder can open Copilot Studio. The Copilot Studio authors setting "is designed to grant access" and "doesn't automatically revoke access from other users" [76]. A Power Platform page says the opposite. The newer cost page agrees with the troubleshooting page [6, 5].
- Prompts and AI models inside agent flows "always consume Copilot Credits, even when triggered from an agent-embedded test panel" [80], while flow actions in test runs don't [10].
- A proactive greeting bills for unlicensed users: it "does count as a billed Copilot Credit, even if the end user doesn't respond." [23]
- If you also hold packs for Cowork, environments draw by default [6]. This strategy then stops being free unless the draw setting is turned off everywhere: checks 6 and 12.
- The credit-free Teams route is closing: "New Dataverse for Teams environments can't be created starting November 15, 2026." [81] Agents made with Copilot Studio for Teams "don't consume Copilot Credits, regardless of who uses them" [23] while they last.
What to watch
- Weekly: Manage > Copilot Studio, Harness column filtered to GitHub Copilot, which should be empty [5]: check 19.
- Monthly: the Power Platform admin centre environment and agent reports for any billed or non-billed credits. The download "Start with the environment report" [6]. A split of licensed and unlicensed use per agent is Not published.
- Monthly: the data policy still covers all environments and nobody has opened a channel [75].
- Quarterly: rate limits, since quota is separate from credits: 100 requests a minute and 2,000 an hour of generative AI messages per environment for Microsoft Copilot users [82].
Changing strategy later
Our reading To Strategy 4: buy packs, then allocate one environment with the draw setting off and no billing plan, as in step 2 of turning spending back on. To Strategy 5 if unlicensed staff need the agents: connect Copilot Chat pay-as-you-go.
Strategy 4: Funded Studio agent building
Named environments get prepaid credits and nothing behind them.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- Makers in a funded environment build in natural language in Copilot Studio. When the allocation is gone, they see "You need credits to continue. This environment doesn't have credits available right now. Credits power the AI creation experience and some agent and workflow orchestrators when they run." [19] Flow authors "see a design-time warning in the Copilot Studio designer indicating that capacity is exhausted." [10] Makers in any other environment are in Strategy 3.
- Licensed people see the agents you publish, in the Agent store after approval [71], and use them without a credit prompt. An agent that hits its limit with Stop usage is "automatically turned off" [6]; a standard agent blocked in overage says "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." Licensed users "might not be blocked." [10] Cowork, Code and Autopilot still show the request message, because this strategy creates no user policy [28].
- People without a licence can use a published agent only where the environment's credits cover their usage [10]. What they see when they don't: Not published.
Best-practice steps
- Buy capacity packs, the only source that can be allocated: "Environment-level allocation and drawing from tenant capacity leverage credits from prepaid capacity packs." [5] See every way to buy. A Pre-Purchase Plan reaches an environment only through a billing plan, which removes the fixed limit [5].
- Restrict who can allocate: "Add-on capacity assignments" to "Only specific admins" [51], check 2. Microsoft: "Keep allocation restricted to tenant administrators unless that tenant-wide access is intentional." [7]
- Restrict who can create environments: check 3 [50]. Build the environment register: check 4, labelling each as exploration, test or funded production [7].
- For each approved environment: allocate credits, clear the tick on "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant", leave "Bill to my pay-as-you-go billing plan" unticked, then Save [5]: steps for an environment and checks 5 to 7.
- Put makers' environments in an environment group with "Cost controls - Draw from tenant credit pool" published off, and set routing to use it [83, 5, 84]: checks 12 and 13. Microsoft: "Give approved makers governed development environments with defined credit allocations, limits, and alerts." [5]
- Set a limit on every agent that bills, with a notification threshold and "Stop usage" [5]: check 11. "Power Platform admin center doesn't provide a tenant-wide default agent limit." [7]
- Limit authoring in production: "Limit authoring access in production environments and in any environment with a large credit allocation." [5] Access checks, check 2.
- Give makers a way to ask for more: "Pair restrictive limits with a documented request path so that makers know how to request extra capacity" [5].
- Remove Azure rights so nobody can link a plan and get past the limit: Azure checks, checks 2 and 3 [22].
- Check for new environments and agents on a schedule, using the inventory and the allocationsV2 API [7, 85]: checks 4 and 19.
Microsoft's own guidance for this harness, from the Copilot Studio customer advisory team: "An environment used for maker exploration can now incur consumption even if its agents are never published for production use." [86] On agent limits: "Ensure you set stopResource to false to prevent stopping the agent from being used immediately." [86] "Because limits apply to agents rather than users, consider how many agents one maker can create" [86].
Who it suits
Our reading Tenants with a Power Platform team, a named cost owner for each environment, and makers who need what the GitHub Copilot harness does: natural-language building, autonomous workflows and apps. It's Microsoft's "Prepaid boundary" approach applied to every environment that holds credits [7].
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
Unchanged. Note the shared pool: packs allocated here "reduce the credits available for other services in the Microsoft 365 admin center" [8].
Copilot Studio
Limited In each allocated environment: GitHub Copilot harness build and run, autonomous agents, workflows, app building, customer conversation harness if you choose, up to the allocation and the agent limits [5, 6]. The allocation doesn't limit running those apps: runtime is "managed per user in the Microsoft 365 admin center" [33], so apps need a spending policy for the people who use them. A Strategy 7 environment policy also lists apps [3]. How the two fit together is Not published. Off Every other environment, once the draw setting is off and no plan is linked [5].
What you give up
Continuity. "When an environment has no available Copilot Credits, experiences that require credits can stop working. This limitation can affect both makers and end users." [5] A production agent in a prepaid-only environment stops at month end if the allocation is too small. Microsoft presents pay-as-you-go as the alternative: pay-as-you-go "overcomes any concern associated with reaching the limits of purchased Copilot credits." [6] Allocated credits that go unused are lost: "unused capacity doesn't carry over to the next month" [23]. The pool available for Cowork also shrinks by whatever you allocate [5].
Common mistakes
- An allocation alone doesn't set a fixed limit. "An allocation isn't a boundary if the environment can continue drawing from tenant capacity or pay-as-you-go billing." [5]
- New environments can start spending: "New environments can appear with tenant-capacity draw turned on" [7]. No tenant setting changes that default. The group rule and routing are the only ways to control an environment from the moment it's created [84].
- Agent limits are delayed and cover only the agent. "Limits aren't applied instantly." "An agent's monthly limit doesn't stop the agent flows that the agent calls." [6] "Agent limits don't cap aggregate environment consumption." [7] Alerts go to admins, "not necessarily to the agent owner." [86]
- Usage can run past the limit before it stops. "Microsoft allows some level of overage consumption, similar to a grace period" [10], with enforcement "when a tenant reaches 125% of their prepaid capacity" for standard custom agents [10]. Whether 125% applies to the GitHub Copilot harness is Not published.
- Environment admins and Dynamics 365 admins can create billing plans if they have Azure rights [22]. That turns a fixed limit into pay-as-you-go.
- Reasoning models bill by the token: "10 Copilot Credits per 1,000 tokens" and "Each call counts." [10] Long instructions and long conversations drive this [10].
- Model migrations on 12 November move GitHub Copilot harness agents to new models [87]. Our reading Spending on that harness depends on the model, so check consumption again afterwards. Credit impact is Not published.
- Managed environments carry a licence condition: "When you activate managed environments in an environment, all active" usage needs qualifying licences or meters, and "Starting February 2027, an appropriate license is strictly required for a user to open an app in a managed environment." [88] Adding the Default environment to a group can affect Power Apps users.
- Dynamics 365 agents draw from the same allocations: their credits "should be allocated to environments to manage usage across workloads" [17 p26].
- Unmanaged developer environments end: no new ones from 15 November 2026, suspended from 15 December, deleted from 15 January 2027 [50, 81, 89].
What to watch
- Daily in the first month, then weekly: Licensing > Copilot Studio Summary and Environments tabs, which show each environment "within capacity or in overage" [6]. Data "is aggregated daily, although some data might be delayed" [23].
- Weekly: Manage Agents for status "Nearing limit, Over limit, or Within limit" [6].
- Weekly: the inventory for new environments and new GitHub Copilot harness agents [7, 5].
- Monthly: the environment download report, including non-billed credits as a "directional view" [5]. For more than 12 months of history, use the consumption API described by the customer advisory team: "Start with PPAC." [90]
- Monthly: Copilot > Cost Management to see what the allocations left for Cowork [8].
Changing strategy later
Our reading To keep one environment running, add a billing plan with the Copilot Studio meter only, an Azure budget for alerts and agent limits to stop usage: step 4 of turning spending back on. To Strategy 7: create a resource-based policy for that environment, unless it uses AI Builder, which Microsoft says not to move. Its allocation and plan then "no longer apply" [3]. Back to Strategy 3: set allocations to zero and leave the draw setting off.
Strategy 5: Agents for unlicensed staff
Pay-as-you-go so Copilot Chat users can use agents that read tenant data.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- People without a licence are the point of this strategy. Once billing is connected, the agents they open in Chat or SharePoint answer from tenant data; without it those sources are "No" for Copilot Chat users [32]. They find agents in the Agent store, with "Request approval" where you've kept it [44]. Everything else stays as Strategy 1: Chat with "Standard access", no Researcher or Analyst [39], no Cowork or Code, no frontier models [42], and no credit view, because "/cost" lives in Cowork and SharePoint [30, 54]. If the pool runs out, they see "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." [10] Whether they can ask for access to a Copilot spending policy without a licence: Not published.
- Licensed people use the same agents at no charge [10] and otherwise see Strategy 1 or 2, whichever you run beside this.
- Makers see nothing new in Copilot Studio. The billing policy sits in the admin centre.
Best-practice steps
- Choose the route. Classic pay-as-you-go in Copilot > Billing & usage: add a billing policy, connect it to the service, and put users in its security group [26, 32]. Or a "Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat" billing plan in the Power Platform admin centre, which provisions an environment of that name [22]. "Both policies can exist at the same time, and the billing system ensures that your organization is only charged once" [27]. See check 13 and check 10. Our reading If you need a stop for Copilot Chat agents, we would allocate packs to the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat environment, with no pay-as-you-go policy paired, because SharePoint agents have no pack-only route [36]. If you'd rather keep it running and watch it, use classic pay-as-you-go, because its budget only alerts [27].
- For a fixed spend, buy capacity packs and allocate them to the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat environment, since "you must allocate the Prepaid Capacity pack to a Microsoft Copilot Chat environment." [36] A Copilot credit policy is a third kind of policy, separate from spending policies and billing policies. It takes pack credits for Copilot Chat only. These policies "don't require an Azure subscription or pay-as-you-go billing to be set up first", and you can have "up to 10 Copilot credit policies per tenant" [36].
- For SharePoint knowledge, "the billing policy must be connected to the SharePoint agents service and users must be in the security group assigned to the billing policy." [32]
- Design for the rate card: tenant graph grounding "is optional, and you can turn it on or off for each agent" and costs 10 credits [10]. Agent Builder agents without tenant graph grounding incur no generative-answer charge [10], and agents "grounded in public data or instructions are free to use" [32]. See design rules.
- Set the budget and alerts on the billing policy. They only send alerts: "the system doesn't enforce the budget or prevent your organization from exceeding it" [27].
- Test with a Learning Coach prompt, which "consumes about 12 credits" [27].
- Follow Copilot Chat and SharePoint agents for unlicensed users for the knowledge table and the government cloud exclusion [32].
Who it suits
Our reading Tenants with many people on Microsoft 365 but few Copilot licences, who want a handful of shared knowledge agents for everyone: a policy agent, an IT helper, an onboarding agent. In this strategy the same agent is included for licensed people and billed for everyone else [10].
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
Copilot Chat is free with an eligible subscription: it's "available at no additional cost for all Microsoft Entra account users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription" [12]. Agents on instructions and public websites are included; "Access to custom or other agents is pay-as-you-go only." [91] "Agents utilizing metered consumption are off by default." [92]
Copilot Studio
Bills credits For Copilot Chat users, "Usage-based billing charges apply for shared tenant data (SharePoint, Copilot connectors), metered in Copilot Credits via Copilot Studio." [58] Rates are the standard harness card: classic answer 1, generative answer 2, agent action 5, tenant graph grounding 10 credits [10].
What you give up
A true limit on pay-as-you-go. The only way to stop it is to disconnect the service, and "it can take up to two hours for users to stop being able to use the agents." [27] Packs do stop usage, but people then lose access: with a standalone Copilot credit policy, "When credits are exhausted, Copilot Chat is unavailable until credits replenish." [36] Whether the 125% grace period that applies to Copilot Studio custom agents [10] also applies here is Not published. Email, People, Teams messages and meetings as knowledge, which stay licence-only: "No" even with billing [32]. Copilot Chat's own capacity: turn-based limits are being added to Chat, and "If a capability is unavailable because of a turn-based or capacity-based limit, Copilot notifies you in the product." [93]
Common mistakes
- Billing policies are a separate system from spending policies, with their own roles and reports [26]. It isn't in the Cost Management services table [13].
- Microsoft's own example of the bill: an agent used by 50 licensed and 100 unlicensed users costs "[(4x2)+(4x10)] x 100 users = 4,800 Copilot Credits" [10]. Our reading Tenant graph grounding is five sixths of it.
- The Copilot Credits report covers only "users ... who don't have a Microsoft Copilot license and are interacting with agents in Copilot Chat", and it "attributes the usage to the oldest configured billing policy" when a user is in several [94].
- In the Power Platform admin centre this consumption "appears under the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat product" [6]. That environment "can't be deleted by administrators" [22].
- Agent flows called from these agents bill at the standard rate when the user isn't licensed [10].
- Government clouds are out: "Usage-based billing isn't supported in Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud High (GCCH) and Government Community Cloud (GCC) environments." [32]
What to watch
- Weekly: Reports > Usage > Microsoft Copilot > Credits, where "You can view usage within an hour" and alerts flag users over 2,000 and 3,000 credits in 30 days [94].
- Weekly: Power Platform admin centre Summary for the Copilot Chat product line [6].
- Monthly: budget alert emails on the billing policy [27], and Azure Cost Management for the invoice [21].
- Watch for: a billed-messages report for Copilot Chat pay-as-you-go, "In development" for April 2027 [29].
Changing strategy later
Our reading Give the heaviest users a licence. Once a person holds a Copilot licence, the same agent is "No charge" for them [10], and the tenant moves toward Strategy 3. Here is where a licence becomes cheaper: at "$0.01/Copilot Credit" [17 p4] a "$30.00" enterprise licence [12] equals 3,000 credits and a Copilot Business licence, "$21.00" list and "$18.00" on promotion to 31 December 2026 [14], equals 2,100 or 1,800. A grounded generative reply is 12 credits (2 plus 10) [10], so that's about 250 replies a month on enterprise and 150 to 175 on Business. Above that the licence is cheaper. It also includes everything else. The Copilot Credits report flags users over 2,000 and 3,000 credits in 30 days [94]. Or, if the agents grow into autonomous or reasoning work, move them to a funded environment under Strategy 4.
Strategy 6: Customer-facing agents
Agents for people outside the tenant. Every conversation bills.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- Customers see a working agent until a limit stops it. On prepaid overage, "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." A blocked agent stops responding, "including in a conversation that's already in progress." [10] An agent stopped by its limit is "automatically turned off" [6]. Callers to a Teams Phone Agent past its limit get menus: it "works as an Auto Attendant until credits reset on the first day of the next month." [37]
- Your staff, licensed or not, see nothing different in the Copilot app. The signal that something stopped is the admin alert and the Azure budget email.
- Makers see the same result as Strategy 4: "You need credits to continue." [19] when the environment is empty. They also see the agent status "Nearing limit, Over limit, or Within limit" in the admin centre [6].
Best-practice steps
- Put customer agents in their own environment with their own funding. Our reading This keeps the bill and the enforcement away from internal agents, since "Changes to shared capacity can affect other Copilot Studio agents, workflows, and features in the same environment." [5]
- Choose an approach for each environment. To keep running: link a billing plan with the Copilot Studio meter [22], because "With pay-as-you-go, enforcement doesn't apply because overage is billed to your Azure subscription." [10] To stop at a limit: use the prepaid boundary from Strategy 4, and accept that customers will meet a disabled agent.
- Set a limit with "Stop usage" on every customer agent, since in a pay-as-you-go environment "You can set any limit, and usage is billed accordingly." [6] check 11.
- Set an Azure budget on the billing plan's Power Platform account resource, and alerts at several thresholds [95, 96]: Azure checks, check 4. These "don't stop usage" [5].
- Open only the channels you need: edit the data policy so "Direct Line channels in Copilot Studio", "WhatsApp channel in Copilot Studio" and the rest are allowed for this environment only [75]. Remember "if the administrators don't allow any channel, agents can't be published." [75]
- Use the existing approval path for the harness, since the customer conversation harness has no setting of its own: "Use your organization's existing access and approval process" [35].
- For Teams Phone Agent, follow Microsoft's setup: a spending policy for a security group holding the resource accounts. Turn off "Allow new Agents and services as they become available" [37]. Prerequisites: "Microsoft Teams Phone", "Teams Phone Resource Account license", configuration in the Teams admin centre, and usage-based billing enabled [17 p24].
- Estimate first with the Copilot Credit Estimator, which "now supports Teams Phone Agent" [37], and the agents estimator for Copilot Studio agents. "Always add a 10-20% buffer above estimates" [97]. See estimating usage.
Who it suits
Our reading Service and contact centre teams with a forecastable monthly volume and a budget owner. Nothing here is included in any licence: "This usage isn't covered by a user's Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [35] Standard harness agents on a website bill too, because the licence covers only "Microsoft channels" [17 p18].
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
Teams Phone Agent sits on this side. It reached General availability on 30 September 2026. A Microsoft 365 spending policy controls it. The policy covers the resource accounts through security groups [37, 1]. Custom voice agents behind it are Frontier [98].
Copilot Studio
Bills credits Customer conversation harness runtime, Preview, in Microsoft's bands: digital "5-15", "15-25", "25-50" credits a conversation; GenAI voice "20-30", "50-75", "100-150"; premium voice "34-44", "85-110", "170-220" [17 p17]. Standard harness agents on external channels bill at the rate card, with voice at "10", "35" or "75" credits a minute by tier [10]. Contact Center Intelligence is Preview, "with the exception of Austria" [99].
What you give up
Predictability on pay-as-you-go, or availability on prepaid. Microsoft's guidance is direct: "Use agent-level hard stops or change the billing plan only after assessing all workloads in the environment." [7] Preview pricing can also change: Microsoft "reserves the right to change the pricing, business models, or services ... at any time in its discretion prior to GA without prior notice." [25 p8] That covers the customer conversation harness and Contact Center Intelligence.
Common mistakes
- Voice has two rate sets that don't match. The billing rates page gives 35 and 75 credits a minute for GenAI and premium voice [10]. The Credits Guide bands for the customer conversation harness work out lower per minute (Our reading). They're different harnesses, so don't mix them. Don't publish a per-minute figure for the new harness.
- Voice biometrics cost extra: "Each voice enrollment or authentication interaction consumes 6 credits." [35]
- A greeting bills: "If the agent is triggered to be ready for a conversation with the user, regardless of whether a greeting message is sent, it consumes Copilot Credits as a Classic Answer." [23]
- Teams Phone Agent shares one budget: "Any Teams Phone Agent in the security group can consume the entire monthly budget." [37] Transfers to a custom voice agent start "separate billing" [17 p23], and external transfers need Communications credits or a funded pay-as-you-go licence, which aren't Copilot Credits [34].
- Contact Center Intelligence excludes vendor costs: voice channel vendor API or licence costs "are not included in Microsoft CCI." [99] Its limits are set per agent in Copilot Studio management [17 p21]. Whether a Microsoft 365 resource policy can cover it is Not published.
- Unauthenticated chat is a connector you can block: "Chat without Microsoft Entra ID authentication in Copilot Studio" [75]. Sharing limits don't help here: "Sharing limits only apply to agents that require authentication." [77]
- Unlinking a plan to stop runaway spending also ends Power Apps, Power Automate and Dataverse pay-as-you-go in that environment (Our reading, from the plan's scope [100]).
What to watch
- Daily: Manage Agents, month-to-date billed credits and status for each customer agent [6].
- Daily: Azure Cost Management on the billing plan's resource, allowing that "it can take up to 24 hours after usage of a service to show up" [95] and budgets "are evaluated against these costs every 24 hours" [96].
- Weekly: the agent report with channel and model columns [6]. For Teams Phone Agent, use the Consumption tab in Cost Management [20].
- Monthly: reconcile with "the monthly billing record for reconciliation, not the usage dashboards" [21].
Changing strategy later
Our reading To Strategy 7: if it doesn't use AI Builder, cover the customer environment with a resource-based policy and set the per-agent limit there. It then shows in local currency with the rest [4]. To close it down: unlink the plan, "no further usage is charged" [22], then block the channels.
Strategy 7: One control plane General availability by 20 Nov 2026
Copilot Studio environments governed by Microsoft 365 spending policies, beside the people policies.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- What a maker sees in Copilot Studio under a Microsoft 365 policy: Not published. The message a maker gets when a Microsoft 365 policy limit is reached: Not published. Power Platform administrators see a banner on Manage capacity and Manage agent saying the environment is managed elsewhere [3].
- Licensed people inside a user policy see Strategy 2. Outside one, they see Strategy 1. End users of an agent that reaches its per-agent limit stop getting answers. The exact wording under a Microsoft 365 policy is Not published.
- People without a licence see Strategy 1, or Strategy 5 if you fund agents for them.
Best-practice steps
- Give the Power Platform administrator the AI Administrator role in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, and environment administrators AI Reader [3]. A Global or Billing Administrator creates every policy [8].
- Note which environments are already covered: check 1. The Power Platform admin centre "indicates when Copilot Credits for an environment are managed by a Microsoft 365 admin center" policy [3].
- Inventory AI Builder use in the candidate environment: prompts used as tools, in topics and as nodes in agent flows. Leave out anything that uses it [3].
- If the tenant has no spending policy yet, Microsoft's order is to activate the default spending policy first [1, 8]. That policy covers all users by default. Use "Customize setup configuration" to limit it to a small test group. Otherwise you open Cowork for every Copilot licence holder. Whether a resource-based policy can be the first policy in a tenant is Not published, so test this before relying on it.
- Start small: "Start with Specific environments to gradually transition spending management to the Microsoft 365 admin center." [3] Create the policy at Copilot > Cost Management > Configuration > Add spending policy, scope Resources, then "Specific resource" for agents or "Resource collection" for environments [3]: check 14 and the same job in each admin centre.
- Set a monthly limit and a per-agent limit: "a policy could have a 10,000-credit limit and a 1,000-credit per-agent limit." [3] Apps and workflows "don't currently appear in the agent selector", so cover their environment [3].
- Wait "up to 12 minutes for the new policy to apply" [3], then confirm the environment shows as managed in the Power Platform admin centre.
- Use policy alerts in place of the Azure budget. Keep the billing method on the subscription you want billed [8].
- Only then consider "All environments", which "automatically includes new environments" [3]. Microsoft's warning: "Before you select All environments, note that creating this policy brings Copilot Credit management for those environments into the Microsoft 365 admin center; the corresponding Power Platform admin center capacity allocations and linked billing plans no longer apply." [3] Our reading All environments can't leave out an environment that uses AI Builder, so don't use it if any does.
Who it suits
Our reading Tenants whose cost owner works in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, tenants that want one view in local currency, and tenants whose Power Platform team is small. Microsoft's words: "Administrators will be able to manage spending for supported Copilot Studio resources by using Cost Management spending policies in the Microsoft 365 admin center." [4] The feature "will reach general availability by November 20, 2026" [4]. The Learn page already describes it [3]. Our reading It's the only way to set a monthly limit on a whole Copilot Studio environment on pay-as-you-go. Billing plans have no limit field [22], and agent limits apply per agent [6]. How fast that limit stops usage isn't published, so test it. Step 4 above covers a tenant with no spending policy yet. If you have no funded environments today, consider waiting for this feature. Meanwhile, do only the free steps: restrict who can create environments [50], and hold no packs. If you must fund agents before then, run Strategy 4 on that one environment only.
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
Identity-based policies as in Strategy 2. Resource-based policies sit beside them: "Resource-based policy before identity-based policy." [3]
Copilot Studio
Limited "For resources covered by the spending policy, Copilot Credit management moves to the Microsoft 365 admin center, replacing their Power Platform admin center capacity allocations and linked billing plans." AI Builder credits stay outside the limit. [3] Everything else will "continue to use their existing cost controls in the Power Platform admin center" [4]. "Other Copilot Studio administration will remain in the Power Platform admin center." [4]
What you give up
Guaranteed allocations. A spending policy is a limit: policies "don't reserve or allocate Copilot Credits to users or groups" [1], so a covered environment shares the pool with everything else on the billing method (Our reading). Continuous reporting: "After an environment is moved, new usage information for that environment will appear in the Microsoft 365 admin center and will no longer appear in the Power Platform admin center." [4] The group draw rule and billing plan have no effect on covered environments [3]. The Graph cost management API covers users and groups only and is in beta [101], so you can't automate these policies with it.
Common mistakes
- Don't move anything that uses AI Builder. "Resource-based policies created in the Microsoft 365 admin center don't apply to AI Builder features or the credits they consume." That covers prompts used as tools, in topics and as nodes in agent flows, and Microsoft says "Don't move resources, agents, workflows or environments that use AI Builder to these policies." [3]
- Creating the policy moves the environment. "No separate migration step is required." [3] The Message center post says the move is "controlled by an administrator for each environment" [4]. Read together, this means there is no confirmation step (Our reading).
- No fallback at the limit: "If the agent reaches that limit, usage does not fall back to the user's identity-based policy." [3]
- The more generous policy wins a tie: "If multiple policies of the same type apply, the policy with the highest applicable per-agent or per-user limit applies." [3]
- You can't convert: "You can't convert an existing identity-based policy into a resource-based policy." [1]
- How fast a limit stops a Copilot Studio agent once reached is Not published. Microsoft publishes only the 12-minute setup delay.
- Whether Auto-apply new services affects resource-based policies is Not published [1].
- Microsoft's sources differ on status. The roadmap item was "In development" on 29 October [29]. The Message center says general availability by 20 November [4]. The Learn page carries no preview label [3]. Check your tenant.
- The end of the "opt-in period" is Not published [3]. Our reading Plan as if the move becomes the default later.
What to watch
- Weekly: the Consumption tab by environment and agent, which "refreshes every 2 hours" [3, 20].
- Weekly: Power Platform admin centre for environments not yet covered, and for new ones, unless you chose All environments [3].
- Monthly: local-currency figures against the invoice, since Cost Management "will display cost information in the organization's local currency" [4].
Changing strategy later
Back to Strategy 4: "If you remove an environment from a spending policy or delete the resource-based spending policy, the applicable Power Platform admin center policy resumes for that environment automatically." [3] Our reading Check the allocation and draw settings that resume, because they return to whatever was there before.
Strategy 8: Default-on Copilot Business via CSP From 1 Dec 2026
A partner purchase, even a few added seats, turns on metered billing for the whole tenant: every Copilot licence holder, not just the new seats.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The mapping is ours; the quotes are Microsoft's.
- Every Copilot licence holder in the tenant is in Strategy 2 from day one, including existing seats: Cowork, and Work IQ APIs if used, work, up to "4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month", "with UBB charges based on actual usage" [15]. Code isn't on the partner list [16] and stays Frontier [68]. Our reading Auto-apply may add it once the tenant is in Frontier [59]. They never see the request message, because the policy already exists. They get "/cost" [30], Automations, the usage-based models they're eligible for [42, 55] and plugins from the Plugins page. At the limit they "lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month" [1] and can ask for more.
- Business Premium users without the Copilot licence see Strategy 1's unlicensed column.
- The admin buying it sees a purchase tile that says "This product includes usage-based billing. Learn more." [16] Decide before clicking it.
Best-practice steps
What changes is in the 1 December summary. The full checklist is the Copilot Business default from 1 December. Decide in three steps.
- Decide before the purchase. "Default spending policies are only created if one doesn't already exist." [16] If you want your own settings, create a policy for a named group first: check 2.
- To accept the default: reduce the limits and narrow who it covers afterwards in Copilot > Cost Management, since Partner Center creates only the default policy: "To create and manage more advanced spending policies ... use the Microsoft Admin Center (MAC), in Copilot > Cost management." [16] checks 4 and 5. Then run Strategy 2.
- To turn it off: delete the policy. "Deleting a policy stops billing for future usage immediately. The tenant remains liable for usage already accrued before deletion." [16] Don't rely on a zero limit, because the same page says both that partners "set the applicable spending limit to zero" and that "You can't reduce a policy's limit below the platform minimum." [16] Our reading Deleting the policy lasts only until the next qualifying purchase. With no policy in place, a portal seat addition can create the default again [16]. Agree with your partner that seat changes are checked, and re-check Configuration after each one. Then run Strategy 1.
Who it suits
Our reading Small businesses on Copilot Business through a partner, outside the eleven excluded markets, who'd rather accept Microsoft's default than design one. Australian tenants should watch this but don't need to act yet: "It will initially not be available in Australia" [15]. Enterprise is untouched: "Microsoft 365 Copilot (Enterprise) isn't in scope." [16]
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
Bills credits "Starting December 1, 2026, usage-based billing will be enabled by default for new Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licenses purchased in Cloud Solution Provider (CSP). Pay-as-you-go will be the default billing configuration" [15]. Services: "Copilot Cowork, Work IQ APIs, and GitHub Copilot Harness today" [16]. Limits: "The default spending limit will be 4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month, which can be adjusted by admins." [15] Tenant limit "default 1,200,000 credits" [16].
Copilot Studio
The partner list names the "GitHub Copilot Harness", which the Microsoft 365 services table does not [16, 13]. How that harness is governed on a default-on tenant is Not published. Our reading Don't treat your Power Platform environments as unfunded until you've checked for a billing plan or the draw setting.
What you give up
If you accept the default, you give up the narrow start Microsoft recommends for enterprise, because the policy covers the whole tenant [16]. Our reading At list price the default is up to $40 a user a month, about twice the $18 promotional licence price shown on Microsoft's Business pricing page [14]. If you delete the policy, a Business tenant with no Power Platform team loses Cowork. That is the tenant the default is aimed at.
Common mistakes
- Seat changes count. Adding seats through the Partner Center portal starts billing, but "Updating seat counts on a subscription using the partner center API don't trigger UBB Azure artifacts nor spending policy creation." [16] "Because a seat addition can trigger tenant-level UBB enablement, partners might see consumption charges appear for a tenant even when only a subset of seats generated the triggering purchase event." [16]
- Azure is created for you: "roughly three out of four Copilot Business customers sold through CSP have no Azure footprint today", so the purchase "automatically creates and configures the Azure Plan, Azure subscription, and resource group" [16].
- "Usage-based billing can't be fully turned off once configured." [16] The same page says "Deleting a policy stops billing for future usage immediately." [16] Our reading Deleting stops spending, but the Azure setup stays in place. The page is marked "Content in this article describes features and functionality that aren't released." [16]
- Direct purchases are reported to start first, from mid-November, for tenants with Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Other direct tenants follow later, with no date. The same markets are excluded. This rests on third-party reposts of a Message center post [18]. Confirm in your tenant.
- The date has moved once already: "Updated effective date: December 1, 2026, previously communicated as November 2, 2026." [15]
- Whether the market test is the customer's country or the partner's is Not published.
What to watch
- At purchase and at every seat change: Copilot > Cost Management > Configuration for a policy you didn't create [16, 1].
- Monthly: the partner invoice, where charges are "billed separately from - and remain clearly distinguishable from - the Copilot Business seat-based subscription charge" [16].
- For Australian tenants: Partner Center announcements for the date Australia joins; "We'll share additional information as availability expands to these markets." [15]
Changing strategy later
Our reading If you narrow the policy, you are in Strategy 2. If you delete it, you are in Strategy 1 until the next qualifying purchase. You can then turn spending back on with these steps.
Strategy 9: Prepaid only, no overage
Capacity packs only, with no pay-as-you-go behind them. An add-on to 2, 4, 5 (Copilot Chat agents only), 6 and 7.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading Services keep working until the pool is empty, and nobody in the app gets a pool-level warning.
- People in a Cowork policy see their own remaining credits with "/cost", with the caveat that "if the group has reached its overall limit, those credits might not be available" [30]. When the pool is empty, requests are blocked [21], however many credits "/cost" said they had left.
- Makers see "You need credits to continue." [19] and blocked standard agents show "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." [10]
- Everyone else sees whatever the main strategy gives them, until usage stops.
Best-practice steps
- Our reading Before you buy a pack: every Copilot Studio environment with no allocation can start drawing on it the moment it arrives. Turn off the draw setting first (checks 5, 6 and 12), or fund Cowork on pay-as-you-go instead.
- Size the packs: "Copilot Credit packs should be purchased for the anticipated number of Copilot Credits the tenant is expected to consume each month." [25 p16] Each is "25,000 Copilot Credits per month" at "$200 per credit pack/month (billed annually)" [25 p16]. In Australia the price is "AU$299.30/pack/month" before GST [31]. See every way to buy and Australian pricing.
- Buy as Global or Billing Administrator in the Microsoft 365 Marketplace [36]. The site's buying calculator shows where a pack becomes cheaper than pay-as-you-go.
- On every spending policy, set the billing method to packs and don't add pay-as-you-go: check 8 [8, 1].
- On every funded environment, allocate credits, turn off the draw setting and link no plan: checks 5 to 7 [7].
- Don't buy a Pre-Purchase Plan expecting a limit. "P3 is layered on top of pay-as-you-go." [8] and "If usage exceeds the available number of credits, customers can purchase additional Copilot Credits or be billed on a pay-as-you-go basis." [17 p5]
- Decide the split between the two admin centres each month, because "Available credits = Total purchased credits - Credits pre-allocated to environments in Power Platform admin center" [8].
Who it suits
Our reading Procurement-led tenants that need a fixed monthly figure on a purchase order, and tenants that would rather a feature stop than a bill grow. It's the only funding choice that stops by itself. Microsoft's advice points the other way, so choose it knowingly. If people will depend on what it funds, Strategy 10 is the alternative.
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
The spending policy's billing method is "Prepaid Capacity packs" with no pay-as-you-go selected [8]. When the pool is empty, "Requests are blocked when limits or available credit sources are exhausted." [21] Microsoft advises against it: "Enable a pay-as-you-go meter to ensure your services continue once Prepaid Capacity pack credits are exhausted." [8]
Copilot Studio
The "Prepaid boundary": "Allocate a defined amount of prepaid capacity, turn off Draw from the available capacity in my tenant, and don't connect the environment to pay-as-you-go billing." [7] Then "If no overage source is enabled, the environment can consume only its allocated prepaid credits." [6]
What you give up
Continuity, on both sides. On the Copilot side users are blocked when the pool is empty [21]. On the Copilot Studio side, "Experiences that require credits can stop working after that allocation is exhausted." [6] Flexibility, because pack credits don't roll over: "Unused credits do not roll over to the next month." [25 p16] The Pre-Purchase Plan discounts, up to 20% [17 p5]. The E7 pack offer, which requires pay-as-you-go to be on [15]. Drawdown of an Azure consumption commitment: the effect of packs on it is Not published, while pay-as-you-go and both plans "will decrement" it [25 p14, 25 p15, 25 p16].
Common mistakes
- Packs are one pool across both admin centres [8], so Cowork can run out because Copilot Studio took the allocation, or the reverse.
- Usage doesn't stop at the exact limit: "Microsoft allows some level of overage consumption, similar to a grace period" [10], and Cowork limits are "evaluated asynchronously" [9].
- Whether Cowork can run with no Azure subscription at all is Not published. Setup can create one for you [8].
- Pack reset timing: the Copilot Studio FAQ says usage "resets on the first day of the month" and "isn't based on the license acquisition date" [23]. An older page says "At the start of every monthly billing period" [36]. The time of day for packs is Not published.
- Dynamics 365 Premium licences can bring capacity into the same pool [6], which can hide the fact that draw is on somewhere.
What to watch
- Weekly: the "Prepaid Capacity pack credits usage" card on the Cost Management Overview, which "refreshes every 4 hours" [20], and the Prepaid capacity card in the Power Platform admin centre [6].
- Monthly, in the last week: remaining pool against expected use, since nothing carries over [25 p16].
- Monthly: "Capacity pack consumption breakdowns across Microsoft Admin Center (MAC) and Power Platform Admin Center (PPAC)." [102] Azure Cost Management "doesn't show consumption against Prepaid Capacity packs." [21]
Changing strategy later
Our reading To keep services running, add pay-as-you-go to the policy's billing method, or a billing plan to one environment. Alerts and limits then replace the automatic stop: step 4 of turning spending back on. Do this one policy or environment at a time, so the fixed figure still applies everywhere else.
Strategy 10: Base plus overflow
Packs or an allocation for the steady load, with pay-as-you-go behind them. Limits set the maximum and an Azure budget sends alerts. An add-on to 2, 4, 5 and 6.
What people see
In Microsoft's words, with sources
Our reading The same as the main strategy, with no stop when the pool is empty. Whether anyone in the app is told that the packs have run out and pay-as-you-go has started is Not published. The signal is the budget email and the Prepaid Capacity pack card.
Best-practice steps
- Size the base from the estimators and the first months of consumption, and "always add a 10-20% buffer above estimates" [97]: estimating usage. A Pre-Purchase Plan is an alternative base on the Copilot side, with a discount "up to 20%" [17 p5]. It reaches a Copilot Studio environment only through a billing plan [5].
- Copilot side: on each spending policy, set the billing method to packs and add pay-as-you-go [8]. Set the per-user limit and policy limit [1]: checks 6 to 8.
- Copilot Studio side: allocate credits to the environment, leave the draw setting off, and link a billing plan with the Copilot Studio meter [5, 22]: steps for an environment and step 4 of turning spending back on.
- Set a limit with "Stop usage" and a notification threshold on every agent that bills [5, 6]: check 11. This is the only way to stop usage on the Copilot Studio side.
- Set an Azure budget with alerts at several thresholds on the billing plan's resource [96, 95]: Azure checks, check 4. Budgets "don't stop usage" [5]. They only send alerts.
- Name the owner. Microsoft: "funded production environments need an accountable owner and intentional funding." [7]
Who it suits
Our reading Tenants with internal agents or services that people depend on, and a cost owner who'd rather read an alert than take an outage. It's Microsoft's "Continuity through Azure billing" approach [7] with prepaid credits used first. It matches Microsoft's setup advice: "Enable a pay-as-you-go meter to ensure your services continue once Prepaid Capacity pack credits are exhausted." [8] You give up a fixed monthly figure.
Compare this strategy in all ten on one screen and strategies side by side.
What's on and off
Copilot
The spending policy's billing method is "Prepaid Capacity packs" with pay-as-you-go selected as well [8]. The per-user and policy limits set the maximum. At the limit people "lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month until credits reset on the first of the month" [1]. The packs are used first. After that, pay-as-you-go bills at "$0.01/Copilot Credit" [17 p4].
Copilot Studio
A funded production environment with an allocation and a billing plan behind it. Microsoft's own warning applies in reverse: "An allocation isn't a boundary if the environment can continue drawing from tenant capacity or pay-as-you-go billing." [5] Here that is what you want. "With pay-as-you-go, enforcement doesn't apply because overage is billed to your Azure subscription." [10] The control is a limit with "Stop usage" on each agent, since in a pay-as-you-go environment "You can set any limit, and usage is billed accordingly." [6]
What you give up
A fixed monthly figure, and the automatic stop of Strategy 9. On the Copilot Studio side, only an agent limit or unlinking the plan stops spending. Unlinking also ends Power Apps, Power Automate and Dataverse pay-as-you-go in that environment (Our reading, from the plan's scope [100]). Spending shows in different places: packs in the two admin centres, and pay-as-you-go in Azure, which "doesn't show consumption against Prepaid Capacity packs." [21]
Common mistakes
- The two sides share one pool: "Credits allocated to environments in the Power Platform admin center reduce the credits available for other services in the Microsoft 365 admin center." [8] Pay-as-you-go covers both sides, so the risk is a bill, and an outage.
- Agent limits are delayed and cover only the agent: "Limits aren't applied instantly." and the limit "doesn't stop the agent flows that the agent calls." [6]
- Budget alerts are delayed: usage "can take up to 24 hours after usage of a service to show up" [95] and budgets "are evaluated against these costs every 24 hours" [96].
- Under Strategy 7 the environment's "capacity allocation and linked billing plan no longer apply" [8], so the policy limit replaces this add-on there.
What to watch
- Weekly: the "Prepaid Capacity pack credits usage" card, which "refreshes every 4 hours" [20], and the Power Platform admin centre Summary, which shows each environment "within capacity or in overage" [6].
- Monthly: the Azure invoice against the budget, using "the monthly billing record for reconciliation, not the usage dashboards" [21].
Changing strategy later
Our reading To Strategy 9: remove pay-as-you-go from the policy and unlink the plan, "no further usage is charged" [22]. To Strategy 7: if it doesn't use AI Builder, cover the environment with a resource-based policy and carry the limits over as the policy's monthly and per-agent limits [3].
Turn off spending
Copilot and Copilot Studio start billing in different ways, so you turn off spending in different places. No single setting covers both. Work down the list, starting with the checks marked Do these first.
How turning off spending works
Stops usage
Usage stops at a condition. Each check lists any delay or exception. Examples: per-user limit, draw setting off, Stop usage.
Access control
Decides who or what can start. It doesn't limit how much they spend. Examples: who a policy covers, data policy, environment creators.
Alert only
Tells someone, but nothing stops. Examples: policy alerts, Azure budgets.
Check
A review you repeat. Nothing changes until you act on it. Examples: environment register, harness filter.
Our reading The order runs from quick changes you can reverse to the ones that need other teams. Before you restrict anything, read what turning off spending gives up and set up how people ask for more, in check 12 of the Microsoft 365 list. Each checklist opens on the checks marked Do these first, in working order. Your ticks are saved on this device only. Paths and labels are as Microsoft documents them, so confirm them on screen before you change anything.
Why the two sides differ
Copilot stays off until someone creates a spending policy, while Copilot Studio can spend from the moment credits exist. So on the Copilot side you control who is in a policy. On the Copilot Studio side you control what each environment can reach. No single setting covers both.
An environment draws when it takes credits from the tenant's shared pool. The Microsoft setting is "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant", and this guide calls it the draw setting.
How billing starts
See Two systems, one credit pool for how billing starts on each side. The exception on the Copilot side is Copilot Business: see what happens to existing licences and the Copilot Business default. On the Copilot Studio side, if an environment is linked to a billing plan, usage runs to Azure. [10]
One control plane is coming. A Microsoft 365 spending policy can cover a Copilot Studio environment or agent. "If a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center covers the environment or agent, its controls take precedence over the Power Platform admin center controls for that usage." [3] Microsoft says this "will reach general availability by November 20, 2026". The Learn page already describes it, so check whether your tenant shows it. [4, 3]
The billing items and what each one does
The billing items
Eight similar names, where each is managed, and which can stop spending
Similar names cover different things. Microsoft's own pages mix them up. One Learn page says "Admins must set up a billing policy" where it means a spending policy. [11]
| Item | Managed in | What it does | Can it stop spending? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spending policy, identity-based | Microsoft 365 admin centre | Grants people access to services, with limits and a billing method [1] | Yes, with a delay [9] |
| Spending policy, resource-based | Microsoft 365 admin centre | Covers Copilot Studio agents or environments, replacing allocation and billing plan there [3] | Yes. How fast it stops usage: Not published |
| Billing policy (classic pay-as-you-go) | Microsoft 365 admin centre Copilot > Billing & usage | Bills Copilot Chat agents, SharePoint agents and the Retrieval API to Azure [26] | A budget can't. Disconnecting can [27, 26] |
| Copilot credit policy | Microsoft 365 admin centre Copilot > Billing & usage | Spends capacity pack credits on Copilot Chat without Azure: "Copilot credit policies work independently-they don't require an Azure subscription or pay-as-you-go billing to be set up first." Up to "10 Copilot credit policies per tenant", and "currently only available for Microsoft Copilot Chat" [36] | Yes, when the packs run out: "Copilot Chat is unavailable until credits replenish" [36] |
| Billing plan (older pages say billing policy) | Power Platform admin centre Licensing > Pay-as-you-go plans | Links environments to an Azure subscription for chosen meters [22, 100] | There is no field for a limit. Unlinking stops it [22] |
| Power Platform account resource | Azure | The Azure resource a billing plan creates [103] | No. Budgets are set on this resource [95] |
| Capacity pack allocation | Power Platform admin centre | Sets aside pack credits for an environment [5] | Only with the draw setting and pay-as-you-go off [5] |
| Pre-Purchase Plan | Azure | A prepaid discount reached through pay-as-you-go. It can't be allocated to an environment [5] | No. Overage continues on pay-as-you-go [8] |
The two systems compared
Copilot
Microsoft 365 admin centre
Copilot Studio
Power Platform admin centre
- You control the environment, then the agent: "Govern at the environment level, not just the published agent." [7]
- What stops usage: allocation with the draw setting and pay-as-you-go off, unlinking, or an agent limit with Stop usage. [7, 5]
- Alerts: agent limit notifications, Azure budgets. [6, 5]
- Charged "to the environment where the agent runs" and "not to the individual makers or users". [5]
The monthly reset at 00:00 UTC on the 1st happens at 11:00 in Sydney during daylight saving and 10:00 outside it. Our reading Plan month-end messages around that.
There's no single off switch on Copilot Studio
Our reading No tenant-wide control that stops all Copilot Credits exists in the Power Platform admin centre. Microsoft describes four layers: tenant, environment, agent and operating process. None has a one-click stop. [7] The GitHub Copilot harness has no block of its own: it "doesn't have its own maker-access setting." [5] Most controls apply only to the environment you set them on.
How far each control reaches
Seven controls compared by scope, new environments and spend
| Control | Scope | Reaches new environments | Stops spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allocation with the draw setting off | Environment | No. New ones can start with the draw setting on [7] | Prepaid only, not pay-as-you-go [5] |
| Draw rule on an environment group | Group of managed environments [84] | Only if created in or routed to the group [84] | Prepaid pool only |
| Agent limit with Stop usage | Agent | No, and there's no default [7] | Yes, with a delay, but not agent flows [6] |
| Unlink a billing plan | Environment | No | Pay-as-you-go only [22] |
| Data policy with Add all environments | Tenant | Yes [75] | Blocks features only |
| Add-on capacity assignments and environment assignments | Tenant [104] | Yes | No. They limit who can act |
| Microsoft 365 policy on All environments | Tenant | "automatically includes new environments" [3] | Yes, up to the policy limit, but not AI Builder credits such as prompts [3] |
Our reading That last row is the only single spending control that reaches every environment. It leaves AI Builder credits outside. It also replaces your allocations and billing plans, so treat it as a design decision: see Strategy 7.
Turn off spending in the Microsoft 365 admin centre
Keep people out of policies unless they're approved. Turn off Auto-apply. Set a per-user limit on every policy. All of this sits under Copilot > Cost Management except where a check says otherwise. Roles are Microsoft Entra directory roles. Unless a check says otherwise, a Global admin or Billing admin creates policies and an AI admin or License admin edits them. [8] Open a check to see who can set it, the default setting, any delay and its limits.
- 1. Read every spending policy CheckSet toList each policy with its scope, services, limits, billing method and Auto-apply settingWhereCopilot > Cost Management > Configuration
Who, default and delay: Read every spending policy
Who: AI Reader or Global Reader can view [8]
Default: None for enterprise tenants until someone activates one [2]
Delay: None
Limits: Microsoft's own access test is to "check every spending policy". [9] If the list is empty, usage-based billing is off for an enterprise tenant, so apply checks 2 to 9 when you build the first policy. Classic pay-as-you-go (check 13) is a separate list under Copilot > Billing & usage and can still be billing.
- 2. First activation Access controlSet toSelect "Customize setup configuration" before "Activate". Pick specific groups and "Limit monthly spending"
Who, default and delay: First activation
Who: Global admin or Billing admin [8]
Default: "The default setup targets your entire organization and all users." [8] Which limit option is preselected: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: The wizard offers "Don't limit monthly spending", which "Allows the policy to use credits against the organization's billing method without restrictions." [8]
- 3. Policy scope Access controlSet toSpecific groups. Security groups are the only way to name people [1]
Default and delay: Policy scope
Default: "By default, All users is selected." [1]
Delay: "starts applying to scoped users immediately" [1]
Limits: Being covered by a policy is what gives access. "A policy with a limit of one credit still grants access." [9] No deny policy is documented: to keep someone out, leave them out of every policy that selects the service. [9]
- 4. Agents and services Access controlSet toTick only the services you've approved for that groupWhereInside each policy, Select agents and services [1]
- 5. Auto-apply new services Access controlSet toOff on "any policy that shouldn't automatically govern future supported services or agents" [1]WhereInside each policy [1]
Default and delay: Auto-apply new services
Default: On: "enabled by default for all spending policies" [102]
Delay: Not published
Limits: Our reading A policy gives access, so On gives a group each future service without a further decision. Copilot Code shows this: covered users "automatically receive access to Code". [59] SharePoint pages call the same switch "Allow new agents and services as they become available". [54] Whether it affects resource-based policies isn't stated.
- 6. Per-user monthly limit Stops usageSet toMicrosoft's instruction: "Set at least 2,000 credits per user per month". Enforced minimum: Not published [1]WhereSet limits and alerts, "Select monthly budget limits for users (optional)" [1]
Default and delay: Per-user monthly limit
Default: Optional, so none unless set [1]
Delay: Not immediate. Microsoft gives no time. [9]
Limits: At the limit "they lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month". [1] Enforcement is delayed: a user "might be able to start one or more tasks after their limit is reached". [9] Microsoft says requirements "may evolve". [1] Older samples show lower figures: see the notes below.
- 7. Policy monthly limit Stops usageSet to"at or above the required minimum for eligible users covered by the policy" [1]WhereSet limits and alerts, "Limited monthly budget" [1]
Default and delay: Policy monthly limit
Default: "Unlimited monthly budget" is on offer. Preselection: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: Minimum formula: Not published. Each extra policy "has its own independent limit and doesn't inherit the tenant-level limit". [8] Our reading Add up every policy to see your real maximum, because no tenant-wide limit across policies is published.
- 8. Billing method Stops usageSet toPrepaid Capacity packs with no pay-as-you-go, if you want spending to end when the pool is emptyWhereSelect billing method, inside each policy [1]
Who, default and delay: Billing method
Who: Override: Global admin or Billing admin [1]
Default: Inherits the default policy. Packs are the default if detected at setup [8, 1]
Delay: Not published
Limits: With no credit source left, "Requests are blocked". [21] A subscription with a Pre-Purchase Plan doesn't set a maximum: after the plan is used, "usage automatically continues on a pay-as-you-go basis." [8] The system selects such a subscription by default if one exists. [8]
- 9. Policy alerts Alert onlySet toA threshold as credits or a percentage, with a monitored mailbox as recipient
- 11. Access to usage-based billing experiences Access controlSet to"Specific users and groups" or "No users"
Who, default and delay: Access to usage-based billing experiences
- 12. Credit request routing Access controlSet toA redirect URL and message, such as "an internal IT portal or a ServiceNow workflow"WhereCost Management > Overview > Top Actions > View requests, then Request policies > Add request policy [20]
Who, default and delay: Credit request routing
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: Microsoft doesn't say
Delay: Not published
Limits: A "service-specific request policy takes precedence". [20] Do this before you set tight limits, or people have nowhere to go.
- 13. Classic pay-as-you-go Access control Alert onlySet toDisconnect each service you haven't approved
Who, default and delay: Classic pay-as-you-go
Who: Global admin, Billing admin or AI admin [26]
Default: "By default, pay-as-you-go billing is disabled." [26]
Delay: Off takes "up to two hours" [27]
Limits: This covers Copilot Chat, SharePoint agents and the Retrieval API. It's a separate system. [26] Its budget only sends alerts: "the system doesn't enforce the budget or prevent your organization from exceeding it". [27]
- 14. Resource-based spending policy (Copilot Studio) General availability by 20 Nov 2026 Stops usageSet toLeave off until you've decided. To try it, "start with a specific environment"
Who, default and delay: Resource-based spending policy (Copilot Studio)
Who: Create: Global admin or Billing admin [8] Then AI admin manages [3]
Default: Opt-in, none [3]
Delay: "up to 12 minutes" for a new policy [3]
Limits: Creating the policy moves the environment: there is no "separate opt-in step", and once linked the policy "takes precedence for that scope." [3] The environment's allocation and billing plan "no longer apply". "All environments" also "automatically includes new environments." Resource-based policies "don't apply to AI Builder features or the credits they consume", and Microsoft says "Don't move resources, agents, workflows or environments that use AI Builder to these policies." [3] How fast a limit stops usage once reached: Not published.
- 15. Copilot self-service purchases Access controlSet to"prevent self-service purchases", or trials only [105]WhereCopilot > Settings > User access [105] All products: Settings > Org settings > Services > Self-service trials and purchases [106]
Who, default and delay: Copilot self-service purchases
Who: Global admin [106]
Default: New products "allow users to make a self-service purchase" [106]
Delay: "up to 72 hours" [106]
Limits: "Existing trials or purchases for the specified product aren't affected." [107] Disabling it "doesn't necessarily remove in-product upgrade prompts." [108] PowerShell:
Update-MSCommerceProductPolicy -PolicyId AllowSelfServicePurchase -ProductId CFQ7TTC0MM8R -Value "Disabled"[107] - 16. Anthropic models Access controlSet toA deliberate choice. Sources conflict on whether you can limit it to groups, so check the screen: "The setting is tenant-wide" [69] against the newer "can be scoped to sets of users or groups" [67]
Who, default and delay: Anthropic models
Who: AI admin or Global admin [55]
Default: On "for most customers in commercial cloud (excluding EU/EFTA and UK)" [55]
Delay: Not published
Limits: This is mainly a data-boundary control. Turning the family off doesn't change whether a user can use Cowork. [9] Up to 999 assignments per provider, set at provider level. [109] Sources differ on dependency: the Credits Guide lists "Anthropic enabled in the tenant" [17 p9] and the admin page says Cowork keeps working with other models. [67]
- 17. Independent processors Access controlSet toLeave off unless your legal team has signed off
- 18. Cowork browser access Access controlSet toOff, or limited to security groups
- 19. Copilot Code settings Frontier Access controlSet toKeep "Code execution location" on cloud. Review "Auto-approve setting". GitHub connection off unless approved
- 20. Advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive Access controlSet toSelected only for approved groups. Move any opt-out to Site AI settings and Restricted Content Discovery
- 21. Agent availability Access controlSet to"Specific users or groups"
Who, default and delay: Agent availability
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: "All users" [74]
Delay: Not published
Limits: This controls who can use an agent, not how many credits it uses. Our reading An agent nobody can reach can't bill.
Rules behind the table
- A person in several policies gets one. The order is "Highest per-user limit", then "the largest overall policy limit", then "the most recently created policy", and "settings from other policies aren't combined." [1] A policy with no per-user limit is compared on its overall limit. [1] Our reading So a broad policy with no per-user limit usually beats a tight pilot policy for anyone in both. A partner page describes the same outcome, "the least-restrictive policy wins", though it covers unreleased features. [1, 16]
- A tighter policy can't override a looser one: "A more restrictive policy doesn't override a more permissive one." [9]
- Reaching a limit doesn't move anyone to another policy: "they can request more credits but they don't default to other policies." [1]
- Moving a user doesn't clear their count: "Moving a user between groups or spending policies doesn't reset the user's consumption." [1]
- Limits don't reserve anything: "Spending policies are limit-based controls and don't reserve or allocate Copilot Credits to users or groups." [1]
- Deleting a policy doesn't refund or reset credits. Anyone also covered by another policy carries on under it. [1] Our reading Someone in no other policy for that service loses access, because "If no policy in scope selects Cowork, the user has no access." [9]
- Over a per-user limit in a group policy, a running task can pass the limit: "it can complete without interruption. The excess usage doesn't count toward the policy limit, isn't billed (at Microsoft's sole discretion)". [20]
- Sources differ on who creates a policy. The setup page (30 October 2026) says AI Administrators "can't create spending policies" [8]. The Teams Phone Agent setup page says creating one requires "the AI Administrator role" [37]. The setup page is newer. Our reading Plan for a Global or Billing Administrator to create the first policy, and for AI Administrators to edit it. The setup page lists License Administrator both ways, so test that role first. In the role notes, admin means administrator.
Is 2,000 the minimum? Not clearly. On Learn at 30 October the instruction is "Set at least 2,000 credits per user per month", but the same page separates a "minimum" your policy "must meet" from a "recommended amount": "If your budget meets that minimum but is below the recommended amount, you can still save your policy." It doesn't say which of the two the 2,000 is. [1] Other Microsoft pages show lower figures: the Cowork access page uses a one-credit example, and the API create sample uses 500. [1, 9, 111] The Learn page is the newest. It warns that "administrators may see updated guidance in the product experience." [1] Follow what the screen shows. The 2,000 in the Copilot Credits report is an unrelated alert threshold for Copilot Chat. [94]
Don't rely on the old discovery setting. "AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing" is marked: "The AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing setting is deprecated." [112] It "controls visibility", and users covered by a policy get access regardless. [112] Retirement date: Not published. Some Microsoft pages still refer to it. [9, 67]
Anthropic models are on by default unless you're in the EU/EFTA or UK. [55] Our reading Australia isn't an exclusion. They are "currently excluded from the EU Data Boundary, and when applicable, in-country processing commitments." [55] If your Copilot business case relies on in-country processing, review check 16 with whoever owns that commitment.
Group-level model control has been announced: "admins can assign models and effort levels by group", "rolling out for Cowork". [113] Learn publishes no steps for it. Unpublished draft text in the page source calls Model profiles private preview with no release date, so check your own screen. Admin control of reasoning effort on Learn: Not published. The Cost Management Graph API is beta only ("Use of these APIs in production applications is not supported"). It covers users and groups. Policy writes use delegated permissions, so it won't suit unattended automation. [101, 64]
Turn off spending in the Power Platform admin centre
Restrict who can allocate and create environments. Give each approved environment a fixed allocation, with the draw setting off and no billing plan. Then turn off the draw setting on every other environment too, or allocate the whole pool. Repeat this check regularly, because a new environment can start with the draw setting on [7]. Until then, environments outside the approved list can still reach unallocated credits [6]. Unless a check says otherwise, this work needs a Power Platform admin or Global admin. [5] Open a check to see who can set it, the default setting, any delay and its limits. Microsoft calls this approach the prepaid boundary: "Allocate a defined amount of prepaid capacity, turn off Draw from the available capacity in my tenant, and don't connect the environment to pay-as-you-go billing." [7]
"Changes to shared capacity can affect other Copilot Studio agents, workflows, and features in the same environment." [5] These controls apply across Copilot Studio, including standard harness agents, so check what runs in each environment before you clear any ticks. [7]
- 3. Developer, Production and Trial environment assignments Access controlSet to"Only specific admins" on all three [50]
Who, default and delay: Developer, Production and Trial environment assignments
Who: Global, Power Platform or Dynamics 365 admin [104]
Default: Not published. Our reading Microsoft's wording implies open
Delay: Not published
Limits: "Environments created before the restriction remain manageable by their creators". [50] From 15 November, "users can't create new unmanaged developer environments", and "each user can create only one managed developer environment." [50]
- 4. Environment register CheckSet toLabel each environment "exploration and prototyping, test and validation, or funded production", with a cost owner [7]
Default and delay: Environment register
Default: None
Delay: Your schedule
Limits: Microsoft's answer to environments that start spending is a repeating review: "A recurring review and remediation process closes both gaps." [7] Our reading Credits can be spent until your next review finds the new environment.
- 5. Allocate prepaid capacity Stops usageSet toA defined amount for each approved environment, zero elsewhere
Default and delay: Allocate prepaid capacity
- 6. Draw from the available capacity in my tenant Stops usageSet toTick clearedWhereSame page, under Capacity overages [5]
Default and delay: Draw from the available capacity in my tenant
Default: "selected by default" for eligible environments with no allocation configuration [6]
Delay: Not published
Limits: "New environments can appear with tenant-capacity draw turned on". [7] It "doesn't prevent consumption through a pay-as-you-go billing plan". [5] With the tick cleared and no allocation, the environment has no prepaid credits, so features that use credits stop there. [5, 19] "Eligible" isn't defined.
- 7. Bill to my pay-as-you-go billing plan Access controlSet toTick cleared, unless the environment has a named owner and a budgetWhereSame page, under Capacity overages [6]
Default and delay: Bill to my pay-as-you-go billing plan
Default: Microsoft doesn't say. Needs a linked plan
Delay: Not published
Limits: "With pay-as-you-go, enforcement doesn't apply because overage is billed to your Azure subscription." [10] No limit field appears when you create a billing plan. The control Microsoft names is Cost Management alerting. [22, 114]
- 8. Unlink billing plans Stops usageSet toRemove every environment you haven't approved
Who, default and delay: Unlink billing plans
Who: Power Platform, Global or Dynamics 365 admin for all. Environment admin for their own [22]
Default: Off until linked
Delay: "As soon as" [22]
Limits: "no further usage is charged." [22] Our reading It also ends other pay-as-you-go products in that environment. Environment admins and Dynamics 365 admins can create plans if they have Azure rights, so pair this with the Azure checks. [22]
- 9. Meters on each billing plan Access controlSet toCopilot Studio selected only on plans approved for it
- 10. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat plan Access controlSet toUnlink the environment unless approved, and check Copilot > Billing & usage too
- 11. Agent limit and Stop usage Stops usage Alert onlySet toA monthly limit, a notification threshold, and Stop usage on
Default and delay: Agent limit and Stop usage
Default: "Power Platform admin center doesn't provide a tenant-wide default agent limit." [7]
Delay: Delay: Not published. "for some time" [6]
Limits: Without Stop usage it only sends alerts. "An agent's monthly limit doesn't stop the agent flows that the agent calls." [6] "Agent limits don't cap aggregate environment consumption." [7] Alerts reach admins, "not necessarily to the agent owner." [86]
- 12. Publish the draw rule to a group Stops usageSet toOff, then "Publish rules"WhereManage > Environment groups, group, Rules, "Cost controls - Draw from tenant credit pool" [83, 84]
Who, default and delay: Publish the draw rule to a group
Who: Tenant admin [84]
Default: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: The environment setting "becomes read-only" and "programmatic requests can't override it." [5] Our reading It controls the draw setting only, so pay-as-you-go still runs. "Environment groups can only contain managed environments." [84] Check the licence effect in what turning off spending gives up.
- 13. Environment routing Access controlSet toRoute makers to the governed group
Who, default and delay: Environment routing
Who: Power Platform admin: "Only Power Platform admins can enable environment routing." [115]
Default: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: A routed environment "comes preconfigured as a managed environment with all the group's rules already applied". [84] Our reading Routing is the only documented way that needs no action from the maker. It covers developer environments only. An admin creating an environment by hand can also select a group. The environment then inherits its rules [84]. Make that part of your provisioning process, because with no group selected the environment is created outside any group.
- 14. Tenant-wide data policy Access controlSet to"Add all environments", blocking the connectors in the list below
Who, default and delay: Tenant-wide data policy
Who: Tenant admin or Environment Admin [75]
Default: "Direct Line channels are allowed by default" [75]
Delay: "in real time" [75]
Limits: It "automatically applies to any new environment created in the tenant." [75] Our reading It blocks features. It doesn't measure credits or stop build-time credits.
- 15. Sharing limits Access controlSet to"Limit number of viewers who can access each agent". Review "Only share with individuals (no security groups)"
Who, default and delay: Sharing limits
- 16. Hosted browser in computer use Access controlSet toOff unless approved
Who, default and delay: Hosted browser in computer use
Who: Global, Power Platform or Dynamics 365 admin [104]
Default: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: It covers the hosted browser only. To turn computer use off, do it per environment: Manage > Environments > Settings > Product > Features > Computer use, or set iscomputeruseinmcsenabled to false with the Power Platform CLI. [117] A tenant-wide switch: Not published. No data policy connector for it is listed. [75] "Each step consumes 5 Copilot Credits, or 15 Copilot Credits when using a premium model." [118]
- 17. Publish Copilots with AI features Access controlSet toLeave on. Use as a last resort
Who, default and delay: Publish Copilots with AI features
Who: Global, Power Platform or Dynamics 365 admin [104]
Default: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: Our reading This setting affects every author. It stops publishing, but GitHub Copilot harness build-time credits are still used. Effect on agents already published: Not published.
- 18. Model rules Access controlSet toBlock unless approvedWhereEnvironment group rules "Preview and experimental AI models" and "External models" [119]
- 19. Find GitHub Copilot harness agents CheckSet toRun on your review schedule
Can a new environment start spending?
Yes. Our reading No setting makes every new environment start with the draw setting off, so you need to close each route separately.
| Route | Spends from | Closed by |
|---|---|---|
| New environment with no allocation has the draw setting on [6, 7] | The prepaid pool shared with Cowork and Work IQ | Checks 3, 4 and 12 to 13. At scale, a regular review with the allocation API [85] |
| "Pay-as-you-go-with Azure" option when creating an environment [120] | Azure, with no limit | Check 3 and Azure rights |
| An environment admin creates a plan and links their own environment [22] | Azure | Azure rights |
| Linking from a Power Apps app's settings page, "without needing to go to the admin center" [22] | Azure. Which meters apply isn't stated | Azure rights |
| Microsoft 365 policy on All environments [3] | Whatever that policy allows, and AI Builder credits sit outside it | A deliberate decision |
Pay-as-you-go is documented for production and sandbox environments, and the creation wizard's toggle sits beside the Trial type, so it's unclear whether that combination works. [114, 120] Developer and trial environments have been billable since 1 September 2026, by Microsoft's published date, so they count. [5]
Connectors that affect the bill
Use these with check 14. Our reading Non-Microsoft channels always bill, so blocking them keeps standard agents free of charge, as described in when a Copilot licence removes the charge. A data policy can stop agents publishing anywhere: "if the administrators don't allow any channel, agents can't be published." [75]
| To stop | Block this connector |
|---|---|
| Publishing to Teams and Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Teams + Microsoft 365 Channel in Copilot Studio |
| Demo website, custom sites, mobile, other Direct Line | Direct Line channels in Copilot Studio |
| Dynamics 365 Customer Service | Omnichannel in Copilot Studio |
| Facebook channel in Copilot Studio | |
| SharePoint | SharePoint channel in Copilot Studio |
| WhatsApp channel in Copilot Studio | |
| Anonymous agents | Chat without Microsoft Entra ID authentication in Copilot Studio |
| HTTP nodes | HTTP (supports endpoint filtering) |
| Event triggers and authenticated automated evaluations | Microsoft Copilot Studio |
| Azure Bot Service skills | Skills with Copilot Studio |
| Connector tools and MCP | The connector itself: blocking it "also blocks access to tools in connected MCP servers" |
Event triggers matter most: Microsoft says they can be restricted "to prevent data exfiltration or unwanted consumption or quota usage." [75] Whether these connectors act the same way on GitHub Copilot harness agents isn't stated.
Scripting at scale
Use PUT https://api.powerplatform.com/licensing/allocationsV2?api-version=2024-10-01 with entitlement ID MCSMessages. [85] Microsoft's guidance is to "use the current allocationsV2 operations". [7] An older blog form uses PATCH and shouldn't be copied. If a group rule is published, overrides fail with "TenantPoolLockedByPolicy". [85] Agent limits can be set through a threshold endpoint: set stopResource to false unless you want the agent stopped at once. [86]
Control access to Copilot Studio
You can't fully block a Copilot-licensed person from opening Copilot Studio by setting a group. What you can control is the environments they can build in, and whether those environments hold any credits.
Four ways into Copilot Studio
Microsoft's licensing page lists four routes for a maker [49]:
- The "Copilot Studio user license (free of charge)", which needs a tenant pack first: "You need a Copilot Studio tenant prepaid Copilot Credit pack subscription before you can get this user license." [49]
- The Copilot Studio authors security group, for pay-as-you-go tenants: the setting "is designed to grant access to users in the specified security group in a pay-as-you-go licensing scenario." [76] Check 1 below.
- A Copilot licence: "A Microsoft 365 Copilot license lets you use Copilot Studio to build agents for the GitHub Copilot harness." [49]
- A trial licence, on which "you can't publish the agent." [121] Checks 3 to 5 below.
People who only use a published agent need none of these: "Users of your agents don't need a special license." [122] Tenant licence (the pack) and user licence are separate things: the tenant licence shows as "Copilot Studio" and "You can't assign this license to individual users." [122] Our reading None of the four funds credits. Access and spend are controlled separately.
- 1. Copilot Studio authors Access controlSet toA security group of approved makers
- 2. Environment roles Access controlSet toAuthoring roles only for approved makers, in governed environments [5]WhereEach environment's security roles [120]
Who, default and delay: Environment roles
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: "To create an agent in an environment, you need access to the environment." [120] Our reading This is the real limit on Copilot-licensed makers, because the licence alone opens Copilot Studio. Keep the Default environment unfunded.
- 3. Self-service sign-up Access controlSet to
allowedToSignUpEmailBasedSubscriptions = $false - 4. Email-verified users joining Access controlSet to
allowEmailVerifiedUsersToJoinOrganization = $falseWho, default and delay: Email-verified users joining
Who: As check 3
Default: Not published
Delay: Not published
Limits: "If you set that parameter to $false, no email-verified user can join the tenant." [52]
- 5. Existing trial licences CheckSet toUnassign trials nobody approved
Who, default and delay: Existing trial licences
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: Blocking sign-up leaves them in place
Delay: Not published
Limits: A trial licence keeps a user inside Copilot Studio even outside the authors group. [76] Our reading It doesn't spend by itself, but the user can consume whatever the environment holds.
- 6. Power Platform consent plans Access controlSet toRemove, together with the Entra setting
Who, default and delay: Power Platform consent plans
- 7. Copilot Studio apps Preview Access controlSet toOff, or limited to groups
Who, default and delay: Copilot Studio apps
- 8. Teams plan agents Access controlSet toTurn off only if you want to block thisWhereLicence service plan "Power Virtual Agents for Office 365" [23]
The authors setting gives access but doesn't restrict it
"The 'Copilot Studio authors' setting is designed to grant access to users in the specified security group in a pay-as-you-go licensing scenario. It doesn't automatically revoke access from other users." [76] To block a person, all three of these must be true: [76]
- "The user isn't in the security group assigned to the 'Copilot Studio authors' setting."
- "The user doesn't have a Copilot Studio per-user license or trial license."
- "The user doesn't have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license."
Microsoft's sources conflict. The capacity page (October 2026) says: "Assign a security group, and only members of that group have access to Copilot Studio." [6] The troubleshooting page (September 2025) says otherwise, and the newest harness cost page (October 2026) agrees with it and links to it. [76, 5] Follow the troubleshooting page, and test with a licensed user who's outside the group.
So everyone with a Copilot licence can reach Copilot Studio: "A Microsoft 365 Copilot license lets you use Copilot Studio to build agents for the GitHub Copilot harness." [49] That usage isn't covered by the licence, "regardless of the user's license". [5] The service plan COPILOT_STUDIO_IN_COPILOT_FOR_M365 is listed by Microsoft, but the effect of disabling it is Not published, so don't rely on it without a test. [124]
The published "block" script doesn't block
Microsoft's Copilot Studio page on blocking viral sign-ups (viral means staff signing themselves up to trials) gives this script: [53]
$param = @{ allowedToSignUpEmailBasedSubscriptions = $true; allowEmailVerifiedUsersToJoinOrganization = $false }
The Entra page that defines those settings gives the same combination as one that "allows users to perform self-service sign-up, but only if those users already have an account in Microsoft Entra ID". [52] It also says "If you set that parameter to $false, no user can perform self-service sign-up." [52] Our reading The script stops strangers joining, but your existing staff can still start trials. The Copilot Studio page is newer (January 2026, against December 2024), but the Entra page is the definition.
To block fully, connect with Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Policy.ReadWrite.Authorization" and set both values to $false with Update-MgPolicyAuthorizationPolicy -BodyParameter $param. Confirm with Get-MgPolicyAuthorizationPolicy | Select-Object AllowedToSignUpEmailBasedSubscriptions, AllowEmailVerifiedUsersToJoinOrganization. [52] Test in a non-production tenant first, because these settings apply to the whole tenant.
If you're looking for AllowAdHocSubscriptions, that's the old name. One Copilot Studio page still uses it. [122] It belongs to the MSOnline module, and "Azure PowerShell and MSOnline are deprecated." [53] The current control is "the Update-MgPolicyAuthorizationPolicy PowerShell cmdlet with the AllowedToSignUpEmailBasedSubscriptions parameter." [125] Our reading This row is about access. It doesn't touch spending policies or credits.
You can't turn off the GitHub Copilot harness
"The GitHub Copilot harness doesn't have its own maker-access setting." [5] Our reading These are the indirect ways to limit it, strongest first. Each one has a cost:
- Leave the environment with no credits. Makers there "can't use natural language to author solutions, preview and test agents, or generate and create agent evaluations", and agents stop too. [19]
- Remove authoring roles from the environment, using checks 1 and 2.
- Meet all three conditions above, which means removing the Copilot licence.
- Put an agent limit with Stop usage on each agent, once it exists and has started spending.
A standard harness agent can be converted, too: "You can ask Copilot Studio to upgrade an existing standard harness agent". [73] Our reading So a maker can turn a free agent into a metered one. Only your review catches that. The customer conversation harness is in the same position: its cost page points to your "existing access and approval process". [35]
Turn off spending in Azure
Copilot Studio pay-as-you-go is billed through Azure. Nothing in Azure stops it. Budgets only send alerts. You can limit who creates a billing plan, and monitor the plans that exist.
- 1. Find existing Power Platform account resources CheckWhereAzure portal resource list, "View hidden types" [22]
Who, default and delay: Find existing Power Platform account resources
- 2. Azure rights Access controlSet toOwner and Contributor for a small group onlyWhereAccess control on each subscription and resource group
Who, default and delay: Azure rights
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: Your estate
Delay: Exact minimum actions: Not published
Limits: A plan needs rights to "create new resources and register resource providers", which owners and contributors usually hold. [22] The list shows "all the Azure subscriptions in your tenant for which you have sufficient permissions". [22] Our reading One developer with Contributor on a sandbox subscription can still create a plan.
- 3. Deny new billing plans Our reading Access controlSet toTest in a sandbox subscription first, listing
Microsoft.PowerPlatform/accountsWho, default and delay: Deny new billing plans
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: Not assigned
Delay: Untested
Limits: Microsoft doesn't document this as a way to block pay-as-you-go. It may not catch a plan made through the admin centre. It won't touch plans already linked. If it works, it also blocks Power Apps, Power Automate and Pre-Purchase Plan use in Copilot Studio.
- 4. Budget on each billing plan Alert onlySet toA monthly budget with thresholds and forecast alerts [96]WhereAzure Cost Management, scoped to the Power Platform account resource [95]
Who, default and delay: Budget on each billing plan
Who: Contributor or Cost Management contributor [96]
Default: None
Delay: Data "typically available within 8-24 hours", evaluated "every 24 hours" [96]
Limits: "Budgets and alerts help finance and service owners monitor spending, but they don't stop usage." [5] Our reading An alert can arrive a day or more after the spending.
- 5. Automate an unlink from a budget Our reading Alert onlySet toOnly if the environment holds nothing else on pay-as-you-goWhereAction group at subscription or resource group scope [96]
Who, default and delay: Automate an unlink from a budget
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: None
Delay: Budget delay plus your automation
Limits: You would build this yourself, because Microsoft gives no instructions for it. It has the same budget delay and the same side effects as unlinking. No unlink endpoint appears in the pages we read.
- 6. Who can buy a Pre-Purchase Plan Access controlSet toLimit purchasersWhereAzure reservations. EA: "Reserved Instances policy option" [38, 129] Also Cost Management > Configuration > Buy Pre-purchase Credits in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, for the Copilot Credit plan only [8]
Who, default and delay: Who can buy a Pre-Purchase Plan
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: "the owner role or reservation purchaser role is required" [38]
Delay: Not published
Limits: Role for the admin centre route: Not published. "Cancel and exchange operations aren't supported for Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plans. All purchases are final." [38] Our reading The EA option restricts all reservations, so check with whoever buys them.
- 7. Pre-Purchase Plan renewal Access controlSet toOff, until someone decides to renew
Who, default and delay: Pre-Purchase Plan renewal
Who: Microsoft doesn't say who
Default: "The setting is configured to renew automatically by default." [38]
Delay: "The renewal price is available 30 days before the expiry" [130]
Limits: The Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan behaves the same way. [131] Our reading A renewal is a new final purchase, so put the date in a calendar.
A Pre-Purchase Plan is a discount on pay-as-you-go, which has no limit. When its credits run out, "usage automatically continues on a pay-as-you-go basis." [8] The Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan works the same way: "billing will automatically switch to pay-as-you-go." [25 p16] Reaching it from Copilot Studio means linking a billing plan, because it's used "through assigning a pay-as-you-go billing plan under Capacity overages". [5] Our reading So buying one for Copilot Studio starts Azure billing. An allocation can't limit it. Detail in every way to buy.
Azure shows the bill but not what caused it. It "won't provide a breakdown of which environments, apps/agents, and users drove usage of the meters." [95] Cowork, Copilot Studio and Work IQ also share one label: they appear "under the Microsoft Copilot Studio service". [21] To split the cost, "separate it by Azure subscription or resource group". [21]
The Copilot Business default from 1 December
From 1 December 2026, a new Copilot Business purchase through a Cloud Solution Provider partner, a seat added in the portal or a converted trial turns on metered billing by itself (see what happens to existing licences). The billing method is pay-as-you-go and the spending limit is 4,000 credits a user a month. Enterprise Copilot isn't affected. Australia is left out at first. Microsoft gives no date.
"Starting December 1, 2026, usage-based billing will be enabled by default for new Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licenses purchased in Cloud Solution Provider (CSP). Pay-as-you-go will be the default billing configuration". [15] "The default spending limit will be 4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month, which can be adjusted by admins." [15] That 4,000 is a maximum on a metered charge, not an allowance. Our reading At the list rate of $0.01 a credit [17 p4] that's up to $40 a user a month, or $4,000 a month for 100 users [15]. The tenant default of 1,200,000 credits comes to $12,000 a month. [16]
"It will initially not be available in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain." [15] Read "initially" carefully: "We'll share additional information as availability expands to these markets." [15] Date for Australia: Not published. Whether the test is the customer's tenant country or the partner's location: Not published. Our reading You have a choice. Doing nothing leaves billing off until Australia joins. Creating your own policy for a named group now (check 2 of the checklist below) blocks the default later, because none is created where one already exists [16]. But it activates usage-based billing for the people in that policy and needs a billing method [8]. If you do this, limit it to a small approved group, set a per-user limit, and use a billing method with no pay-as-you-go where you can. It will show as a finding in the five checks. Ask your partner to tell you when Australia joins.
What starts it
| Event | Creates a default policy |
|---|---|
| New Copilot Business subscription | Yes [16] |
| Seats added through the Partner Center portal | Yes. "UBB is enabled with default spending policy values, but only for adding seats through the partner center portal." [16] |
| Seats changed through the Partner Center API | No [16] |
| Trial converting to a paid enabled product | Yes [16] |
| Upgrade to an enabled product | Not automatically [16] |
| No purchase event | No: "UBB is only enabled as part of a purchase." [16] |
| A spending or billing policy already exists | No duplicate is created [16] |
Adding one seat can start billing for the whole tenant. "Because a seat addition can trigger tenant-level UBB enablement, partners might see consumption charges appear for a tenant even when only a subset of seats generated the triggering purchase event." [16] Our reading A policy gives access, so a default policy for the whole tenant reaches everyone covered who holds what the service needs.
- 1. Confirm whether this applies CheckSet toConfirm channel (CSP or direct), product (Copilot Business) and tenant marketWherePartner Center or your partner
- 2. Your own policy first Access controlSet toDecide before the first event that starts billing. A policy for a named group blocks the default, but it activates usage-based billing for that group [8]
Who, default and delay: Your own policy first
- 3. Agree seat-change handling Access controlSet toPartner asks before adding seats through the portalWhereYour change process with the partner
- 4. Reduce the default limits Stops usageSet toYour own per-user and tenant limits, down to the platform minimum
Who, default and delay: Reduce the default limits
Who: Partner, or Global admin or Billing admin
Default: Tenant limit "default 1,200,000 credits". User limit "default 4,000 credits" [16]
Delay: Not published
Limits: The partner page gives no platform minimum. The management page says "Set at least 2,000 credits per user per month" and publishes no enforced minimum: see check 6. [1] The partner page contradicts itself on zero: see the warning below.
- 5. Narrow the policy Access controlSet toSpecific groups, reviewed services, Auto-apply off
Who, default and delay: Narrow the policy
- 6. Alerts and invoice check Alert onlySet toAdd an alert, and ask your partner to flag consumption linesWhereMicrosoft 365 admin centre policy alerts, and the partner invoice
Don't count on a zero limit. The partner page says "partners set the applicable spending limit to zero, which stops further spend", and also "You can't reduce a policy's limit below the platform minimum. Deleting the policy is the only way to stop spend entirely." [16] Both can't be true. The page is marked "Content in this article describes features and functionality that aren't released." [16] Plan on deleting the policy if you need a full stop: "Deleting a policy stops billing for future usage immediately." [16]
Direct purchases are reported to start from mid-November for tenants with Microsoft 365 Business Premium, with others "at a later date". That date rests on third-party reposts of a Message center post, so confirm it in your own tenant. [18] Whether the excluded market list applies to direct purchases isn't confirmed by a Microsoft-hosted page. Partner-side services also list the "GitHub Copilot Harness", which the Microsoft 365 services table doesn't. Microsoft doesn't explain how that's governed on these tenants. [15, 13]
Design rules for makers
Settings can't keep every agent cheap, so makers need a short set of rules. An agent used by Copilot-licensed people stays inside the licence only if it meets every rule below. Fair usage still applies. The values are Not published. Full conditions are in when a Copilot licence removes the charge.
| Done | Rule | Why | Can an admin enforce it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build on the standard harness | GitHub Copilot harness usage is "Billed for all usage." [5] | No. Inventory and review only | |
| Publish only to Microsoft channels | Standard agents are billed "when the agent is used in a channel outside Microsoft 365." [5] | Yes. Block other channels with a data policy | |
| Employee-facing use only | The inclusion covers "Employee-facing usage scenarios (Business to Employee)". [10] | No. Design review | |
| Every user holds a Copilot licence and is authenticated | Billed "when the user has no Microsoft 365 Copilot license". [5] | Partly. Share to licensed groups. No setting limits an agent to licence holders. Block anonymous access with a data policy | |
| No autonomous or event triggers | Billed including "agent flow runs that an agent starts while it runs autonomously". [5] | Partly. Blocking the Microsoft Copilot Studio connector stops event triggers and authenticated automated evaluations [75]. Microsoft doesn't say it covers agent flows on other triggers [75, 10] | |
| Leave voice out or budget for it | The voice table has no licensed-user column. [10] Our reading Treat it as billed | No | |
| Agent flows only through "When an agent calls the flow" | That trigger is covered, and flows "that use other triggers" are billed. [5] | No | |
| No computer use | "Billed for all usage." [5] | Yes, per environment [117] | |
| No Work IQ APIs | Metered separately. [25 p7] | No | |
| Workflows and prompts only inside a standard agent, for a licensed user | Covered there, and "Billed in all other cases." [5] | No |
Our reading In the last column, "Yes" and "Partly" come from combining the controls above. Microsoft doesn't publish this mapping. The first rule matters most and can't be enforced, so it needs an inventory review.
When an agent is metered anyway
- "Use a model that isn't a reasoning model when your scenario doesn't need deep reasoning." [10]
- "Keep instructions concise and knowledge sources focused." [10]
- "Start a new conversation for a new topic instead of resuming a long conversation." [10]
- Turn tenant graph grounding off where it isn't needed. It "is optional, and you can turn it on or off for each agent". [10]
- Check for a proactive greeting. An agent triggered to be ready "consumes Copilot Credits as a Classic Answer", whether or not a greeting is sent. [23]
- On the GitHub Copilot harness, configure by hand where you can: "Manual, non-LLM configuration does not require Copilot Credits." [17 p16] Pick General models over Deep for simple tasks. [119]
- Test standard agents in the test chat, whose own activity doesn't consume credits. [23] GitHub Copilot harness preview does. [5]
Microsoft's credit-free routes are Copilot Studio for Teams and Agent Builder within its limits: see the exceptions. Also give makers a way to ask for more: "Pair restrictive limits with a documented request path". [5]
What turning off spending gives up
Whenever you stop usage, someone loses a service. Microsoft sets out two approaches, the prepaid boundary and "Continuity through Azure billing". You can't have both in one environment. [7] Choose for each environment, using "exploration and prototyping, test and validation, or funded production". [7]
| If you | What stops | What your people see |
|---|---|---|
| Leave someone out of every policy | Cowork and other services for that person [9] | Entry points stay visible. After clicking they see "request access", or a learn-more link if you set No users [28, 41] |
| Set a per-user limit | Their metered services until the 1st [1] | They "lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month" and can request more [1]. SharePoint warns at "20% of the monthly credit limit" remaining [54] |
| Turn off the draw setting with no allocation and no billing plan linked | Every feature that uses credits in that environment, for makers and users [5, 19] | "You need credits to continue. This environment doesn't have credits available right now." [19] Makers lose natural language authoring, preview and test [19] |
| Use up an allocation with the draw setting off and no billing plan linked | Agents, flows and prompts sharing that environment, including customer conversation agents in Microsoft Contact Center AI [5, 35] | "Agents stop responding to requests." [19] |
| Use up the tenant's prepaid capacity | New agent flow runs once the environment has no credits available, and custom agents when the tenant reaches 125% of prepaid capacity. Environments with allocation left aren't blocked. Environments on a pay-as-you-go plan carry on and bill to Azure [10] | Agents can keep answering while flows don't start. At enforcement, a blocked agent "stops responding, including in a conversation that's already in progress", and most users see "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." Copilot-licensed users "might not be blocked" [10] |
| Set Stop usage on an agent | That agent. Its flows keep running [6] | The agent is turned off [6] |
| Unlink a billing plan | All pay-as-you-go in that environment. Our reading That includes Power Apps, Power Automate and Dataverse overage | Apps relying on pay-as-you-go may stop for unlicensed users Our reading |
| Block channels with a data policy | Publishing to those channels [75] | Makers can't publish there. With every channel blocked, "agents can't be published" [75] |
| Disconnect classic pay-as-you-go | Agents for people with no Copilot licence, within "up to two hours" [27] | See people without a licence |
- Allocated credits can go unused. Credits sitting in a little-used environment are unavailable to Cowork, and "Unused credits do not roll over to the next month." [5, 25 p17]
- Usage doesn't stop at the exact limit. "Microsoft allows some level of overage consumption, similar to a grace period". [10] Limits are also delayed, so leave a margin. [6]
- Pay-as-you-go keeps things running. Microsoft says it "overcomes any concern associated with reaching the limits of purchased Copilot credits." [6] Weigh that against having no limit when you choose.
Managed environments carry a licence condition. Environment groups, sharing limits and routing all need them. Activating them changes which licences active users need. [132, 88] "Starting February 2027, an appropriate license is strictly required for a user to open an app in a managed environment." [88] Our reading Adding the Default environment to a group for cost reasons could affect Power Apps users, so check that first.
Monitor spending
No single report covers everything. Use Cost Management for Copilot, Licensing for Copilot Studio, and the invoice for the final number. Allow for delay: Cost Management runs two to four hours behind, Licensing about a day, and Azure up to a day. "Review environment and agent consumption together." [5]
| Report | Where | Covers | Refresh | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview tab Microsoft 365 admin centre | Copilot > Cost Management | Total credits, Prepaid Capacity pack usage, pay-as-you-go, active users [20] | "every 4 hours" [20] | Pre-Purchase Plan credits sit inside the pay-as-you-go card [20] |
| Consumption tab Microsoft 365 admin centre | Same | Policies, users, groups, agents and services [20] | "every 2 hours" [20] | It shows "users who consume credits, not all users assigned to a policy". Past periods compare against the "current spending limit" [20] |
| Copilot Studio in Cost Management Microsoft 365 admin centre | Same | "consumption by environment and agent" for covered resources [3] | Not published | Usage after the move appears here and "will no longer appear in the Power Platform admin center" [4] |
| Copilot Credits report Microsoft 365 admin centre | Reports > Usage > Microsoft Copilot > Credits [94] | Classic pay-as-you-go: Copilot Chat agents for people with no Copilot licence [94] | "within an hour" [94] | It doesn't cover Cowork, so it can't replace Cost Management |
| Cowork reports Microsoft 365 admin centre | Copilot > Cowork [133] | Adoption and usage, with a credits view on the Frontier-only Value tab [133] | Not published | Usage defaults to 28 days [133] |
| Viva Insights Consumption Dashboard | Viva Insights [70] | "currently available only for Copilot Cowork and the Work IQ API" [70] | Not published | "for reference only" [70] |
| /cost | Typed by the user in Cowork [30] | A task, the month so far and what remains [30] | Current cycle only [30] | "It is not an authoritative billing record." It can't quote before a task runs [30] |
| Summary and capacity views Power Platform admin centre | Licensing > Copilot Studio [6] | Pay-as-you-go and prepaid cards, usage by product and by environment [6] | "aggregated daily, although some data might be delayed." [23] | Keeps daily data for the month to date and "the last two full months", then monthly for 12 months [6] |
| Environments tab Power Platform admin centre | Same | Each environment's prepaid and pay-as-you-go use, and overage status [6] | Daily | This view shows an environment that has started spending |
| Manage Agents Power Platform admin centre | Same | Billing agents, month-to-date credits, limit status [6] | Daily | Whether you can set a limit on an agent before its first use: Not published |
| Download report Power Platform admin centre | Summary [6] | Environment, agent and user rows [6] | Daily | User rows cover the standard harness only. Not shown: single conversations, "Token counts" and "The reason a row wasn't billed." [6] GitHub Copilot harness shows as "Process Agents" [6] |
| Agent Monitor page | Copilot Studio [6] | One agent's billed credits [6] | Not published | "It shows billed credits only" so it can read lower than the reports [6] |
| Azure Cost Management Azure | Azure portal [21] | Billed pay-as-you-go by meter and resource [95] | "usage can take up to 24 hours to appear" [21] | "doesn't show consumption against Prepaid Capacity packs." [21] |
| Power Platform API | licensing/entitlements/MCSMessages [90] | Tenant and agent consumption for your own dashboards [90] | Latest completed usage date [90] | A community pattern, not a product. Keep history beyond 12 months this way |
Don't reconcile dashboards to each other. The Microsoft 365 admin centre "can include non-billable usage", and capacity pack use never shows in Azure. [21] Environment entitlement data is aggregate, so "Don't use environment entitlement consumption to infer that an individual agent reached a percentage of its limit." [7]
How often to review
Our reading Microsoft says you need a recurring process but gives no schedule, so this schedule is our suggestion. "Governing Copilot Credit consumption is an ongoing process, not a one-time configuration." [7]
| Done | When | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Open Credit requests and read any policy alert emails. [20] | |
| Daily | Check the Environments tab for anything in overage or with no owner. [6] | |
| Weekly | Compare the environment list against your register, and turn off the draw setting on anything new. [7] | |
| Weekly | Filter Harness to GitHub Copilot, and put a limit on each new agent. [5, 7] | |
| Weekly | List billing plans and their linked environments. Ask who owns anything new. [22] | |
| Monthly | Reconcile to the invoice: "Use the monthly billing record for reconciliation, not the usage dashboards." [21] | |
| Monthly | Review Auto-apply and each policy's services for anything added since last month. [28] | |
| Monthly | Review allocations and agent limits for the month ahead, using the Download report. [6] | |
| Quarterly | Review who holds Global, Billing, AI and Power Platform admin, plus Azure Owner and Contributor. [8, 22] | |
| Quarterly | Check Pre-Purchase Plan end dates and renewal settings. [38] |
Ways to buy
Buying credits gives nobody access. Credits start working when a spending policy gives people a service, or when an environment can reach prepaid capacity or a billing plan.
Every way to buy
Pay-as-you-go
- Price
- $0.01 a credit, billed afterwards [17 p4]
- Commitment
- None [134]
- Unused
- Nothing is prepaid
- When it ends
- It doesn't. It has no limit of its own [22]
Start here until you have three months of real usage
Capacity pack
- Price
- $200 a month, billed annually, for 25,000 credits a month. AU$299.30 before GST [25 p16, 31]
- Unused
- Gone at month end [25 p16]
- When it ends
- Stops, unless pay-as-you-go sits behind it [21]
Steady use above 20,000 credits a month
Microsoft partners also sell these same products. For details, see Buying through a partner, below.
Our reading At USD list, start on pay-as-you-go until you have three months of real usage. Packs cost less than pay-as-you-go once you steadily use more than 20,000 credits a month, which is 80% of a pack [17 p4, 25 p16]. Below that you pay for credits that expire. A Pre-Purchase Plan suits uneven use: Tier 1 is 300,000 credits for $2,850 across the year, against $2,400 for the same number in packs, but any month can use them [17 p5, 25 p16]. Plans are final sale and auto-renew [38]. Australian pay-as-you-go prices aren't published [31], so the Australian break-even can't be worked out from Microsoft's figures. If a fixed monthly figure matters most, see Strategy 9.
Our reading Before you buy a pack, check the draw setting. An environment draws when it takes credits from the tenant's shared pool, and the Microsoft setting is "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant". Every Copilot Studio environment with no allocation can start drawing on a pack the moment it arrives, because this setting "is selected by default" [6]. Turn off the draw setting first (checks 5, 6 and 12), or fund Cowork on pay-as-you-go instead.
There are four ways to pay, and partners sell them too. A Pre-Purchase Plan is a one-year prepaid pool bought through Azure. A capacity pack is a tenant licence, priced per month and billed annually, that refills 25,000 credits each month. Pay-as-you-go is metered and billed to Azure afterwards.
For choosing between them, the site's three ways to buy article and buying calculator cover pay-as-you-go, packs and the Copilot Credit plan. Only this guide covers the Agent plan.
| Term | Pay-as-you-go | Capacity pack | Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan | Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan | Through a partner (CSP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | General availability | General availability | General availability | General availability | A sales channel for these products |
| Price | "$0.01/Copilot Credit" [17 p4] | "$200 per credit pack/month (billed annually)" for 25,000 credits a month [25 p16] | Nine tiers, 5% to 20% off [17 p5]. Dollar price Not published | Three tiers, 5% to 15% off [25 p16]. Dollar price Not published | Not published on the pages read |
| Per credit | $0.01 | Our reading $0.008, only if every credit is used every month | Our reading $0.0095 down to $0.0080, on credits used in the term | Our reading $0.0095 down to $0.0085, on credits used in the term | Not published |
| Commitment | "without any upfront commitment" [134]. "billed in arrears at the end of the billing month" [17 p4] | Billed annually [25 p16]. The buyer picks "Subscription length and Billing frequency" [36]. Options offered: Not published | "one-year pay-upfront" [17 p5]. See the payment conflict below | "one-year pay-upfront" [25 p16] | As agreed with the partner. Annual terms apply to the E7 offer below [15] |
| Rollover | Nothing is prepaid, so nothing rolls over | "Unused credits do not roll over to the next month." [25 p16] | Usable across the term. "Unused credits expire at the end of the annual term." [17 p5] | "Unused ACUs do not roll over to the next year." [25 p16] | Our reading Follows the product bought |
| Refunds | Nothing is prepaid. Usage already incurred is billed [22] | Our reading The subscription rule for your billing account type applies. On a Microsoft Customer Agreement account: "within seven days after the start or renewal of your subscription". On a Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement account, cancelling after start or renewal gives "a prorated credit or refund" [135] | "All purchases are final." No cancel or exchange [38] | "All purchases are final." [131] | "you have seven days to cancel and receive a pro-rated refund. Contact your seller or partner" applies to partner-bought subscriptions on a Microsoft Customer Agreement [135] |
| Auto-renew | No term to renew | Recurring billing can be turned off, and you "keep access to your products and services for the remainder of your subscription" [135] | On by default "The setting is configured to renew automatically by default." [38] | On by default [131] | Check with the partner |
| Term | Pay-as-you-go | Capacity pack | Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan | Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan | Through a partner (CSP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where bought | Power Platform admin centre billing plan [22], or the billing method in Microsoft 365 admin centre Cost Management [8]. Both bill Azure | Microsoft 365 admin centre Marketplace [36]. "available through the Microsoft 365 Marketplace" [21] | Azure Reservations [38], or Cost Management > Configuration > Buy Pre-purchase Credits in the Microsoft 365 admin centre [8] | Azure Reservations only. No Microsoft 365 admin centre route is documented [131, 8] | Partner Center. "partners manage provisioning, billing, and provide direct support" [17 p27] |
| Who can buy | Billing plan: Environment, Power Platform, Global or Dynamics 365 admin with Azure rights [22]. Cost Management: Global or Billing Administrator [8] | "You must be a Global Administrator or Billing Administrator to buy capacity packs." [36] | "the owner role or reservation purchaser role is required". On an Enterprise Agreement, the Reserved Instances policy must be on [38]. Role for the admin centre route: Not published | Same as the Copilot Credit plan [131] | The partner, or the customer if the partner allows it [38] |
| Reaches Copilot services | Yes through a spending policy [8] | Yes "services managed in either admin center" [8] | Yes through the Azure subscription on the policy [8] | Yes "for AI experiences, such as Cowork", though the balance isn't shown in the Microsoft 365 admin centre [8] | Partner Center's default covers "Copilot Cowork, Work IQ APIs, and GitHub Copilot Harness today" [16] |
| Reaches Copilot Studio | Yes through a billing plan linked to the environment [5] | Yes by allocation or tenant draw [6] | Yes only through a pay-as-you-go billing plan [5] | Yes "Per environment via billing plan" [25 p16] | As the product bought |
| Wider reach | Copilot Credit services only | Copilot Credit services only | "Covers Copilot Credit-specific usage" [131] | "Save on select services across Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft Copilot Studio*, Copilot Cowork, Microsoft Fabric, and GitHub costs" [131] | As the product bought |
| Allocate to environments | No | Yes, the only source that can be [5] | No [5] | No Our reading It reaches environments by billing plan [25 p16] | As the product bought |
| Azure commitment (MACC) | "will decrement" it. "not Azure Prepayment eligible" [25 p14] | Not published. Microsoft states it for the other three and says nothing for packs [25 p14-17] | "will decrement" it. "not Azure Prepayment eligible" [25 p15] | "will decrement" it. "not Azure Prepayment eligible" [25 p16] | Not published. Microsoft treats partner billing and MACC as separate topics [65] |
| Needs Azure | Yes | Not to buy. Whether Cowork can run with no Azure subscription at all: Not published | Yes | Yes | Partner Center can create the Azure plan, subscription and resource group at purchase of Copilot Business [16] |
Microsoft's two guides count the options differently. The Copilot Studio Licensing Guide lists pay-as-you-go, the Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan, the Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan and the capacity pack [25 p14-17]. The Credits Guide names only two, saying credits "are offered through the Microsoft Copilot Studio pay-as-you-go meter and the Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan" [17 p4]. Both PDFs are November 2026 editions. We follow the fuller list.
Our reading We show general availability where neither guide carries a preview label. MACC is a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment, a spend commitment made to Azure. Eligible Dynamics 365 Premium licences can also bring capacity [6].
Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan tiers
Microsoft publishes the credits and discount for each tier in both guides [17 p5, 25 p15]. The Azure page has no tier table, only a worked example: "By purchasing Tier 2 (15,000 CU) pre-purchase plan, let's say the cost of that tier is $14,100, it will give a 6% saving" [38]. The unit is a commit unit: a "retail cost of $100" uses "100 Copilot Credit CUs (CCCUs)" [38]. The last three columns are Our reading at the $0.01 list price, and they match that one published example.
| Tier | Copilot Credits | Discount | Commit units | Net US$ | US$ per credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 300,000 | 5% | 3,000 | 2,850 | 0.0095 |
| 2 | 1,500,000 | 6% | 15,000 | 14,100 | 0.0094 |
| 3 | 3,000,000 | 7% | 30,000 | 27,900 | 0.0093 |
| 4 | 15,000,000 | 8% | 150,000 | 138,000 | 0.0092 |
| 5 | 30,000,000 | 10% | 300,000 | 270,000 | 0.0090 |
| 6 | 75,000,000 | 12% | 750,000 | 660,000 | 0.0088 |
| 7 | 150,000,000 | 14% | 1,500,000 | 1,290,000 | 0.0086 |
| 8 | 225,000,000 | 17% | 2,250,000 | 1,867,500 | 0.0083 |
| 9 | 300,000,000 | 20% | 3,000,000 | 2,400,000 | 0.0080 |
Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan tiers
This is a separate product with its own unit, Agent Commit Units [25 p16]. A "retail cost of $100" uses "100 Agent CUs (ACUs)" [131]. The Azure page gives one figure, "Tier 1 prepurchase plan (20,000 CUs)" with an "Estimated plan cost: $19,000" [131], which matches the guide. Its other examples use sizes that aren't listed tiers, so treat them as illustrations. The last three columns are Our reading at list.
| Tier | Agent Commit Units | Discount | Credit equivalent | Net US$ | US$ per credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20,000 | 5% | 2,000,000 | 19,000 | 0.0095 |
| 2 | 100,000 | 10% | 10,000,000 | 90,000 | 0.0090 |
| 3 | 500,000 | 15% | 50,000,000 | 425,000 | 0.0085 |
Our reading On these tables the Agent plan shows a better listed discount at mid volumes: 10% at 10 million credit-equivalents against 30 million on the Copilot Credit plan, and 15% at 50 million where the Copilot Credit plan needs 225 million to pass that figure. This is a comparison of published percentages. Confirm actual prices in the portal before relying on it.
Whether a second purchase counts with the first towards a higher tier is Not published. Either plan can be topped up: the Copilot Credit plan lets customers "purchase additional Copilot Credits" [17 p5] and the Agent plan says "additional Microsoft Agent P3 plans can be purchased" [25 p16].
Terms to check before you buy
- Both plans sit on top of pay-as-you-go. "P3 is layered on top of pay-as-you-go." [8] When a plan runs out, "usage automatically continues on a pay-as-you-go basis" [8], so a plan alone sets no maximum.
- Discounts don't stack. "Pre-purchase plan discounts don't combine with other discounts you might have." [38]
- "You can't split or merge a Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan." [38] Scope and who can view or manage it can change after purchase [38].
- The plan is hard to find in reports. The Overview card reads "Pay-as-you-go credit used (includes Copilot Credit Pre-purchase plan (P3) credits)" [20]. An Agent plan balance isn't displayed in the Microsoft 365 admin centre at all [8]. It "appears as a reservation benefit in Azure Cost Management" [21].
- A pack holds a monthly amount. "Copilot Credit packs should be purchased for the anticipated number of Copilot Credits the tenant is expected to consume each month." [25 p16] Multiple packs can be bought [36]. Minimum or maximum quantity: Not published.
- Microsoft recommends a safety net with packs: "it is recommended to sign up for the pay-as-you-go meter to ensure business continuity" [25 p17]. Turning that on means usage no longer stops, so decide it deliberately in Turn off spending.
Microsoft's sources conflict on how a Pre-Purchase Plan is paid. The Credits Guide (November 2026, newer) says "one-year pay-upfront" [17 p5]. The billing views page (25 September 2026) says "You can pay for the plan up front or through monthly payments." [21] We can't resolve this from the documents. Check the purchase blade.
The rollover wording also conflicts. The Copilot Studio Licensing Guide says "All Copilot Studio purchased capacity is enforced monthly and unused Copilot Credits do not carry over month to month." [25 p13] Two pages later it gives Pre-Purchase Plan credits a full term [25 p15], and the estimator page says "Some credit purchases roll over" [97]. Our reading Pack credits last the month and plan credits last the term.
Getting the Azure commitment to count
"MACC benefits apply only when the selected subscription links to a billing account that includes the commitment." [65] On the wrong account "you still pay for consumption, but it might not count toward your MACC" [65]. Once it's set correctly, usage counts without further action [65]. Whether a plan decrements the commitment at purchase or as credits are used is Not published.
Our reading Setup can create a subscription for you when you have no access to one: "the system automatically creates a subscription for you by using the billing account linked in the Microsoft 365 admin center" [8]. Check that subscription sits under the commitment's billing account before first use.
Buying through a partner
Customers "can purchase Copilot Credits from Partners via the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program" [17 p27]. Setup needs an Azure subscription "linked to your partner billing account", then usage-based billing configured in the Microsoft 365 admin centre [65]. Partner Center's own usage-based billing path covers "Copilot Business (B-SKUs) only" and its page warns "Content in this article describes features and functionality that aren't released." [16] Charges appear in the reconciliation files, "billed separately from - and remain clearly distinguishable from - the Copilot Business seat-based subscription charge" [16].
From 1 December 2026, new Copilot Business licences through CSP have usage-based billing on by default [15], and some changes to existing licences can start it too (see what happens to existing licences). See What's changing, and Australian pricing for the Australian exclusion. Partner FAQ documents sit behind partner sign-in and weren't read.
The E7 capacity pack offer Ends 31 Dec 2026
Microsoft's words: "When a customer purchases at least 300 new annual Microsoft 365 E7 seats through CSP, enables pay-as-you-go usage-based billing with an Azure subscription, and purchases at least 5 annual Copilot Studio capacity packs, Microsoft matches each eligible pack 1:1 for 12 months, up to 5 packs." [15] All three conditions apply, and the offer "is available through December 31, 2026" [15].
Our reading Buying five packs gives 125,000 credits a month and the match adds 125,000, so 250,000 a month for 12 months. The match stops at five packs however many are bought. The offer requires pay-as-you-go to be on, so usage beyond the packs has no limit unless you set one. Full terms are in a partner-only launch kit we haven't read. Market eligibility, and whether matched credits share the same pool, are Not published. The announcement neither lists nor excludes Australia.
Which credits go first
Prepaid credits are used before pay-as-you-go on both sides. The two systems get there differently. Spending policies follow a fixed order. Copilot Studio environments follow the options ticked on each environment.
Copilot
Fixed order, set by the policy's billing method [8]
- Prepaid Capacity packs
- Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan
- Pay-as-you-go billing
Copilot
Set by the spending policy's billing method. "If you select both Prepaid Capacity packs and an Azure subscription with Copilot Credit Pre-purchase plan (P3), billing is applied in the following order to keep spending predictable" [8]. The diagram shows that order.
"The policy always uses prepaid credits first, whether through capacity packs or through pre-purchase plans, before moving to pay-as-you-go." [1]
Copilot Studio
Set per environment. Our reading The diagram is our reading of the documented sequence [6, 5].
"If no overage source is enabled, the environment can consume only its allocated prepaid credits." [6] The Copilot Studio Licensing Guide puts packs first: "Copilot Credit consumption won't be counted against the pay-as-you-go meter until credit packs have been exhausted." [25 p17] Our reading That's the rule for the whole tenant. Microsoft doesn't restate it for the two tick boxes on each environment.
| Source | Date | Wording |
|---|---|---|
| Set up usage-based billing | 30 October 2026 (newer) | "if the subscription selected for the billing method includes Agent P3, the system uses the Agent P3 credits first and bills any overage charges only after those credits are exhausted." [8] |
| Microsoft Agent prepurchase plan | 29 September 2026 | Copilot Credit plan is "Applied next to Copilot-specific workloads". Agent plan is "Applied last to remaining AI usage across all platforms" [131] |
Our reading The full order is capacity packs, then the Copilot Credit plan, then the Agent plan, then pay-as-you-go. No single Microsoft page states all four. The first and last steps come from the setup page and the middle from the Azure page. We read "first" on the setup page as first ahead of overage charges, since that's what the sentence goes on to describe. Microsoft may mean something else, so hold both plans only if you can watch the balance go down in Azure.
- Azure reservations for other services apply earlier: "Reservations always apply before prepurchase plans." [131]
- Choosing pay-as-you-go on a policy doesn't skip packs: "If Prepaid Capacity pack credits are available, the system uses those credits first, and then pay-as-you-go." [8] A policy can also be set to use packs [8]. Whether a policy can avoid packs altogether is Not published.
- When every source is used up: "Requests are blocked when limits or available credit sources are exhausted." [21]
- "If a Microsoft 365 admin center resource-based spending policy covers a Copilot Studio environment, its Power Platform admin center capacity allocation and linked billing plan no longer apply." [8] Our reading The Copilot order above then applies to it.
Packs are one pool across both systems. "Credits allocated to environments in the Power Platform admin center reduce the credits available for other services in the Microsoft 365 admin center." [8] A Cowork policy can move to pay-as-you-go earlier than expected because Copilot Studio took the pack credits. Microsoft states the sum: "Available credits = Total purchased credits - Credits pre-allocated to environments in Power Platform admin center" [8].
Allocating to environments and agents
Only capacity packs can be allocated, and only environments receive an allocation. "Environment-level allocation and drawing from tenant capacity" use capacity packs, and a Pre-Purchase Plan is reached "through assigning a pay-as-you-go billing plan under Capacity overages" [5]. Agents get a limit. It sets no credits aside and stops the agent only if Stop usage is turned on [5]. Spending policies are limits too: they "don't reserve or allocate Copilot Credits to users or groups" [1].
| Job | Power Platform admin centre (default) | Microsoft 365 admin centre (opt-in) General availability by 20 Nov 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Path | Licensing > Copilot Studio > Manage Copilot Credits [5] | Copilot > Cost Management > Configuration > Add spending policy > Resources [3] |
| Role | "Power Platform Administrator or Global Administrator role, or an equivalent role that can manage licensing and capacity" [5] | Global or Billing Administrator to create [8]. "an existing Power Platform role does not itself become a Microsoft 365 role" [3]. MC1530368 (29 October) says the move is for "AI administrators and global administrators who manage costs" [4]. The setup page, a day newer, says AI Administrators "can't create spending policies" [8]. We follow the setup page |
| Environment | Enter credits, then choose Capacity overages [5] | Monthly limit on the policy. Replaces allocation and billing plan for that environment [3] |
| Agent | Manage Agents > Set limit, threshold, Stop usage [5] | "a policy could have a 10,000-credit limit and a 1,000-credit per-agent limit" [3] |
| Apps and workflows | "An agent's monthly limit doesn't stop the agent flows that the agent calls." [6] | Cover them at environment level: "you can't select an individual app or workflow" [3]. AI Builder is the exception: these policies "don't apply to AI Builder features or the credits they consume", and Microsoft says "Don't move resources, agents, workflows or environments that use AI Builder to these policies." [3] |
| Takes effect | Allocation delay Not published. "Limits aren't applied instantly." [6] | "allow up to 12 minutes for the new policy to apply." [3] |
| Are the credits guaranteed? | Our reading In effect yes, while the total allocated stays within what you bought, because allocated credits come out of the pool other services see [8]. Microsoft doesn't call this a guarantee, and it tells you to check the total yourself [36] | Our reading No. A policy is a limit, so credits must be available from its billing method |
Steps for an environment
- Go to Licensing > Copilot Studio > Manage Copilot Credits, or Summary > Prepaid capacity > Manage Capacity [5, 6].
- Select the environment and enter the credits [5].
- Under Capacity overages, clear the tick on "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant" if the allocation should be the maximum [5].
- Decide on "Bill to my pay-as-you-go billing plan". It needs a linked plan [6].
- Save [5].
"An allocation isn't a boundary if the environment can continue drawing from tenant capacity or pay-as-you-go billing." [5] For environments with no allocation configuration, the draw option "is selected by default" [6], and "New environments can appear with tenant-capacity draw turned on" [7]. The same capacity page also says "You must assign these credits to an environment" [6]. We follow the default, since that's what decides whether an unconfigured environment can spend. Turn off spending in the Power Platform admin centre shows how to fix this.
- "Allowing environment administrators to manage allocations doesn't restrict them to the environments they administer. It gives them allocation control across every environment in the tenant." [7]
- The group rule "Cost controls - Draw from tenant credit pool" makes the environment setting read-only [5].
- Copilot Chat agents need their own step: the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat environment must receive an allocation for pack credits to reach them [22, 36]. The capacity packs page calls it the Microsoft Copilot Chat environment.
- Allocated credits that go unused are lost at month end, since "unused capacity doesn't carry over to the next month" [23].
- For scale, use the Power Platform API. See Turn off spending in the Power Platform admin centre.
Agent limits
A limit alone doesn't stop an agent. Turn on Stop usage: "Turn on Stop usage if the agent should be turned off when it reaches the limit." [5] Microsoft describes the result as: "Hard stop: The agent is automatically turned off once it hits the defined limit." [6] In a prepaid environment "The agent must stay within the allocated pool." With pay-as-you-go, "You can set any limit, and usage is billed accordingly." [6] There is no default to rely on: "Power Platform admin center doesn't provide a tenant-wide default agent limit." [7] Agent limits also don't limit the environment's total: "Agent limits don't cap aggregate environment consumption." [7]
Spending policies
On the Copilot side, a spending policy gives access and sets the budget in one place. "A spending policy is an access control, not only a budget. Any user in the scope of a spending policy that selects Cowork can use Cowork, regardless of how small the credit limit is." [9] For enterprise customers, services "stay off until an admin creates a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and nothing is billed before that." [2] Copilot Business is the exception for new purchases, seats added in the Partner Center portal and trial conversions: see what happens to existing licences and the Copilot Business default from 1 December.
| Setting | Default | Microsoft's words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | "All users" on a new policy [1] | "you can only support specific users and resource accounts through security groups." [1] | Build a security group first |
| Policy limit | Which option is preselected: Not published | "Limit monthly spending" or "Don't limit monthly spending" on the default policy [8]. "Limited monthly budget" or "Unlimited monthly budget" on others [1] | Each extra policy "has its own independent limit and doesn't inherit the tenant-level limit" [8]. A maximum across all policies: Not published |
| Per-user limit | Optional | "Although this selection is optional, review and set this option for your organization to prevent runaway spending of Copilot Credits by one individual user." [8] | Needed before user alerts appear [8] |
| Minimums | Partner default of 4,000 is a separate figure [15] | "Set at least 2,000 credits per user per month". Policy limit "at or above the required minimum for eligible users covered by the policy" [1] | Policy minimum formula: Not published. "recommendations and policy requirements may evolve" [1] |
| Policy alerts | Your email prefilled. Threshold default: Not published | "You can set the threshold as a credit amount or a percentage." Emails "continue daily until the monthly usage period resets or you adjust the spending policy." [8] | Alerts are "notify-only" [101] |
| User alerts | Off until a per-user limit exists [8] | "Specify the threshold percentage at which users receive an email." [1] | Separate from admin alerts [1] |
| Auto-apply new services | On [8] | "newly supported Microsoft Copilot services and agents are automatically added to the policy." [1] | "Existing cost management policies may automatically include newly available services." [28] |
| Billing method | Preconfigured. Packs if detected [8] | "This feature enables you to do departmental billing and vary billing methods for each group, department, or set of users." [1] | Editable without recreating the policy [8] |
| Takes effect | n/a | "starts applying to scoped users immediately." [1] | For identity-based policies. Resource policies take up to 12 minutes [3] |
| Who | n/a | AI and License Administrators "can't create spending policies." [8] | Global or Billing to create. AI Administrator to edit. License Administrator is listed both as able to edit and as read-only on the same page [8], so test it before relying on it. |
Sources conflict on the minimum. The management page (30 October 2026, newer) sets 2,000 per user [1]. The Cowork access page (updated 21 October 2026) still says "A policy with a limit of one credit still grants access." [9] We follow 2,000 for the portal. Either way, the older page's point still applies: a small limit doesn't block anyone. "To keep a user out of Cowork, don't include them in any spending policy that selects Cowork." [9]
Which policy wins
Between identity-based policies, the system picks one by "Highest per-user limit", then "the largest overall policy limit", then "the most recently created policy" [1]. "If a policy doesn't have a per-user limit set, the system uses its overall policy limit as the per-user value for this comparison." [1] Our reading So a broad policy with no per-user limit usually beats a tight pilot policy for anyone in both. Keep pilot users out of wider policies that select the same service. "The chosen policy applies in full and settings from other policies aren't combined." [1] When a user reaches the limit, "they can request more credits but they don't default to other policies." [1]
Across the two systems, Microsoft lists "Microsoft 365 admin center before Power Platform admin center." and "Resource-based policy before identity-based policy." [3] If an agent hits a resource policy's limit, "usage does not fall back to the user's identity-based policy." [3] Partner Center's page describes the same outcome for users, "the least-restrictive policy wins" [16], though that page covers unreleased features.
- "Moving a user between groups or spending policies doesn't reset the user's consumption." [1]
- Limits are delayed: "Credit limits are a spending safeguard, not a real-time access gate." [9]
- A running task can finish over the limit. "The excess usage doesn't count toward the policy limit, isn't billed (at Microsoft's sole discretion)" [20].
When limits reset
Spending policy limits run on a calendar month in UTC. "A period is a UTC calendar month: consumption is counted month-to-date and resets at 00:00 UTC on the first of each month." [64] Nothing carries over: "Credits reset monthly and do not carry over." [30]
Our reading The reset happens during the Australian working day on the 1st. Until mid-morning, spending still counts against the old limit.
| Zone | Daylight saving (first Sunday in October to first Sunday in April) | Standard time |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart | 11:00 | 10:00 |
| Adelaide | 10:30 | 09:30 |
| Brisbane | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Darwin | 09:30 | 09:30 |
| Perth | 08:00 | 08:00 |
Pack credits reset on a separate schedule. The Copilot Studio FAQ (19 October 2026, newer) says usage "resets on the first day of the month" and "isn't based on the license acquisition date" [23]. The capacity packs page (29 April 2026) says "At the start of every monthly billing period" [36]. We follow the FAQ. The time of day for packs is Not published.
What your people see
- No policy: the Cowork, Code and Autopilot entry points stay visible to Copilot licence holders, and "they will see an in-product message after clicking on the entry points to request access or learn more." [28]
- Who can ask is set at Copilot > Settings > All Settings > Access to usage-based billing experiences. The default is "All users" and changes "might take up to 24 hours to apply." [41]
- Near the limit: an email at your threshold, if you set a per-user limit [1].
- At the limit: "they lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month until credits reset on the first of the month." [1] They can request more [1].
- Any time in Cowork: "/cost" shows approximate usage and what remains. It's free [30]. "Your usage could show credits remaining, but if the group has reached its overall limit, those credits might not be available." [30]
Turning on Cowork and Code
Both run on a spending policy that selects the service. Microsoft has no single numbered enablement page, so Our reading we built the order below from the pages cited on each step. For what Cowork does and where it fits, see the site's Cowork page.
Copilot Cowork General availability
Prerequisites as Microsoft lists them: "Microsoft Copilot USL"; "Cowork enabled in the Microsoft Copilot environment"; "Copilot Credits usage-based billing enabled"; "Anthropic enabled in the tenant" [17 p9].
| Step | Action | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check licences | "Cowork (Copilot license required)" [13] |
| 2 | Decide the funding | Pack, plan or pay-as-you-go. If you hold an Azure commitment, pick a subscription under that billing account [65] |
| 3 | Create a security group | Your first users. The default targets everyone [8] |
| 4 | Open setup | As Global or Billing Administrator: Copilot > Cost Management > Get Started. The panel is "Activate the default spending policy for your organization" [8] |
| 5 | Billing method | "Select the default subscription for your organization." [8] Packs are set as default if detected [8] |
| 6 | Policy limit | Choose "Limit monthly spending" to keep a maximum [8] |
| 7 | User limit | At least 2,000 if you set one [1] |
| 8 | Alerts | Recipients, threshold and user notifications [8] |
| 9 | Auto-apply new services | "This setting is turned on by default." Turn it off for a controlled start [8, 1] |
| 10 | Scope, before Activate | The step that matters "The default setup targets your entire organization and all users." Use "Customize setup configuration" to pick groups and services "before selecting Activate" [8] |
| 11 | Activate | Then "Manage Configuration" [8] |
| 12 | Check every policy | Copilot > Cost Management > Configuration. Anyone in any policy selecting Cowork has access [9] |
| 13 | Set who can request | Copilot > Settings > All Settings > Access to usage-based billing experiences. Global Administrator [41] |
| 14 | Test | "Test the experience with a user or group that is in scope." [41] |
| 15 | Review | The test user runs "/cost". Admins read the Consumption tab, which "refreshes every 2 hours" [30, 20] |
Old routes no longer work. Any configuration on the Cowork agent entry "has no effect on who can use Cowork." [67] And "The AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing setting is deprecated." [112] Some pages still mention that setting, including the partner guidance [65].
Microsoft's sources differ on Anthropic. The Credits Guide (November 2026, newer) lists "Anthropic enabled in the tenant" as a prerequisite [17 p9]. The Cowork admin page (updated 27 October 2026) says "When the Anthropic family is off, users with Cowork access keep working with the non-Anthropic models your organization allows" [67]. Our reading Cowork can run without Anthropic models, but Microsoft warns "Some features are only available when Anthropic models are enabled." [55]
"Microsoft enables Anthropic models on by default for most customers in commercial cloud (excluding EU/EFTA and UK)." [55] Our reading Australian commercial tenants are therefore on by default. Those models are "currently excluded from the EU Data Boundary, and when applicable, in-country processing commitments." [55] Review that before you activate if in-country processing matters to you.
Copilot Code Frontier
"This is a preview feature provided under Microsoft Product Terms." You "need to be part of the Frontier preview program" [68]. Prerequisites: "Microsoft Copilot USL" and "Copilot Credits usage-based billing enabled" [17 p13].
| Step | Action | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Join Frontier | Enrolment path isn't on the Code admin or requirements pages Not published |
| 2 | Check licences | "A Microsoft Copilot license, and the Code tab in Microsoft Copilot enabled by your organization." [136] |
| 3 | Activate cost management | Cowork steps 4 to 11, if not already done |
| 4 | Select Code in a policy | Admins "can configure the spending policy to set per-user spend limits and manage who has access to Copilot Code." [68] Our reading Check existing policies first, since Auto-apply may already have added it [1] |
| 5 | Review feature controls | Defaults: Pre-install components Off, Auto-approve On, execution location "On (cloud only)", GitHub connection Off, Organizational Data "On for cloud; Off for local" [68]. Admin path: Not published |
| 6 | Check clients | Copilot desktop app on Windows and Mac, and the web [136] |
| 7 | Watch consumption | "users can see their consumption against that entitlement." [68] A "/cost" equivalent: Not published |
The Code admin page says usage "counts against your Microsoft Copilot entitlement" [68]. The Credits Guide requires "Copilot Credits usage-based billing enabled" [17 p13] and the overview lists Code as a usage-based service [13]. We treat Code as metered in Copilot Credits. Whether local execution uses credits is Not published.
Estimating usage
Microsoft offers two estimators. Use them for a first number, then replace that number with your own consumption data. "These estimators provide informational estimates and do not guarantee final costs." [17 p6]
| Estimator | Microsoft says it's for | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Credit Estimator | "Copilot Cowork and GitHub Copilot harness in Microsoft Copilot Studio" [17 p6], plus managed runtime across an app estate [17 p25] | aka.ms/CopilotCreditPlanningModel |
| Copilot Credit Estimator for agents | "Copilot Studio agents, Dynamics 365 agents, Microsoft 365 agents, and other supported agent experiences" [17 p6] | Estimator for agents |
The first link is Microsoft's own short address, used on Learn and in Message center posts [13, 4]. On 31 October 2026 it redirected to an Azure-hosted address containing "ppe" in its name, and the Credits Guide links to a similar one [17 p6]. Microsoft doesn't describe either host and doesn't publish a separate production address. We link the short address, and suggest you use it instead of saving the host name.
- Microsoft's Cowork method is users by persona, prompts per persona, an average price per prompt, then monthly spend [17 p8]. The published bands are in Microsoft's planning ranges.
- "To account for variance, always add a 10-20% buffer above estimates." [97]
- The agents estimator is for planning and isn't for "Create definite pricing quotes or contractual commitments." [97] The Copilot Studio Licensing Guide calls it "not a binding offer nor a guarantee of the final cost or availability of the product." [25 p12]
- "Estimates are directional and depend on the assumptions you enter, so validate them against your own consumption data once the agent runs." [7]
- Estimator support for Copilot Code is Not published. Cowork also can't show the cost before you start: "Can I check the cost before running a task? No." [30]
Australian pricing
The site's buying calculator works in Australian dollars, with prices correct as at 11 August 2026. Its capacity pack price is AU$299.30 a month. Microsoft's own Australian page showed the same figure when we read it on 31 October 2026: "priced at AU$299.30/pack/month" for "25,000 Copilot Credits each" [31].
| Item | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity pack, per month | AU$299.30 | Microsoft's en-au page [31] |
| Capacity pack, 12 months | AU$3,591.60 | Our reading 299.30 x 12 |
| Per credit, if every pack credit is used | about AU$0.012 | Our reading 299.30 / 25,000 |
| Pay-as-you-go | Not published | No AUD figure on the en-au page [31] |
| Pre-Purchase Plan tiers | Not published | "Save up to 20% with up-front purchase of Copilot Credit Commit Units." is the only pricing line [31] |
GST is extra. "Prices shown here and on following pages do not include GST. The "Payment and Billing" page will show amounts payable including GST (if applicable) before you purchase." [31]
Pre-Purchase Plans are "bought at discounted tiers in your purchasing currency" and "pay down qualifying costs in US dollars (USD)" [38]. Our reading The credits an Australian dollar buys depend on the exchange rate at purchase. Microsoft's rate for Copilot Credits is Not published. The ratio between AU$299.30 and $200 is 1.4965, and the calculator uses it for pay-as-you-go. Microsoft doesn't state it as a rate, so treat that output as an estimate.
The Copilot Business default-on change (what changes on 1 December) "will initially not be available in Australia" [15]. Note the word "initially". The date for Australia is Not published. Whether the test is the customer's country or the partner's is Not published.
Cost Management and the agent registry "will display cost information in the organization's local currency for supported AI services and agents built on Microsoft platforms." [4] That's a display change that arrives with the Copilot Studio move, due by 20 November 2026. Check whether the figures convert the same way as your invoice.
Turning spending back on, one step at a time
Our reading Microsoft publishes no order for turning spending back on. Each step below is documented, but the two tracks and their order are ours. Run whichever track your strategy needs. The Copilot track needs no packs. This Copilot Studio track uses packs, because only packs can be allocated [5]. An allocation with the draw setting off is also the only fixed limit in the Power Platform admin centre that needs no Azure billing. Without packs, Copilot Studio can run on a billing plan with an agent limit and Stop usage [6, 5]. In the Power Platform admin centre that environment has no credit limit of its own. A resource-based spending policy can add one [3], due at general availability by 20 November 2026 [4], but not for environments that use AI Builder. If you buy packs on either track, turn off the draw setting before you buy. Both tracks assume you've already used Turn off spending. Microsoft does support starting small: "Start with Specific environments to gradually transition spending management to the Microsoft 365 admin center." [3]
Allow for reporting delays before you judge a change. The Cost Management Overview "refreshes every 4 hours" and Consumption "refreshes every 2 hours" [20]. Power Platform data "is aggregated daily" [23]. "usage can take up to 24 hours to appear in Azure Cost Management." [21] Our reading Three things can spoil a staged return. A limit raised on the 30th has only a day to run, and a test across the 1st restarts at 00:00 UTC. Allocating to environments first reduces what spending policies can take from packs, so check Copilot > Cost Management after step 2. Each policy with Auto-apply on adds new services by itself, which turns a one-service test into something wider. Give people a way to ask for more as you go. Microsoft's advice: "Pair restrictive limits with a documented request path so that makers know how to request extra capacity" [5]. Environment settings should change as work matures: "Exploration and prototyping environments need a deliberate boundary, test and validation environments need time-bound controls, and funded production environments need an accountable owner and intentional funding." [7]Copilot track, no packs needed
Order Step Where Delay Undo 1 Fund the tenant with pay-as-you-go or a plan Microsoft 365 admin centre or Azure A plan shows "a notification" when processed [8] Plan: "All purchases are final." [38] Pay-as-you-go: nothing is prepaid 6 One policy, one security group, one service, Auto-apply off, per-user limit, alerts. If no policy exists yet, this is the default policy: use "Customize setup configuration" to narrow it "before selecting Activate", because it otherwise targets all users [8, 1]. See Cowork steps 4 to 11 Microsoft 365 admin centre "immediately" [1] Remove the group or delete the policy [1] 7 Decide who can request access: all users, specific users and groups, or none Microsoft 365 admin centre "up to 24 hours" [41] Change the setting 8 Widen the group, add a service, then raise limits, one change per review Microsoft 365 admin centre As for step 6 Edit the policy. AI Administrators can do this. License Administrator is unclear, see Spending policies [8] Copilot Studio track, with packs
Order Step Where Delay Undo First Clear the tick on "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant" on every environment: checks 5, 6 and 12 [5] Power Platform admin centre Not published Reselect it on that environment 1 Buy a capacity pack Microsoft 365 admin centre [36] Not published Pack: seven days on a Microsoft Customer Agreement account [135] 2 One Copilot Studio environment: "Allocate a defined amount of prepaid capacity, turn off Draw from the available capacity in my tenant, and don't connect the environment to pay-as-you-go billing." [7] Power Platform admin centre Not published Edit the allocation 3 Agent limit with Stop usage Power Platform admin centre "Limits aren't applied instantly." [6] Edit the limit 4 Add pay-as-you-go to that environment only, if it needs to keep running Power Platform admin centre Not published Unlink: "no further usage is charged" [22] 5 Optional: a resource-based spending policy on one environment General availability by 20 Nov 2026 [4]. Skip this for any environment that uses AI Builder prompts [3] Microsoft 365 admin centre "up to 12 minutes" [3] Remove it and the previous policy "resumes for that environment automatically" [3]
What's changing
Everything Microsoft has dated from 1 November 2026, as known on 31 October, then the items announced with no date.
- 1 Nov 2026AI Builder capacity add-ons reach end of life [137]
- 12 Nov 2026Copilot Studio models retire and agents migrate [87]
- Mid-Nov 2026Reported Default-on for direct Copilot Business purchases, Business Premium tenants only [18]
- 15 Nov 2026No new unmanaged developer environments or Dataverse for Teams environments [50, 81]
- By 20 Nov 2026Copilot Studio cost controls reach general availability [4]
- 1 Dec 2026Default-on for new Copilot Business through a partner. Not in Australia at first [15]
- 15 Dec 2026Existing unmanaged developer environments are suspended [89]
- 31 Dec 2026E7 Buy 5 Get 5 offer and Copilot Business promotions end [15]
- 15 Jan 2027Unmanaged developer environments are deleted [89]
- February 2027A licence is strictly required to open an app in a managed environment [88]
- 15 Sep 2027Dataverse for Teams environments not upgraded are suspended [81]
November 2026
- 1 Nov 2026 Power Platform admin centre AI Builder capacity add-ons "reach end of life" and new or renewed licences lose seeded credits. Existing credits don't stop: "November 1, 2026, is not a universal cutoff for existing credits." There's no conversion to Copilot Credits. [137]
- 1 Nov 2026 Microsoft 365 admin centre Preview PowerShell opt-outs for Copilot in SharePoint end: "Existing settings are honored until November 1, 2026." [54] Check anything relying on them.
- 1 Nov 2026 Partner Center New Copilot product and SKU IDs shared "ahead of the price list preview on November 1, 2026." [15]
- 2 Nov 2026 Partner Center Sandbox environments for default-on. [15] The old 2 November date now applies only to this.
- Early to mid-Nov 2026 Microsoft 365 admin centre Usage-based models reach Chat, Word, Excel and PowerPoint through the model selector: "GPT-6 Astra and Claude Fable 5.1 will be generally available as UBB models with this rollout. Previously communicated eligibility requirements for these models apply." [42]
- 12 Nov 2026 Power Platform admin centre Copilot Studio models retire and "agents will automatically migrate to a replacement model." On the standard harness, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 Mini, GPT-5 Chat, GPT-5 Auto and GPT-5 Reasoning go to GPT Chat Latest. Exception: "For environments outside the U.S. where cross-geo data movement is restricted, GPT-4.1 and GPT-5 will remain supported and will not retire as part of this migration." [87] Our reading An Australian environment with cross-geo data movement restricted keeps GPT-4.1 and GPT-5 Chat. On the GitHub Copilot harness, GPT-5 Chat goes to "GPT 5.6 Terra", "GPT 5.6 Sol" to "GPT 6 Sol", and "GPT 5.6 Luna" to "GPT 6 Luna". [87] Credit effect: Not published
- Mid-Nov 2026Reported, third-party repost only Microsoft 365 admin centre Reported: default-on for new Copilot Business bought directly from Microsoft, for tenants with Microsoft 365 Business Premium only. This rests on third-party reposts of a Message center post. [18]
- Mid-Nov 2026 Microsoft 365 admin centre Office in Copilot rollout begins. [138] Capabilities reached through Chat are included, and those reached through Cowork use usage-based billing. [28]
- 15 Nov 2026 Power Platform admin centre "users can't create new unmanaged developer environments". [50] New Dataverse for Teams environments also stop. [81] That second date affects the Teams route that doesn't use credits: see exceptions.
- November 2026 Microsoft 365 admin centre Frontier extends to public previews in Teams, new Outlook for Windows, OneDrive and SharePoint. [139] Deferred customers get the discovery setting change. [28]
- By 20 Nov 2026 Microsoft 365 admin centre Copilot Studio cost controls reach general availability. [4] See One control plane.
December 2026
- 1 Dec 2026 Partner Center Usage-based billing on by default for new Copilot Business through Cloud Solution Provider, in supported markets. Not in Australia at first. [15] What changes.
- 1 Dec 2026 Partner Center New Copilot offers with no base subscription requirement, "priced the same as the current offers", replace the add-on offers for new purchases. Add-ons reach end of sale in Cloud Solution Provider, and "End of sale isn't end of life". [15]
- 15 Dec 2026 Power Platform admin centre Existing unmanaged developer environments are suspended. [89] "To keep an existing developer environment, enable Managed Environments on it before December 15, 2026." [132]
- 31 Dec 2026 Partner Center The Microsoft 365 E7 and capacity pack Buy 5 Get 5 offer and the Copilot Business promotions end. [15]
January 2027
February 2027
- February 2027 Power Platform admin centre "Starting February 2027, an appropriate license is strictly required for a user to open an app in a managed environment." [88]
April 2027
- April CY2027 Microsoft 365 admin centre A report for billed messages on Copilot Chat pay-as-you-go, listed as In development. [29]
September 2027
- 15 Sep 2027 Power Platform admin centre Dataverse for Teams environments that haven't been upgraded are suspended, then decommissioned on 30 October 2027. [81]
Announced with no date
| Item | What Microsoft has said | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Usage limits in the Copilot licence | "Reach usage limits in the USL (coming soon)" [11] No values, unit or reset period. | Not published |
| Autopilot | "We will update this message with rollout timing and admin control details when available." [28] | Not published |
| Default-on for Australia and other excluded markets | "We'll share additional information as availability expands to these markets." [15] | Not published |
| Default-on for direct buyers without Business Premium | Reported as "at a later date". [18] | Not published |
| User requests for credits on usage-based models | "After the initial rollout" [42] | Not published |
| End of the opt-in period for Copilot Studio | The phrase "opt-in period" implies an end, with none stated. [3] | Not published |
| General availability of the FinOps features in preview | "All FinOps capabilities listed above are available in preview in September 2026." [113] | Not published |
| Graph APIs for cost management | On the beta endpoint, with "detailed consumption reporting" excluded. [140] | Not published |
| General availability of Code | Frontier preview. [59] | Not published |
Rates and rules
Look up what bills, what people see, what Microsoft doesn't say, every claim we tested and every source.
The per-user licence
Names on the screen and names on the invoice
Microsoft renamed the product in August 2026 [17 p30, 25 p22]. The price list still carries the old name with an "(add-on)" suffix [15, 12]. In this guide "Copilot licence" means the paid per-user licence. Microsoft's own shorthand is "Microsoft Copilot USL" [17 p9], where USL stands for user subscription license.
| Name you will see | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| "Microsoft Copilot" | Product name, Credits Guide, Learn page titles | The product. Replaced "Microsoft 365 Copilot" [17 p30, 25 p22] |
| copilot.cloud.microsoft | App address | "The primary URL for accessing the updated Copilot app is changing to copilot.cloud.microsoft." [91] |
| "Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on)" | Price pages, Partner Center | The enterprise offer. The suffix has applied since 16 October 2026 to offers that "require a qualifying Microsoft 365 base subscription" [15, 12] |
| "Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on)" | Price pages, Partner Center | Offer for "organizations with up to 300 users" on eligible Business plans [15, 141] |
| "Microsoft Copilot Chat" | Learn pages | The no-extra-cost chat, previously Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat [91] |
| "Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium)" or "(Pro)" | In-product label | "indicates that a user has a Microsoft Copilot add-on license" [142] |
| "Copilot Chat (Basic)" and "Microsoft 365 Copilot (Basic)" | In-product labels | Neither is a purchased Copilot licence. The second "refers to users without the Copilot add-on license, but who still have standard access to Copilot capabilities inside apps" [91] |
| "Autopilot" | Blog, pricing pages | "Autopilot, previously called Scout" [143] |
Copilot is also sold inside Microsoft 365 E7, which "brings together Microsoft 365 E5, Copilot, Entra Suite, and Agent 365" [15], and in the "with Copilot" Business suites [14].
What the licence includes
- "Copilot Chat in Microsoft 365" and Copilot across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Teams [17 p27].
- "Microsoft built agents and experiences such as Researcher, Analyst, and Facilitator", subject to the published limits [17 p27].
- Work IQ grounding, with "no incremental charges for Work IQ accessed in Microsoft Copilot experiences" [17 p14].
- Model selection, with limits described under the model picker [11, 2].
- Priority access: "faster response times and more consistent availability even during peak usage periods" [91].
- Standard harness agents in Microsoft channels, subject to fair usage limits [17 p18]. Conditions are in when a Copilot licence removes the charge.
"Power Platform licenses aren't included with Microsoft 365 Copilot." [144]
Our reading A Copilot licence carries no credits. No Microsoft page we read gives a seat a monthly credit allowance [2, 11, 17]. The 4,000 figure people quote is a spending maximum on a metered charge, "with UBB charges based on actual usage" [15]. Microsoft's listed parts of E7 contain no credit pool either [15].
Services that run on Copilot Credits sit above the licence. Microsoft says "some capabilities will start on UBB and move into the USL as the economics allow", where UBB is usage-based billing [2]. The full list is under everything that runs on credits.
Licence versus free Copilot Chat
Copilot Chat is "available at no additional cost for all Microsoft Entra account users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription" [12]. The grid below is Microsoft's enterprise pricing page, row for row. "Not listed" means the cell is blank on that page. "Metered" is Microsoft's word.
| Capability | Copilot Chat | Copilot licence |
|---|---|---|
| Web data, referenced files, uploaded files | Included | Included |
| Copilot connectors for external data sources | Metered | Included |
| Work IQ | Not listed | Included |
| "Latest OpenAI models: GPT-5X" | Standard | Priority |
| Model choice | Not listed | Included |
| Chat | Included | Included |
| Copilot Cowork | Not listed | Metered |
| Search | Limited capabilities | Included |
| Notebooks | Limited capabilities | Included |
| Create | Standard | Priority |
| Memory and personalization | Included | Included |
| Voice on mobile, desktop, and web | Included | Included |
| Copilot Mode in Edge | Limited capabilities | Included |
| Copilot in Outlook | Standard | Priority |
| Word, Excel, and PowerPoint agents accessed via Chat | Not listed | Included |
| Copilot in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote | Not listed | Included |
| Copilot in Teams | Not listed | Included |
| Pre-built Microsoft agents, including Researcher, Analyst, and Facilitator | Not listed | Included |
| Sales, Service, and Finance agents | Not listed | Included |
| Agent creation using Agent Builder and Copilot Studio (Copilot Chat or Standard harness) | Included | Included |
| App Builder and Workflows agents | Not listed | Included |
| Agent usage | Metered | Included |
| Enterprise Data Protection (EDP), management, compliance, and controls | Included | Included |
| Analytics to measure adoption, usage, and business impact | Limited capabilities | Included |
| SharePoint Advanced Management | Not listed | Included |
"Agent usage: Included" doesn't mean every agent is free for a licensed user. The Credits Guide limits the inclusion to the Standard harness in Microsoft channels and says "Otherwise, Copilot Credits are required." [17 p18] The explanatory popovers on the pricing page didn't load in the page text we read, so "Limited capabilities" stays undefined here.
Four more differences matter in practice:
- Limits in free Chat are getting tighter: "We are expanding this approach to additional Copilot Chat features and capabilities, starting with turn-based limits in Chat." [93] Turn counts, reset period and start date: Not published.
- Standard access "is subject to service capacity and might vary throughout the day" [91].
- Outlook has organisational grounding without a licence: "Copilot Chat in Outlook provides additional organizational grounding for eligible users" [142].
- Agents for Chat users: agents "grounded in instructions and public websites are included with Copilot Chat. Access to custom or other agents is pay-as-you-go only." [91] "Agents utilizing metered consumption are off by default." [92] That pay-as-you-go service is managed separately from Cost Management [13].
Published list prices
Microsoft says these are "for marketing purposes only and may not reflect the actual list price due to currency, country, and regional variant factors" [12]. We read no Australian dollar price on these pages.
| Offer | Paid yearly | Pay monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on) | $30.00 [12] | Not in the page text we read |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on) | "$21.00" struck through, "$18.00" now [14] | $25.20 [14] |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot | $32.00 [14] | $38.40 [14] |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot | $23.50 [14] | $28.20 [14] |
The $18 price "is available between July 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026" and "applies to the first year only" [14]. We didn't capture a Microsoft 365 E7 price from the pages read, so none appears here. Buying routes are in Every way to buy, and the site's three ways to buy page covers credits.
Licensing changes in November and December 2026
- Mid-Nov 2026 Reported: usage-based billing on by default for new Copilot Business bought directly from Microsoft, for tenants with Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Other tenants "will follow at a later date" [18].
- 1 Dec 2026 New Copilot offers "can be purchased without a qualifying Microsoft 365 base subscription", "priced the same as the current offers" [15]. Add-on offers reach end of sale in the Cloud Solution Provider channel (CSP), and "End of sale isn't end of life" [15]. Existing subscriptions need no action [15]. New offer names and SKU IDs: Not published.
- 1 Dec 2026 "usage-based billing will be enabled by default for new Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licenses purchased in Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)", with a default limit of "4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month" [15]. Enterprise offers aren't in scope [16]. Our reading: at $0.01 a credit that's up to $40 a user a month, about twice the licence fee.
Removing the base requirement doesn't remove the dependency: "Copilot experiences continue to depend on the Microsoft 365 apps and services a customer is licensed for" [15].
The December default-on rule "will initially not be available in Australia", among eleven markets [15]. No date for Australia is published. The reported mid-November change in message MC1476200 appears to carry the same market list [18]. We read that text on third-party reposts only, so check your own Message center. Details are in The Copilot Business default from 1 December.
Everything that runs on Copilot Credits
Cowork, Code, Autopilot, frontier models, big SharePoint jobs, the Work IQ API, app hosting and Teams Phone Agent all bill credits [13, 28, 42]. Everyday chat and Office help don't [17 p27].
Copilot Credits are "pooled at the tenant level" and priced at "$0.01/Copilot Credit" on pay-as-you-go [17 p4]. Prepaid sources are used first [1]. People use credits in two ways: "When using a frontier model or advanced AI" and "When they hit a limit" [113]. The second is coming soon: see the model picker.
In enterprise tenants, "UBB services stay off until an admin creates a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and nothing is billed before that." [2] Seeing an entry point doesn't mean it's on: the entry points are "visible by default", and users without a policy get a message to "request access or learn more" [28]. Copilot Business is an exception. It's on by default from 1 December 2026 for purchases through a Cloud Solution Provider [15]. It's reported to be on from mid-November 2026 for direct purchases by tenants with Microsoft 365 Business Premium [18]. Separately, a spending policy doesn't govern Copilot Studio in the Power Platform admin centre, or Copilot Chat pay-as-you-go agents on a billing policy [13]. Those can spend without one. See the licence section.
Status is as at 31 October 2026. For preview items, Microsoft can change pricing "at any time in its discretion prior to GA without prior notice" [25 p8]. The list is open: "Microsoft will add more agents and services over time" [13].
| Service | Status | Copilot licence needed? | Other prerequisites | How it is measured | Where it's controlled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Cowork | General availability reached 16 Jun 2026 [145]. Apps in Cowork Frontier [17 p8] | Yes [13] | Spending policy selecting Cowork. Credits Guide also lists "Anthropic enabled in the tenant" [17 p9], which Learn contradicts, see gaps | Variable, by models, context, tools and runtime [17 p7]. "Usage isn't a fixed amount per request" [21] | Microsoft 365 admin centre spending policy, per user and group [9] |
| Copilot Code | Frontier preview [68, 17 p11]. Rolling out from late October [59] | Yes [13, 17 p13] | "Copilot Credits usage-based billing enabled" [17 p13]; Code tab enabled [136] | Variable, consumed "as users create, refine, and publish solutions" [17 p11] | Microsoft 365 admin centre spending policy, per user [68] |
| Copilot Autopilot | Private preview from end of September [143]. Admin controls Not published [28] | Yes [28] | A spending policy [28]. Anything further: Not published | "Usage-based" [14]. Rate Not published | Not published. Not in the list of services [13] |
| Frontier models (GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1) | In Cowork and Copilot Studio since September. General availability rollout in Chat and Office apps Early to mid Nov 2026 [42] | Yes in Chat and Office [42] | Usage-based billing enabled; "Previously communicated eligibility requirements" apply [42]; Anthropic setting for Fable [55] | Credit rate Not published | Microsoft 365 admin centre policy, by "usage-based billing and credit allocation" [42]. No separate service row [13] |
| Advanced work in SharePoint and in OneDrive | General availability rolling out from 30 Sep 2026 [146] | Yes [13] | Policy selecting the service. Real-time Autofill across a site also needs "usage-based billing" enabled "for the SharePoint site" [17 p11] | Variable. Task bands have no credit figure [17 p10] | Microsoft 365 admin centre spending policy, per user [54] |
| Work IQ API | General availability reached 16 Jun 2026 [147] | No Copilot licence mark [13]. "not included as entitlements in the Microsoft Copilot license" [17 p14] | "Enable Work IQ for the tenant"; usage-based billing enabled [17 p15] | Tools API "0.1 Copilot Credits per API call"; Chat or Context API variable [17 p14] | Microsoft 365 admin centre spending policy [13] |
| Copilot Managed Runtime | Preview [17 p24, 148] | No [24] | "A Power Apps Premium license or Copilot Credits" to run [24] | "0.1 Copilot Credits per API call" [17 p24] | Run: Microsoft 365 admin centre, per user. Build: where the app is built [24, 13] |
| Teams Phone Agent | General availability reached 30 Sep 2026 [37]. Custom voice agents Frontier [98] | No [13, 17 p24] | Teams Phone, resource account licence, Teams admin centre configuration, usage-based billing [17 p24] | Varies with "call duration and the capabilities invoked during a call" [98] | Microsoft 365 admin centre policy through security groups [1, 37] |
| Contact Center Intelligence | Preview from 21 Oct 2026 [99, 15], "with the exception of Austria" [99] | Not listed | Not published. Voice channel vendor costs "are not included" [99] | Per agent bands, see ranges [17 p19] | Our reading: Copilot Studio side. "Microsoft Copilot Studio management capabilities" set limits "for individual agents" [17 p21] |
| Business Application tools and MCP | Preview [17 p25] | Not listed | "Appropriate Dynamics 365 or Power Platform licenses" [17 p26] | Tools "0.1 Copilot Credits per API call"; Chat or Context variable, "in all integration surfaces" [17 p26] | Not published as a separate service. "Consumption follows Work IQ APIs" [17 p26] |
| Dynamics 365 agents | Agent by agent | Not listed | Dynamics 365 licences | Per-feature rates. Credits consumed "in both prebuilt and custom Dynamics 365 agents" [17 p26] | Power Platform admin centre, credits "allocated to environments" [17 p26, 25 p13] |
| AI in Power Apps and Power Automate | When AI is invoked | Not listed | Power Platform licences | "only when AI or agentic functionality is invoked" [17 p27] | Power Platform admin centre [25 p13] |
| Copilot Studio agents | By harness, see Copilot Studio | Depends on harness | See harnesses | See rates | Power Platform admin centre, or Microsoft 365 admin centre by resource-based policy once it covers the scope, general availability "by November 20, 2026" [4, 3]. Not for anything using AI Builder: these policies "don't apply to AI Builder features or the credits they consume", and Microsoft says "Don't move resources, agents, workflows or environments that use AI Builder to these policies." [3] |
| Overflow past a licence limit | Coming soon [11] | Yes | A spending policy [11] | Rate Not published | Not published |
Rules that apply across the table
- "The Auto-apply new services setting is enabled by default for spending policies." [13] So a Cowork policy can pick up newly released services: users under that setting "automatically receive access to Code through that spending policy" [59].
- Credit use in Azure is labelled as Copilot Studio: "billed through a single common Copilot Credits service that is labeled as Microsoft Copilot Studio" [21]. Split by Azure subscription or resource group [21].
The control steps are in Turn off spending in the Microsoft 365 admin centre. The site's currency of AI page gives the wider picture.
Copilot Cowork
Billing began on 16 June 2026 [145]. "Activities such as model responses, tool and skill calls, image generation, and browser tasks count toward your organization's consumption." [67] Reasoning effort changes the bill: "Higher reasoning effort is more thorough, but is slower and uses more credits." [69] Scheduled and event-driven tasks run "without a person present" [67]; their rate limits: Not published. See also the site's Cowork page.
Copilot Code
| Control | Default |
|---|---|
| Pre-install Copilot Code components | Off |
| Auto-approve setting | On |
| Copilot Code execution location | On (cloud only) |
| GitHub connection | Off |
| Organizational Data in Copilot Code | On for cloud, Off for local |
"Local coding sessions are disabled by default." [59] Whether local runs use fewer credits: Not published. General availability date: Not published.
Copilot Autopilot
Watch this, but there is nothing to do yet. Microsoft calls it "your digital teammate" with "its own identity, memory, computer and workspace" that "keeps working while you sleep" [143], and lists it as usage-based [14]. "Autopilot uses usage-based billing. Eligible users require a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and spending policy." [28] The Credits Guide doesn't mention it. Rate, planning range, whether it bills while idle, and general availability date: Not published. "We will update this message with rollout timing and admin control details when available." [28]
Advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive
The difference between included and metered work is scale. Microsoft doesn't say at what size work becomes metered. Task examples are in planning ranges.
| Included with the Copilot licence | Requires Copilot Credits |
|---|---|
| "Ask questions, find content, and catch up" | "Work across large or unbounded content sets, including large-scale synthesis and document review" |
| "Create HTML, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files" | "Create and edit files" |
| "Create simple rules, approvals, and deterministic workflows" | "Build multi-step, complex AI workflows, such as involving skills in scheduled AI automations" |
| "Use Autofill metadata processing" | "Use real-time Advanced Autofill (processing in near real time) and other continuous AI-driven metadata processing" |
| "Create and edit pages, libraries, or lists (SharePoint only)" | "Create and edit pages, libraries, and lists at scale (SharePoint only)" |
| "Rename and share individual files" | "Create entire sites and solutions (SharePoint only)" |
| "Create and manage skills" | "Get analytics on site and content performance across sites, pages, news and documents (SharePoint only)" |
| - | "Generate new images directly into document libraries and pages and edit existing pages" |
"Users with credits are asked to confirm", and typing /cost shows credits used and remaining [54]. Without credits, "Copilot completes what it can, then asks the user to start a new chat session." [54] Microsoft suggests content and site managers get credits and "All other SharePoint users - likely do not need credits." [54]
From 1 November 2026 the preview PowerShell opt-outs stop being honoured, and availability is managed "using Site AI settings and Restricted Content Discovery" [54]. What a tenant set to NoSites does afterwards: Not published. Check this if you relied on it to turn the feature off.
Work IQ API
"There is no separate Work IQ API subscription, SKU, or per-user license." [147] Charges "only apply to access to Work IQ using the Work IQ APIs" [17 p14]. Older APIs stay as they were: "There are no changes to the licensing for older APIs such as Retrieval API and Chat API." and "This licensing model will continue for now." [17 p15] Application-only authentication isn't supported [149].
Copilot Managed Runtime
Build and run are metered separately: "Are build costs and runtime costs billed together? No." [24]
| Activity | What is required | Credits managed in |
|---|---|---|
| Build in Cowork | "A Microsoft Copilot license and Copilot Credits billed through the maker's Cowork spending policy" | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Build in Copilot Studio | "Copilot Credits billed through existing Copilot Studio billing for the environment" | Power Platform admin centre |
| Build with the CLI | "No license is required for development activities other than running the app locally" | - |
| Run an app | "A Power Apps Premium license or Copilot Credits" | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
- Power Apps Premium users are "included, subject to existing Power Apps Premium request limits", and usage past those limits bills at the same rate [17 p24]. The limit is "40,000 requests per user per 24-hour period" [150].
- Rights included with other licences don't count: "Power Apps use rights included with Microsoft 365 or Dynamics 365 licenses don't provide access to apps hosted on Copilot Managed Runtime" [24].
- Sharing an app doesn't give a licence: "each recipient still needs a Power Apps Premium license or Copilot Credits to run it" [24].
- During preview, users without credits get a warning, then "Access is blocked after the user completes 20 app operations or uses the app for five minutes, whichever occurs first." [148]
Teams Phone Agent
This one doesn't need a Copilot licence. When credits run out, it keeps working in a limited way: "When the limit is reached, Teams Phone Agent works as an Auto Attendant until credits reset on the first day of the next month." [37] With no spending set up, the line "reverts to the auto attendant settings" [57]. The budget is shared: "Any Teams Phone Agent in the security group can consume the entire monthly budget." [37] When a call moves to a Copilot Studio custom voice agent, "Teams Phone Agent billing stops, and separate billing begins" [17 p23]. External transfers need Teams calling funding, which is separate from Copilot Credits [34].
Contact Center Intelligence, Business Application tools, Dynamics 365
Contact Center Intelligence agents "are usage-based through Copilot Credits" [99]. Some capabilities that the Quality Assurance and Service Operations bands describe are marked coming soon. Our reading: those bands price features that haven't shipped [17 p20, 99].
Business Application tools follow the Work IQ meter "in all integration surfaces whether through Work IQ APIs, MCP servers, or other supported integration surfaces" [17 p26]. Older Dynamics and Dataverse pages describe different MCP rules, shown under gaps.
Some Dynamics 365 Premium licences "include 1,000 Copilot Credits per user/month" [151 p41]. That licensing guide is the March 2026 edition, the newest we found, so confirm it before relying on it. Allocation is covered in Turn off spending in the Power Platform admin centre.
Microsoft's planning ranges
These are Microsoft's per-task planning figures. Microsoft's caption is "These figures are rough planning estimates. Actual credit consumption will vary based on workflows and usage patterns." [17 p7] They aren't prices or rate cards. For Cowork, Code and the other Copilot services here, per-model, per-token and per-step rates: Not published. Copilot Studio is different: it has a feature rate card, including 10 Copilot Credits per 1,000 tokens for premium tools and reasoning model orchestration [10]. See Copilot Studio rates.
Our reading: the dollar rows convert at the $0.01 pay-as-you-go list rate [17 p4]. Microsoft doesn't publish them, and prepaid purchases lower the cost per credit. Heavy bands have no upper limit, so a budget built on them is a minimum. For a model of your own, use Estimating usage and the site's buying calculator.
Copilot Cowork, per task
| Measure | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traits | Few sources, light reasoning, 1 or fewer outputs | Many sources, structured reasoning, 2+ outputs | Broad aggregation, deep reasoning, many outputs |
| Example | Weekly status update from your calendar and priorities | Customer meeting prep: briefing doc, Excel overview, client-ready presentation | Six months of exported usage data analysed into a leadership-ready report |
| Est. credits | "100 - 300" | "300 - 700" | ">700" |
| Our reading: at list | $1 to $3 | $3 to $7 | Over $7 |
Microsoft's own method: count users by persona, estimate light, medium and heavy prompts per persona, then apply an average per prompt [17 p8].
Copilot Code, per task
| Measure | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traits | Direct, bounded work, normally no retrieval, one clear output | One bounded input, or a broader workflow with retrieval and moderate synthesis | Judgment-heavy work across many sources and tools, several deliverables |
| Example | Standup meeting timer | New-hire onboarding checklist | Adjustable buyer ROI application with scenarios |
| Est. credits | "25 - 60" | "75 - 150" | ">200" |
| Our reading: at list | $0.25 to $0.60 | $0.75 to $1.50 | Over $2 |
Microsoft's bands leave gaps: nothing covers 61 to 74 or 151 to 200 [17 p12].
Work IQ API, per task
| Measure | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | Compile action items from your manager into a checklist | Review customer interview emails for themes and roadmap impact | Executive summaries from the latest roadmap review and related content |
| Est. credits | "15-30 credits / task" | "30-60 credits / task" | "60-100 credits / task" |
| Our reading: at list | $0.15 to $0.30 | $0.30 to $0.60 | $0.60 to $1 |
The Credits Guide also says context and tool tokens "are reduced by up to 80%" with Work IQ [17 p13]. That's a best-case figure with no baseline given. Don't use it in a business case.
Teams Phone Agent, per call
| Measure | Light | Medium | Complex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | "~0-60 sec" | "~1-2 min" | "~ >2min" |
| Agent actions | 1-2 | 3-5 | 6+ |
| Example | Business hours question, transfer to a department | Two questions, or user lookup and transfer | Five questions, or question plus scheduling plus routing |
| Est. credits | 5-15 | 15-40 | More than 40 |
| Our reading: at list | $0.05 to $0.15 | $0.15 to $0.40 | Over $0.40 |
Copilot Managed Runtime, per app a month
| Measure | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profile | Small personal or team apps, light connector use | Departmental apps, multiple connectors, moderate daily use | Enterprise apps, many users, heavy connector traffic |
| Est. credits | "~10 -50 per app / month" | "~300 - 500 per app / month" | "~3,000 - 5,000 per app / month" |
| Our reading: API calls | About 100 to 500 | About 3,000 to 5,000 | About 30,000 to 50,000 |
| Our reading: at list | $0.10 to $0.50 | $3 to $5 | $30 to $50 |
Build cost isn't in these figures: it "varies based on the LLM model used, complexity of the app, and the amount of generation and iteration involved during authoring" [17 p25]. Agents and Work IQ calls inside an app are charged separately [17 p25].
Advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive
Microsoft publishes scenarios here and no credit row. Credits per task: Not published [17 p10]. The file counts below are examples of size. No threshold is given.
| Measure | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing | Included with the licence | Bills credits | Bills credits |
| Scope | One item or a small, clearly defined set | A defined collection within a known scope | Large collections, or AI run repeatedly |
| Outputs | "Creates a few outputs" | "Creates hundreds of outputs" | "Creates thousands of outputs" |
| Examples | "Does this contract have a termination clause?" | Termination terms across a folder of 1000 files; re-tag a folder of 500 files | Contracts in a library of 10,000 files; re-tag a library of 50,000 files |
| Est. credits | None needed | Not published | Not published |
Contact Center Intelligence, per agent
Copilot Studio harness bands
These belong to Copilot Studio. They appear here so all the Credits Guide bands are in one place. Rules are in Copilot Studio rates.
| Scenario | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot harness, authoring | "1 - 20" | "21 - 60" | "61 +" |
| GitHub Copilot harness, runtime | "100 - 300" | "300 - 500" | "> 500" |
| Customer conversation harness, digital | 5-15 credits | 15-25 credits | 25-50 credits |
| Customer conversation harness, GenAI Voice | 20-30 credits | 50-75 credits | 100-150 credits |
| Customer conversation harness, Premium (S2S) Voice | 34-44 credits | 85-110 credits | 170-220 credits |
Published limits
Researcher is limited to 25 queries a month [43]. Interpreter includes 20 hours a month, with more "subject to available capacity" [152]. Our reading: credits don't buy more. Microsoft publishes a few other fixed numbers for the licence. Each appears below in Microsoft's exact words, with the date shown on the page. Nothing we read sells extra Researcher queries.
| Feature | Limit | Microsoft's words | Page date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Researcher | Limited 25 a month | "A maximum of 25 queries per user per month." [43] | Shown 26 Oct 2026, metadata 31 Oct 2025 |
| Researcher and Analyst together | Limited 25 a month | "any user with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license can run up to 25 combined queries per month." [153] | 2 Jun 2025 |
| Researcher in Notebooks | Limited 25 a month | "Up to 25 per month"; Copilot Chat "Not available" [154] | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Analyst alone | Not published | No current standalone number. The only statement is the 2025 combined figure above | - |
| Interpreter in Teams | Limited 20 hours a month | "20 hours of interpretation is included per user per month with a Microsoft Copilot license. Access beyond the hours included is subject to available capacity." [152] | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Interpreter on Teams Rooms | Limited 20 hours a month | "20 hours of interpretation is included per user per month with a Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro license." [152] | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Audio Overviews in Notebooks | Limited 20 a day | "Up to 20 per day" [154] | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Sources in a notebook | Limited 300 | "Up to 300"; Copilot Chat "Up to 50" [154] | 8 Oct 2026 |
| File upload | Limited 20 files, 50 MB | "Up to 20 files in a single Copilot conversation", "Up to 50 MB per file" [155] | 28 Sep 2026 |
Is the Researcher limit shared with Analyst?
Nobody can answer that from a current Microsoft page. The word "combined" appears only in the June 2025 post [153]. The Researcher FAQ gives 25 for Researcher and doesn't mention Analyst [43]. No Analyst FAQ exists at the expected Learn address. Our reading: plan on a shared 25, because that's the last thing Microsoft said, and treat it as unconfirmed. Whether Researcher runs inside Notebooks draw on the same 25 isn't stated either [154].
What happens at each limit
| Feature | At the limit | Credits? |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher, Analyst | Whether it blocks, slows or does anything else: Not published. Whether it runs by calendar month or rolling period: Not published | No page offers credits |
| Interpreter | Continues "subject to available capacity" [152] | No page mentions credits |
| Audio Overviews, Notebook sources | Not published | No page mentions credits |
Tracking is limited. The Researcher FAQ says "There is no existing reporting tool for Copilot agents like Researcher and Analyst", and in the same page "Admins can see usage metrics (like how many times it's used)" [43]. We found no remaining-count view.
Admin settings
- "admins can block Researcher and Analyst agents", though "Users can't disable Researcher agent" and the tool "will remain accessible in Microsoft Copilot Chat under Tools, even when Copilot agents are disabled for some or all users in Microsoft 365 admin center" [43].
- Interpreter is controlled by the org-wide
-AIInterpreterparameter, "enabled by default" [152]. Listening to translated speech needs only a base licence: "A Microsoft M365 license is required to listen to others' speech through the Interpreter agent." [152]
Voice sessions "may have session limits and can disconnect automatically when the limit is reached" [156]. The length of a session for work accounts: Not published.
The model picker
In Chat, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Auto is included. Most named models are included up to limits Microsoft hasn't published. GPT-6 Astra and Claude Fable 5.1 cost credits [11, 2, 42].
Model selection has three tiers under the licence and a fourth on credits. "When you use Auto, it weighs accuracy, speed, and cost on each request" and "model selection is part of the USL" [2]. Microsoft changed its description of each tier during September and October, so the table keeps its wording and dates.
| Model | Tier | Microsoft's words | Limit value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | Included | "Auto, the default mode when using Copilot, anchors the USL" [11] | No limit stated |
| GPT-5.6 | Included, fair usage | "some models included with fair use, such as GPT 5.6 and Sonnet" [11]; "GPT-5.6 and Sonnet 5 are included" [2] | Not published |
| Sonnet 5 | Included, fair usage | As above. The Learn page says "Sonnet" with no version [11] | Not published |
| Opus 5 | Limited included with limits | "others included with limits, such as Opus" [11]; "new models like Opus 5 will be included with limits" [2] | Not published |
| GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Limited included with limits | Across Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Chat "as part of the user subscription license (USL) - limits apply but are designed to enable broad everyday AI usage" [157] | Not published |
| Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6 Sol | Tier Not published | "rolling out to Microsoft Copilot today across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Chat, Cowork, and Copilot Studio" [158]. The post states no billing tier | Not published |
| GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1 | Bills credits | "generally available as UBB models" in Chat and in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, rolling out "in early November 2026" and "expected to complete by mid-November 2026" [42] | Credit rate Not published |
Astra and Fable 5.1 have been in Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio since early September [159, 160]. The November rollout adds Chat and the Office apps. "Users will not have access to UBB models unless UBB is enabled." [42] The same two models bill credits in Cowork and Copilot Studio. So do GPT-6.1 Sol and Sonnet 5.5: they "begin rolling out today with usage-based billing in Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio" [157].
Our reading: the same model name can be included in one surface and billed in another. GPT-6.1 Sol in Word is covered by the licence. GPT-6.1 Sol in Cowork spends credits [157]. The whole of Cowork is metered, whichever model runs [12, 69].
The Cowork list is longer and changes often: Auto, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.6 Terra, GPT-5.5 (Frontier), Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Claude Fable 5.1 (Frontier) and Grok 4.7 [69]. Microsoft warns that "not every model change is communicated through a dedicated announcement to customers" [161], so put a date on any internal list.
What happens at the limit
Microsoft has described this three ways. All three agree there's a warning. They differ on what the user can do next and on whether it's live.
| Source | Words | Choices given | Tense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing post, 25 Sep 2026 | "You get a clear warning first, then a choice: switch your model selection to Auto at no additional cost or move to credits." [2] | Auto or credits | Present |
| Copilot blog, 30 Sep 2026 | "Users are warned as they approach a limit, and they can switch to Auto to continue working or select another model." [157] | Auto or another model. No mention of credits | Present |
| Learn, 6 Oct 2026 | "Reach usage limits in the USL (coming soon): Users receive in-product notifications as they approach an applicable limit. After reaching the limit, they have the option to continue with UBB by consuming Copilot Credits or, if applicable, reroute to Auto to continue their work." [11] | Credits, or Auto "if applicable" | Coming soon |
On fair use, Microsoft says "We're setting usage limits so that the vast majority of people never reach a limit." [2] The date the warning and overflow start: Not published.
Community posts on Microsoft Q&A, which are user reports and not Microsoft statements, describe people already hitting an Opus limit, one quoting a selector message that points to a weekly reset, and others saying there was no warning and no metric to watch [162, 163]. Treat these as unverified signals that limits exist in some tenants.
Our reading: using credits at a limit depends on setup. "Admins must set up a billing policy before a user can use AI experiences that require usage-based billing." [11] With no spending policy, an enterprise user at a limit has no credits to move to. Microsoft doesn't describe what that user sees. Overflow also isn't a row in the list of services a policy can select [13]. If it arrives as a service, the on-by-default "Auto-apply new services" setting could add it to existing policies without review [13]. That's our inference. Review that setting now.
Who gets the Anthropic models
Without Anthropic enabled, the Claude rows above don't apply.
- "Microsoft enables Anthropic models on by default for most customers in commercial cloud (excluding EU/EFTA and UK)." [55]
- In the EU, EFTA and UK "the default is set to No users" [55]. For Cowork, "If your organization is within the EU Data Boundary, only GPT models are supported." [69]
- "Anthropic models aren't available for federal customers in GCC or for any customers in GCC High and Department of Defense (DoD) environments." [55]
- Setting: Copilot > Settings > View all then "AI providers operating as Microsoft subprocessors". Role: "AI Administrator or Global Administrator" [55].
- Fable has two routes. "for certain organizations, Fable 5.1 is available with Anthropic acting as a subprocessor", with eligibility through "your account team" [55]; criteria: Not published. Models with Data Retention, "such as Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5", are "off by default for all scenarios", and "Anthropic acts as an independent processor" [55]. Anthropic then keeps "most inputs and outputs for up to 30 days" [55].
Our reading: Australia isn't in the excluded group, so an Australian commercial tenant should fall under the default-on rule [55]. The page doesn't name Australia, so check the setting in your tenant. Ask your privacy lead about the 30-day retention term before opting in to the Data Retention route.
Can admins limit who picks which model?
For Cowork, this is announced and rolling out. Microsoft describes assigning "models and effort levels by group", "including which models Auto can select in Cowork", with "more workloads planned" [113]. Learn publishes no steps for it, so check your own screen. Control over who picks Opus in Chat, beyond the provider-level Anthropic setting: Not published. Details are in Turn off spending in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
When a Copilot licence removes the charge
With a Copilot licence, an agent is free only when a licensed employee, signed in as themselves, uses a standard harness or Copilot Chat agent in Teams, Copilot Chat or SharePoint, and nothing in the run bills on its own [10, 17 p18]. Otherwise assume it costs credits, apart from two exceptions. Use the decision tree for one case, and the checklist to review an agent.
Decision tree: will this agent interaction bill?
Answer for one interaction at runtime. Testing rules are under when billing starts.
Which harness or build route runs the agent or flow?
Not sure? In the Power Platform admin centre, open Manage > Copilot Studio and read the Harness column [5].
What started this run?
Where is the conversation, and who is it for?
Does this person hold a Copilot licence, signed in, with the agent running as them?
What did the agent use?
Does this person hold a Copilot licence?
What does the agent do for this person? Pick the first that applies.
Was the agent built in Agent Builder?
Is usage billing set up for this person?
Bills credits "Billed for all usage." Whoever the user is, in any channel, and from the first build prompt. [5]
Bills credits Based on "complexity and modality", with no licence cover. Voice Biometrics adds 6 credits an interaction when enabled. [35]
Included "don't consume Copilot Credits, regardless of who uses them." New builds have been redirected since June 2026, so see the exceptions. [23, 164]
Bills credits For agent flows Microsoft says so directly: "Agent flow runs called by an autonomous agent consume Copilot Credits and are subject to enforcement, even if the users in your organization have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses." [10] Our reading: the agent's own answers and actions follow, because there's no signed-in licensed user for footnote 1 to cover, on the standard harness too. Rate card applies. [10, 5]
Bills credits "all actions in the agent flow, including calls to agents, consume credits at the standard rate". [10] Workflows and prompts outside a standard harness agent: "Billed in all other cases." [5]
Bills credits Rate card, for this user's usage. Microsoft's mixed example bills 100 unlicensed users and none of the 50 licensed ones. [10] Next: compare with the cost of a licence in Strategy 5.
Bills credits Our reading: treat the AI step as billing. The flow actions are included, but Microsoft says AI tools inside a flow "are metered separately" [10] and its pages differ on licensed users: see the conflict.
Included, fair usage No credits, subject to fair usage limits. Values: Not published. [10, 17 p18]
Bills credits "not included as entitlements in the Microsoft Copilot license." [25 p7] Rates are under everything that runs on credits.
Unclear Whether the licence covers voice: Not published [10]. Our reading: budget for it to bill, at 10, 35 or 75 credits a minute, until Microsoft says otherwise.
Included "Agents that rely on instructions or public website grounding don't incur extra costs." Footnote 2 on the rate card exempts Agent Builder agents. [58, 10]
Unclear Two Microsoft pages say instructions-only and public-web agents are free for unlicensed users, [32, 58] and the rate card's footnote 2 exempts only Agent Builder. [10] Our reading: with usage billing off there's no evident route to a charge. With it on, test a small run before you promise no charge. See the conflict.
Bills credits Usage-based charges "metered in Copilot Credits via Copilot Studio", at the rate card. [58, 10] Next: estimate it with the rate card and planning ranges.
Off No charge, and the agent can't use that knowledge for this person. [32]
Checklist for an agent review
"No charge" depends on conditions. An interaction must meet all of them at once, and an agent that passes for one user can fail for the next. Our reading: we built this checklist from footnote 1 and the sources shown. Microsoft doesn't publish it as one list.
| Passes | Condition | Microsoft's wording | Fails when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard harness or Copilot Chat agent | "Authoring and runtime execution in Microsoft channels for agents and agent flows built using the Standard harness are included with the Microsoft Copilot USL (fair usage limits apply), including Copilot Chat agents. Otherwise, Copilot Credits are required." [17 p18] | GitHub Copilot harness or customer conversation harness [5, 35] | |
| Microsoft channel | "Billed when the user has no Microsoft 365 Copilot license, or when the agent is used in a channel outside Microsoft 365." [5] | Website, custom app or other outside channel. No page lists the Microsoft channels: Not published | |
| Employee-facing use | "Employee-facing usage scenarios (Business to Employee)" [10] | Customer-facing agents | |
| The user holds a Copilot licence | "when the user of the agent is licensed with Microsoft Copilot" [10] | Any user without one. Billing applies per unlicensed user [10] | |
| The agent runs under that user's signed-in identity | "the agent operates using the authenticated Microsoft Copilot USL user's identity" [10] | Autonomous, event or scheduled runs, and anonymous users [10, 5] | |
| Agent flows use the agent-call trigger | The inclusion "applies only to runs triggered via the" trigger named "When an agent calls the flow" [10] | Any other trigger. "all actions in the agent flow, including calls to agents, consume credits at the standard rate" [10]. A prompt or AI model step in the flow: treat as billing, see the conflict. "a flow that works in the test chat can still be blocked in Teams, on a website, or when the agent runs autonomously." [165] | |
| Workflows and prompts run inside a standard harness agent | "Yes, when run inside a standard harness agent by a licensed user" [5] | "Billed in all other cases." [5] | |
| No computer use | "Computer-Using Agents (CUA) usage is not included in the Microsoft Copilot USL." [10] | Any computer use step | |
| No Work IQ APIs | "Work IQ APIs are not included as entitlements in the Microsoft Copilot license." [25 p7] | The agent calls them | |
| Voice is ruled out or budgeted | The voice table has no licensed-user column [10] | Our reading: treat voice as billed until Microsoft says otherwise: Not published | |
| Within fair usage limits | "Usage is limited to fair usage limits. Microsoft reserves the right to update the limits as the product evolves, and new usage patterns emerge." [10] | Limit values: Not published |
Sign-in and channel are separate tests. A licensed user on a company website fails the channel test, and a licensed user's agent that wakes on a new-order event fails the identity test. For agent flows Microsoft says this directly: "Agent flow runs called by an autonomous agent consume Copilot Credits and are subject to enforcement, even if the users in your organization have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses." [10] Our reading: the agent's own answers and actions follow from footnote 1. Design rules for makers turns this into build guidance.
The only figure Microsoft publishes near fair usage is a rate limit: 100 per minute and 2,000 per hour of generative AI messages for "Microsoft Copilot users", per Dataverse environment [82]. That's a speed limit on messages. Don't read it as the fair usage limit. On channels, the sources use three phrases: "Microsoft channels" [17 p18], "Microsoft 365 channels" [5] and "Copilot Chat, Microsoft Teams, or SharePoint" [49]. Keep to those three surfaces until Microsoft defines the term.
Microsoft's own table
What consumes Copilot Credits in Copilot Studio today
| Feature | Covered by a Microsoft 365 Copilot license? | When Copilot Credits are billed |
|---|---|---|
| Standard harness agents | Yes, in Microsoft 365 channels | Billed when the user has no Microsoft 365 Copilot license, or when the agent is used in a channel outside Microsoft 365. |
| Agent flows | Yes, when a standard harness agent calls the agent flow through the When an agent calls the flow trigger while a user who is authenticated with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license is interacting with the agent | Billed in all other cases, including agent flow runs that an agent starts while it runs autonomously and agent flows that use other triggers. Runs from the agent's test chat and test runs in the flow designer aren't billed. |
| Workflows | Yes, when run inside a standard harness agent by a licensed user | Billed in all other cases. |
| Prompts | Yes, when run inside a standard harness agent by a licensed user | Billed in all other cases. |
| Computer use (CUA) | No | Billed for all usage. |
| GitHub Copilot harness agents | No | Billed for all usage. Creation and runtime activities consume Copilot Credits regardless of the user's license. |
| Customer Conversation harness | No | Customer conversations consume credits based on their complexity and modality. |
| Voice Biometrics | No | Each voice enrollment or authentication interaction consumes 6 credits. A voice conversation with two biometric interactions consumes 12 additional credits. |
Three harnesses, plus Copilot Chat agents
Rule-based agents use the standard harness. For licensed staff in Microsoft channels they can be free: agents "built using the Standard harness are included with the Microsoft Copilot USL (fair usage limits apply), including Copilot Chat agents" [17 p18]. The GitHub Copilot harness always bills: "Creation and runtime activities consume Copilot Credits regardless of the user's license." [5] The customer conversation harness always bills too: "This usage isn't covered by a user's Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [35] The list below has the detail.
A harness is the runtime that sits between the agent and the model: "it determines when to call the model, what components to send it, interprets what comes back, and calls the right tools." [79] Microsoft is direct about why it matters here: "The harness you use affects the billing, features, and capabilities of what you build." [79] An environment is "a space to store, manage, and share your organization's business data, apps, chatbots, and flows" [81]. Copilot Studio charges the environment.
| Harness | Status | Built for | How it's metered | Rates published | Copilot licence covers it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard harness | General availability | "rule-based agents and agent flows" [79] | Fixed rate card, per feature [10] | Full rate card | Included, fair usage Yes in Microsoft channels, under every condition and fair usage limits [17 p18] |
| GitHub Copilot harness | General availability "now generally available for production use" on 3 August 2026 [166] | "reasoning-heavy agents and workflows" [79] | Variable: "large language model (LLM) tokens, tools (including knowledge and MCPs), and the harness itself" [78] | Planning bands only [17 p16-17] | Bills credits No: "Creation and runtime activities consume Copilot Credits regardless of the user's license." [5] |
| Customer conversation harness | Preview "Public Preview" in both guides [17 p15, 25 p4]. The harness page carries no preview label [79] | "customers over voice and chat" [79] | Variable: "based on their complexity and modality" [35] | Planning bands only [17 p17] | Bills credits No: "This usage isn't covered by a user's Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [35] |
| Copilot Chat agents | Listed separately from the three harnesses, under "Separately" [17 p15, 25 p4] | "extend Microsoft Copilot with organizational knowledge" [25 p4] | Fixed rate card [166, 10] | Full rate card | Included, fair usage Yes for licensed users, within fair usage limits [166, 17 p18]. Unlicensed users: see below |
The name is misleading. "The GitHub Copilot harness is a Microsoft Copilot Studio authoring and orchestration framework, not the GitHub Copilot service." [79] Our reading: a GitHub Copilot subscription makes no difference here. The harness bills Copilot Credits like the rest of Copilot Studio.
Microsoft says it "will continue to support the Copilot Chat and Standard harnesses in Copilot Studio for both existing agents and authoring of new agents" [166]. The Power Platform inventory column shows "GitHub Copilot, Standard, or Copilot Chat. Only agents with the GitHub Copilot value use consumption-based billing for all activity." [5] Customer conversation isn't in that list.
Who is charged
Copilot
Microsoft 365 admin centre. Spending policies apply to users and groups, so the limit follows the person. See Turn off spending in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
Copilot Studio
Power Platform admin centre. "Copilot Credits are charged to the environment where the agent runs, from prepaid capacity or through the environment's pay-as-you-go billing plan, and not to the individual makers or users who run agents." [5]
Once a resource-based spending policy covers an environment, Copilot Credit management moves to the Microsoft 365 admin centre, "replacing their Power Platform admin center capacity allocations and linked billing plans." [3] You opt in to this, and a Learn page dated 30 October 2026 describes it. It doesn't cover AI Builder: these policies "don't apply to AI Builder features or the credits they consume", and Microsoft says "Don't move resources, agents, workflows or environments that use AI Builder to these policies." [3] Microsoft says it "will reach general availability by November 20, 2026" [4]. By 20 Nov 2026 Details are under One control plane.
People who only use a published agent need no Copilot Studio licence: "Users of your agents don't need a special license." [122] The licences that let makers open Copilot Studio are a separate matter: see Control access to Copilot Studio. None of them funds credits for the GitHub Copilot harness: a Copilot licence lets you build there [49], and that build work still "Requires Copilot Credits for LLM-powered maker experiences" [25 p7].
When billing starts
| Harness | Authoring | Testing | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard harness | Included Microsoft describes it as the harness "which starts billing after publish" [78]. See the conflict under gaps | Included Test chat activity "doesn't consume Copilot Credits" [23]. Prompts and models inside agent flows are the exception [80] | Rate card, or no charge under the checklist |
| GitHub Copilot harness | Bills credits "charges credits from the moment you start building" [78]. "Manual, non-LLM configuration does not require Copilot Credits." [17 p16] | Bills credits Includes "natural language authoring, evaluation, and preview" [17 p16] | Bills credits Always [5] |
| Customer conversation harness | No credit requirement shown [25 p7]. The guide says it consumes "during runtime execution" [25 p5] | Not published | Bills credits Always [35] |
Moving an agent to another harness also costs credits. "The upgrade creates a copy on the GitHub Copilot harness" and "The upgrade consumes credits." [73] Our reading: a maker can turn an agent that's free for licensed users into a metered copy with a single request. Your design rules and inventory reviews need to cover upgrades.
The site's article Your agent has a price tag now covers what this means for makers, and The currency of AI is credits covers the wider shift.
Rate card and planning ranges
The fixed card applies to "agents or agent flows powered by the standard harness" and "to all language models that Copilot Studio provides". It excludes "bring-your-own-model configurations, including Azure Foundry models, which are billed separately." [10] Copilot Chat agents bill on the same card [166]. Pay-as-you-go is "$0.01/Copilot Credit" [17 p4].
Standard harness rate card
| Agent feature | Billing rate | Used by Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed user (footnote 1) | At $0.01 a credit Our reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic answer | 1 Copilot Credit | No charge | $0.01 |
| Generative answer (footnote 2) | 2 Copilot Credits | No charge | $0.02 |
| Agent action (footnote 4) | 5 Copilot Credits | No charge | $0.05 |
| Tenant graph grounding for messages | 10 Copilot Credits | No charge | $0.10 |
| Agent flow actions per 100 actions (footnote 3) | 13 Copilot Credits | No charge | $0.13 per 100 |
| Text and generative AI tools (basic) per 10 response. 0.1 Copilot Credit per 1,000 tokens | 1 Copilot Credit | No charge | $0.01 per 10 |
| Text and generative AI tools (standard) per 10 response. 1.5 Copilot Credit per 1,000 tokens | 15 Copilot Credits | No charge | $0.15 per 10 |
| Text and generative AI tools (premium) (footnote 5) | 10 Copilot Credits per 1,000 tokens | No charge | $0.10 per 1,000 tokens |
| Content processing tools per page | 8 Copilot Credits | No charge | $0.08 per page |
"No charge" in that column doesn't apply to everything. It applies only under footnote 1, which the checklist tests line by line. Footnote 4 excludes computer use.
Microsoft's footnotes, word for word [10]
- Employee-facing usage scenarios (Business to Employee) of Copilot Studio agents and Copilot Studio tools and features that these agents invoke are included in the Microsoft Copilot USL when the user of the agent is licensed with Microsoft Copilot, and the agent operates using the authenticated Microsoft Copilot USL user's identity. For agent flows, the "No charge" inclusion applies only to runs triggered via the "When an agent calls the flow" trigger, where the user interacting with the agent is authenticated with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Agent flows using other triggers consume Copilot Credits at the standard rate. For these flows, all actions in the agent flow, including calls to agents, consume credits at the standard rate. Usage is limited to fair usage limits. Microsoft reserves the right to update the limits as the product evolves, and new usage patterns emerge.
- Agents incur charges for generative answer responses unless the agent is created in Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 and the response doesn't leverage tenant graph grounding.
- When the environment has no Copilot Credits available, agent flow enforcement blocks new agent flow runs. It doesn't block the agent that calls the flow. Footnote 1 describes when the Microsoft 365 Copilot inclusion applies to agent flows.
- Computer-Using Agents (CUA) usage is not included in the Microsoft Copilot USL.
- When a reasoning model orchestrates your agent, this charge is calculated from the exact number of billed tokens, not from the number of responses. One response can involve many thousands of tokens. How tokens are counted for reasoning models describes which tokens are billed. Prompt tools are measured in the units described in Licensing and Copilot Credits in the AI Builder documentation.
USL stands for user subscription license, the per-user Copilot licence.
What each row means
| Row | Definition |
|---|---|
| Classic answers | "predefined responses manually authored by agent makers" |
| Generative answers | "dynamically generated using AI models" |
| Agent actions | "steps such as triggers, deep reasoning, and topic transitions that appear on the activity map in Copilot Studio when testing an agent" |
| Tenant graph grounding | "retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) over your tenant-wide Microsoft Graph". "This capability is optional, and you can turn it on or off for each agent." |
| Agent flow actions | "predefined sequences of flow actions to execute repetitive tasks quickly, without requiring agent reasoning and orchestration at each step" |
| Text and generative AI tools | "The three types of tools (basic, standard, and premium) are based on the underlying language model of the prompts. The premium text and generative AI tools item charges for advanced reasoning in agents." |
Charges add up
"Each interaction with an agent might use multiple feature types at the same time." One grounded reply "could use 12 Copilot Credits (10 Copilot Credits for tenant graph grounding, and 2 Copilot Credits for generative answers)". [10]
| Example | Microsoft's calculation | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Customer support agent on a website | "[(4x1)+(2x2)] x 900 customers = 7200 Copilot Credits." | Four classic and two generative answers per customer, per day. A website is outside the licence |
| Sales performance agent in Copilot Chat | "[(4x2)+(4x10)] x 100 users = 4,800 Copilot Credits." | 50 licensed and 100 unlicensed users. Only the 100 count, the clearest example of mixed licences on one agent |
| Order processing agent, autonomous | "[(4x5)] = 20 Copilot Credits." | Four actions on an internal-facing agent with no person in the loop |
AI tool units
| Feature | Rate per unit |
|---|---|
| Text and generative AI tools (basic) | 0.1 Copilot Credit per 1K tokens, or 1K characters, or 1 image, or 1 page |
| Text and generative AI tools (standard) | 1.5 Copilot Credit per 1K tokens, or 1K characters, or 1 image, or 1 page |
| Text and generative AI tools (premium) | 10 Copilot Credits per 1K tokens, or 1K characters, or 1 image, or 1 page |
| Content processing tools | 8 Copilot Credits per image or per page |
- A 4,200-token prompt on a basic model "consumed five (5) responses of the text and generative AI tools (basic) feature, which equals 0.5 Copilot Credits, plus the cost of the Copilot Studio classic answer or generative answer." [80] Our reading: usage rounds up to whole blocks of 1K.
- Tokens you can't see still count. Microsoft's system prompt "might equate to approximately 1,200 tokens, though this can vary." [167]
- Prompts in topics or actions run from the agent's test panel are free, and so is testing in prompt builder. "Prompts and models in agent flows always consume Copilot Credits, even when triggered from an agent-embedded test panel, or from the flow designer." [80]
Voice
| Voice tier | Voice billing rate/minute | Core agent activity (classic answer, generative answer, agent action) | Per minute at $0.01 Our reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Voice - Classic orchestration | 10 Copilot Credit | Included | $0.10 |
| GenAI Voice | 35 Copilot Credits | Included | $0.35 |
| Premium GenAI Voice | 75 Copilot Credits | Included | $0.75 |
"Voice agents consume Copilot Credits based on total call length, calculated to the nearest second, and the configured voice orchestration." [25 p7] The voice table has no licensed-user column. No page says whether a Copilot licence covers voice: Not published. Our reading: plan for it to bill.
Reasoning models
"When an agent uses a reasoning-capable language model, Copilot Studio bills by using two billing meters: feature rate and text and generative AI tools (premium)." [10]
"Total cost = feature rate for the operation + text and generative AI tools (premium) for the reasoning model's token usage." The premium part is "at 10 Copilot Credits per 1,000 tokens", calculated "from the exact number of billed tokens". [10]
| Token type | Billed |
|---|---|
| Input tokens | Yes |
| Output tokens, including the tokens the model uses to reason | Yes |
| Input tokens that the model writes to its prompt cache | Yes, as input tokens |
| Input tokens that the model reads from its prompt cache | No |
- "The charge isn't based on the number of messages." One message can trigger several model calls, "for example to plan, to search knowledge or call tools, and to write the response. Each call counts." [10]
- Each call carries the agent's instructions, tool and knowledge descriptions, "The conversation so far" and "The knowledge and tool results that the agent retrieved during the turn." [10]
- "Cached content is kept for a limited time." Expired content is billed again when reprocessed. [10]
- To turn a report figure into tokens, "Multiply the credits by 100 to estimate the billed tokens". [6]
"A few messages can therefore consume many Copilot Credits when your agent has long instructions, retrieves a lot of knowledge, or holds long conversations." [10] Microsoft's own example: a follow-up question to a website agent on Claude Opus 4.7 makes two model calls and bills 14,100 tokens, so "14,100 billed tokens x 10 Copilot Credits / 1,000 tokens = 141 Copilot Credits", plus feature rates. The same question in a new conversation bills 461 credits. "The numbers in this example are illustrative." [10] Our reading: that's $1.41 and $4.61 at list, before feature rates. A generative answer on a non-reasoning model is 2 credits before any tool charges.
Microsoft's advice is to use a non-reasoning model where deep reasoning isn't needed, keep instructions and knowledge short, start a new conversation for a new topic, and set a monthly limit on the agent [10]. Our reading: the "No charge" cell on the premium row, and footnote 1's cover for invoked tools, mean reasoning is free for a user who passes the checklist. No page says so specifically for reasoning tokens.
Computer use
"Each step consumes 5 Copilot Credits, or 15 Copilot Credits when using a premium model." [118] A Copilot licence never covers it: "Billed for all usage." [5]
| Provider | Model | Tier | Status | Credits per step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Computer-Using Agent (CUA) | Standard | General availability | 5 |
| OpenAI | GPT-6 Sol | Standard | General availability | 5 |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Standard | General availability | 5 |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Standard | Experimental | 5 |
| Anthropic | Claude Opus 4.6 | Premium | Experimental | 15 |
Microsoft's four-step time sheet is 20 credits on standard and 60 on premium [118]. A step can hold several low-level actions [118].
GitHub Copilot harness planning ranges
These are bands, and Microsoft publishes no per-token, per-model or per-tool rate for this harness: Not published. "These figures are rough planning estimates. Actual credit consumption will vary based on workflows and usage patterns." [17 p16]
| Stage | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural language creation, per creation | 1 - 20 (1 - 2 turns) | 21 - 60 (3 - 5 turns) | 61+ (6+ turns) |
| Runtime, per scenario | 100 - 300 | 300 - 500 | > 500 |
Runtime tiers run from "Few sources" and "Light reasoning" at the light end to "Broad aggregation", "Deep reasoning" and "Many outputs" at the heavy end [17 p17]. The bands look like Cowork's but differ above light, so keep them separate. The Cowork figures are in the Copilot ranges. Our reading: at list, one heavy run starts at about $5.
Customer conversation harness planning ranges
Preview Same caveat as above: "These figures are rough planning estimates." [17 p17]
| Modality | Light (about 2 minutes on voice) | Medium (about 5 minutes) | Heavy (about 10 minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital | 5-15 | 15-25 | 25-50 |
| GenAI Voice | 20-30 | 50-75 | 100-150 |
| Premium (S2S) Voice | 34-44 | 85-110 | 170-220 |
Voice Biometrics adds to this: "Each voice enrollment or authentication interaction consumes 6 credits. A voice conversation with two biometric interactions consumes 12 additional credits." [35] Its status isn't stated.
Our reading: these voice bands work out to about 10-15 credits a minute on GenAI Voice and 17-22 on Premium (S2S), against 35 and 75 on the standard harness card. They're different harnesses and tier names, and the bands use approximate call lengths. Keep the two separate when you estimate. Microsoft's Customer Assist bands (2-5, 10-15, 20-25) state no unit [17 p19] and can't be compared with either.
Rules that apply to every row
- "Copilot Studio features that are in preview charge the rate described in the Copilot Credits billing rates table, and count against your purchased capacity." [23]
- "Credit usage is counted on a monthly basis, which starts on the first day of each month. Credit usage isn't based on the license acquisition date." [23]
- With a bring-your-own model in a text tool, no extra credits apply to processing: the "Cost for processing is dictated by the tokens consumed and cost per token within Foundry". The call still counts as an agent action. [80]
- 12 Nov 2026 Selected models retire and "agents will automatically migrate to a replacement model." [87] The effect on credits: Not published.
Rates here are USD list prices. We found no Australian dollar figure for pay-as-you-go or the Pre-Purchase Plan [31]. Pack pricing is under Australian pricing. On the 12 November migrations, Microsoft says that in "environments outside the U.S. where cross-geo data movement is restricted, GPT-4.1 and GPT-5 will remain supported" [87]. Check where each Australian environment sits against that rule before assuming a model changes.
What always bills
A Copilot licence makes no difference to these. Items marked Our reading are our inference from the wording cited.
| Item | Basis |
|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot harness: authoring with AI, preview, evaluation, runtime | "This usage isn't included with a user's Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [5] |
| Customer conversation harness at runtime | "This usage isn't covered by a user's Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [35] |
| Computer use | "Billed for all usage." [5] |
| Work IQ APIs | "Work IQ APIs are not included as entitlements in the Microsoft Copilot license." [25 p7] |
| Any agent on a channel outside Microsoft 365 | "when the agent is used in a channel outside Microsoft 365" [5] |
| Autonomous, event-triggered and scheduled runs, on the standard harness too | For agent flows, Microsoft's words: "consume Copilot Credits and are subject to enforcement, even if the users in your organization have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses." [10] For the agent's own answers and actions, this is Our reading of footnote 1's identity test, with "conversational and autonomously triggered" usage named as prepaid consumption [10, 5] |
| Agent flows for a user not signed in with Microsoft Entra ID, such as "an anonymous website visitor, a phone caller, or a user who signs in through a different identity provider" | Blocked when the environment has no credits, so they're outside the licensed-user inclusion [165] |
| Agent flows on any trigger other than "When an agent calls the flow" | "Agent flows using other triggers consume Copilot Credits at the standard rate." [10] |
| Prompts and AI models inside agent flows, in testing too | Our reading: treat as billing. "Prompts and models in agent flows always consume Copilot Credits" [80], and AI tools in a flow "are metered separately" [10], though the cost page covers prompts run "inside a standard harness agent by a licensed user" [5]. See the conflict. Flow actions are free in test, but AI steps inside them aren't |
| Building apps in Copilot Studio | "Apps can only be built in Copilot Studio using the GitHub Copilot harness." [25 p7] Preview |
| Hosting and running apps on Copilot Managed Runtime, beyond Power Apps Premium limits | "billed through Copilot Credits" [25 p7] Preview |
| Voice Biometrics | Covered by a licence: "No" [35] |
Charges that are easy to miss
- A proactive greeting "does count as a billed Copilot Credit, even if the end user doesn't respond." [23] Getting an agent ready counts too: "regardless of whether a greeting message is sent, it consumes Copilot Credits as a Classic Answer." [23]
- Preview features bill at the same rates as generally available features [23].
- Maker activity uses the same environment credits as end users. When credits run out, "Both makers and end users receive the following message" [19].
- Converting a Power Automate cloud flow to an agent flow changes how it's billed. It "is a one-way operation" [168].
Power Automate cloud flows aren't metered in credits: they "use Power Automate licensing, not Copilot Credits." [10] Power Apps and Power Automate reach credits "only when AI or agentic functionality is invoked" [17 p27].
Developer and trial environments
Our reading Assume developer and trial environments can now spend from your pool, and turn off the draw setting on them: see Turn off spending in the Power Platform admin centre. An environment draws when it takes credits from the tenant's shared pool, and the Microsoft setting is "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant".
Microsoft's only statement on the change is one sentence, under the heading "Prepare for the end of preview billing" on the GitHub Copilot harness cost page:
"Developer environments and trial environments move to usage-based billing September 1, 2026." [5]
The next sentences point to the "Non-billed Copilot Credits information" in Manage Agents and the consumption report, which "can provide a directional view of agent consumption, but it isn't a billing estimate or a guarantee of future cost." [5] We searched the Credits Guide, the Copilot Studio Licensing Guide and the main Copilot Studio billing pages for this date and found nothing else [17, 25, 10, 23, 78, 19, 6].
| Question | What we can say | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Has it happened? | The date has passed. The page, last updated 29 October 2026, still says "move to" and "Before that date:". Nothing confirms it in the past tense and nothing postpones it | Not published as a confirmation |
| What exactly is billed? | The sentence doesn't say. Our reading: its section and steps concern GitHub Copilot harness agents, so assume build, preview, evaluation and runtime on that harness in these environment types. The words themselves aren't limited to that harness | Not published |
| Was it free before? | "end of preview billing" and "Non-billed Copilot Credits" imply so. It's never stated outright | Implied only |
| Who is charged? | Our reading: the environment's funding source, under the general rule. No page says a maker pays personally, and no page says what funds a developer environment in particular | Not published |
| What if the environment has no credits? | Our reading: the general rule applies. Makers "can't use natural language to author solutions, preview and test agents, or generate and create agent evaluations." [19] It isn't stated for these environment types specifically | General rule |
| Customer conversation harness? | Not mentioned | Not published |
| Does a managed developer environment bill differently? | No page says | Not published |
Assume maker exploration can spend. "An environment used for maker exploration can now incur consumption even if its agents are never published for production use." [86] That line comes from the Copilot Studio customer advisory team's blog and carries no exception for environment type. The draw setting is on by default on an eligible environment with no allocation [6], so see can a new environment start spending.
Microsoft's preparation list is still a good review: find GitHub Copilot harness agents, review their non-billed consumption, configure capacity and overage behaviour, set limits and notifications on higher-risk agents, set Azure budgets and alerts for pay-as-you-go plans, and name an owner [5].
Related facts on these environments
- Trial environments "expire after 30 days and are limited to one per user." [81] On expiry "all the agents in the environment are deleted." [120]
- A developer environment is "intended only for use by the owner." [81]
- "Trial or developer environments" are limited to 10 per minute and 200 per hour of generative AI messages [82].
- A trial environment isn't the trial licence. With the trial licence "you can't publish the agent." [121]
- 15 Nov 2026 "You can't create new unmanaged developer environments starting November 15, 2026." [89] From then "each user can create only one managed developer environment." [89]
- 15 Dec 2026 Existing unmanaged developer environments "are suspended starting December 15, 2026". Their contents "aren't available." [89]
- 15 Jan 2027 Those environments are "deleted starting January 15, 2027." [89]
Copilot Chat and SharePoint agents for unlicensed users
This is for staff with Microsoft 365 and Copilot Chat but no Copilot licence. The agent bills on the Copilot Studio rate card, through a pay-as-you-go service. Its Learn page "applies to Microsoft Copilot Chat, SharePoint Agents, and Microsoft Copilot Retrieval API (Preview)." [26] It's separate from the Cost Management dashboard, which covers the services in everything that runs on credits [13]. "By default, pay-as-you-go billing is disabled." [26]
| Capability | Copilot Chat, no usage billing | Copilot Chat, usage billing | Copilot licensed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom actions, instructions, code interpreter, image generator, MCP Apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge: web search, scoped web search | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge: Copilot connectors, SharePoint data, embedded file content, Dataverse | No | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge: Email, People, Teams messages, Teams meetings | No | No | Yes |
| Custom engine agents | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Microsoft's footnotes to that table: "Usage limits apply to all included features." and "No costs are incurred for access to knowledge sources that are available to users without usage-based billing." [32]
- Agents on instructions or public websites "don't incur extra costs." [58] For agents not built in Agent Builder, see the conflict.
- Agents that reach shared tenant data "generate usage-based billing charges (metered in Copilot Credits) via Copilot Studio." [58]
- Custom engine agents: users without a licence "might incur usage-based billing charges if the agent interacts with shared tenant data" [58].
- Our reading: with billing off, people get no error. The agent loses the tenant knowledge and keeps working on what's left [32].
Setting it up
"An Azure subscription and billing policy setup in the Microsoft 365 admin center are required. For agents that use SharePoint files as knowledge sources, the billing policy must be connected to the SharePoint agents service and users must be in the security group assigned to the billing policy." [32] Roles are Global Administrator, Billing Administrator and AI Administrator, with Global Reader as read-only [26]. A pay-as-you-go billing policy can also be set up in the Power Platform admin centre, and "Both policies can exist at the same time, and the billing system ensures that your organization is only charged once, regardless of where you configure the policy." [27] To turn it off, see Turn off spending in the Power Platform admin centre.
- Turning it off is slow: "it can take up to two hours for users to stop being able to use the agents." [27]
- On disconnect, "users linked to that billing policy lose access to the metered agents" [26].
- Microsoft's test prompt to a Coach agent "consumes about 12 credits." [27]
- In reports, "the number of units consumed appears under the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat product." [6] Copilot Studio doesn't show that environment: it's "meant for billing management for Microsoft 365 scenarios." [120]
- "Usage-based billing isn't supported in Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud High (GCCH) and Government Community Cloud (GCC) environments." [32]
The worked example is the Sales performance agent under charges add up: eight generative and grounded events on each of 100 unlicensed users is 4,800 credits [10].
Two exceptions from credits
Agent Builder
Generative answers bill "unless the agent is created in Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 and the response doesn't leverage tenant graph grounding." [10] So an Agent Builder agent on instructions or public web is free for an unlicensed user. The same agent grounded in tenant data bills [10, 58].
- "Agents you build in Agent Builder don't consume the tenant's Dataverse storage entitlement." [169]
- Our reading: an agent copied to Copilot Studio is no longer "created in Agent Builder", so copying it appears to lose the exception. Microsoft doesn't state this. Test it before you promise it.
Copilot Studio for Teams
| How the agent was made | Billing | Microsoft's wording |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a Teams environment using Copilot Studio for Teams | Included | "Agents created within a Teams environment by using Copilot Studio for Teams don't consume Copilot Credits, regardless of who uses them." |
| In standalone Copilot Studio, deployed to Teams | Bills credits | "Agents you create in the standalone Copilot Studio and deploy to the Teams channel do consume Copilot Credits. However, when end users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license use them, their usage isn't billed." |
The free option has limits: classic orchestration, "Generative orchestration: Not available", Teams only, Dataverse for Teams environments only, Power Platform connectors "Not available" (data reaches the agent through Power Automate flows) and no live handoff [121]. "Chat sessions are unlimited per tenant every month, but a service limit of 10 sessions per user every 24 hours across all agents in a tenant is enforced." [82]
Our reading: this option is closing. "Since the end of June 2026, you can't use the Copilot Studio for Teams app to create classic chatbots. The app redirects you to the Copilot Studio web app instead." [164] And "New Dataverse for Teams environments can't be created starting November 15, 2026. Environments that aren't upgraded to Dataverse are suspended on September 15, 2027 and decommissioned on October 30, 2027." [81] Microsoft says nothing about billing after an environment is upgraded to Dataverse. The nearest statement is about a licence upgrade: if a maker moves from the Teams plan to a standalone Copilot Studio subscription, "you can continue using the same agent in the same environment" and the newly available capabilities "might include billed sessions that require Copilot Studio capacity." [121] What billing applies after upgrade: Not published. Our reading Plan on existing Teams agents becoming metered.
- 15 Nov 2026 No new Dataverse for Teams environments [81].
- 15 Sep 2027 Environments not upgraded are suspended [81].
- 30 Oct 2027 Those environments are decommissioned [81].
To stop people creating these agents, "disable the Power Virtual Agents for Office 365 service plan in the user's license (either per user or via group-based licensing)." [23]
When credits run out
Agent flows stop first, when the environment has no credits available from its allocation, the tenant pool or a pay-as-you-go plan. Where an environment can draw from the tenant pool, custom agents keep answering until the tenant reaches 125% of prepaid capacity. They're then blocked. A blocked agent "stops responding, including in a conversation that's already in progress" [10]. With the draw setting off and no pay-as-you-go plan, the environment "can consume only its allocated prepaid credits", and experiences "can stop working after that allocation is exhausted" [6]. Microsoft's enforcement policy page says any experience that requires credits stops when an environment's credits run out, with "some level of overage consumption" and no figure [19]. Our reading: this is the rule for the GitHub Copilot and customer conversation harnesses, because both cost pages link to it. Don't assume 125% for them. A pay-as-you-go plan that includes Copilot Studio removes this enforcement, so those agents keep running and billing, unless an admin turned them off or they hit a monthly limit set to stop usage [10].
Our reading: review usage against 80% of your pool on a schedule. The notification Microsoft documents comes at 125% [10]. We found no lower tenant-wide alert. An environment with no credits for flows can have an agent that looks healthy while its flows fail. Agent limit notifications and Azure budgets cover the rest: see Monitor spending.
The table has the detail, followed by the messages people see. All four apply in the Power Platform admin centre.
| Case | What starts it | What stops | What keeps going |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom agents on prepaid capacity | "Enforcement is triggered when a tenant reaches 125% of their prepaid capacity." [10] This applies for environments that can draw from the tenant pool [6] | "the environment's agents are blocked. A blocked agent stops responding, including in a conversation that's already in progress." [10] | Environments with their own remaining allocation, or a pay-as-you-go plan, unless an admin turned the agent off or it reached a monthly limit set to stop usage [10] |
| Agent flows | "When an environment has no Copilot Credits available, new agent flow runs are blocked. An environment has credits available when it has allocated prepaid credits left, when it can draw from unallocated prepaid capacity in the tenant, or when it's linked to a pay-as-you-go billing plan that includes Copilot Studio." [10] | "New agent flow runs can't start." [10] | Runs in progress "complete normally", and "The agent remains available for non-flow interactions." Two cases are exempt: test runs, and flows an agent calls through the "When an agent calls the flow" trigger while a signed-in licensed user is interacting with it. Autonomous runs and flows on other triggers aren't exempt, and the exemptions cover flow actions only, not AI tools in the flow [10, 165] |
| Usage-based experiences, on Microsoft's enforcement policy page (linked from both harness cost pages) | "When an environment has no allocated Copilot Credits, or uses all its allocated credits" [19] | "any experience that requires credits stops working until more credits are available." Agents stop responding, and makers lose natural language authoring, preview, test and evaluation creation [19] | Not stated. Same page says "Microsoft allows some level of overage" with no percentage [19] |
| Agent monthly limit with Stop usage | The agent reaches its own limit. "Limits aren't applied instantly." [6] | "The agent is automatically turned off once it hits the defined limit." [6] | "An agent's monthly limit doesn't stop the agent flows that the agent calls." [6] |
Our reading: the first two rows can give you a half-working agent. While an environment has no credits for flows, agents can keep answering until agent enforcement applies, and the rates page now says "New agent flow runs can be blocked while the agent keeps answering questions that don't need a flow." [10] So an agent whose useful work happens in flows may look healthy and fail on its core job.
What people see
- Custom agents: most users see "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." "Users who sign in with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license might not be blocked." [10]
- Agent flows and the GitHub Copilot harness: the error code FlowActionForbidden in a standard harness conversation, InsufficientMcsCredits when an agent flow is started directly, and for a GitHub Copilot harness tool call "Your environment is out of Copilot Credits." [165]
- Usage-based experiences, for makers and end users: "You need credits to continue. This environment doesn't have credits available right now. Credits power the AI creation experience and some agent and workflow orchestrators when they run." [19]
- Flow authors: "a design-time warning in the Copilot Studio designer indicating that capacity is exhausted." [10]
- Admins: "The tenant's designated administrator receives an email notification, and the Power Platform admin center also displays the notification." [10]
Microsoft's 125% example
A tenant has 25,000 credits. Environment A has 10,000 allocated, B and C have none, and D has 500 plus pay-as-you-go [10].
| Environment | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| B and C | They "draw from the tenant's capacity." "If the tenant reaches 125% Copilot Credit consumption, enforcement is invoked." |
| A | Not enforced while it has allocation left. After that it "can consume from the tenant" and joins B and C |
| D | "when the tenant is in overage, this environment isn't impacted." Past its 500 credits, "the pay-as-you-go meter is invoked." |
Effects stay local: "Limitations only apply to the environments in overage. Other environments' allocated Copilot Credits aren't affected." [23] Agent flow enforcement "resets monthly when prepaid Copilot Credits are renewed." [10] Power Automate cloud flows "aren't subject to Copilot Studio enforcement or billing." [10]
What to do when credits run out
Microsoft gives three: "Reallocate existing capacity from the organization (tenant) or environment level."; "Purchase more capacity and make it available to your environment."; "Set up a consumptive meter or pay-as-you-go meter to handle the overage." [10] Pay-as-you-go removes this enforcement "because overage is billed to your Azure subscription." [10] With no overage source, "the environment can consume only its allocated prepaid credits." [6] Every way to buy covers buying. Turn off spending in the Power Platform admin centre shows how to stop usage on purpose.
Environments under a spending policy
The table above assumes the default. When a resource-based spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin centre covers an environment, its limits are the active control [3, 4]. "If the agent reaches that limit, usage does not fall back to the user's identity-based policy." [3] How quickly a reached limit stops Copilot Studio usage: Not published. The published delay is for a new policy taking effect: "allow up to 12 minutes for the new policy to apply." [3]
Rate limits are separate
Credits aren't the only thing that can stop an agent. "When the system reaches the quota, the user chatting with the agent sees a failure notice" [82]. The table keeps Microsoft's older "message packs" label.
| Funding | Per minute | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 10 prepaid message packs | 50 | 1,000 |
| 11 - 50 prepaid message packs | 80 | 1,600 |
| 51 - 150 prepaid message packs | 100 | 2,000 |
| Each extra 10 prepaid message packs above 150 | +1 | +20 |
| Pay-as-you-go | 100 | 2,000 |
| Microsoft Copilot users | 100 | 2,000 |
| Trial or developer environments | 10 | 200 |
What people see in the Copilot app
A Copilot licence puts every entry point on the screen. A spending policy decides which of them work. Without a licence, people get Chat and the free parts of the app. Without a policy, licensed people can't use Cowork, Code or Autopilot; where the tabs appear, a click leads to a request-access or learn-more message [28]. With a policy, Cowork works and the bill goes to that policy. Code also needs the Frontier program [59], and Autopilot is in private preview [143] and isn't in Microsoft's list of policy services [13]. Makers add Copilot Studio on top. The detail follows, item by item and then person by person. For the strategies, see all ten on one screen.
Which app, which address, which navigation
The app was renamed in August 2026: "The Microsoft 365 Copilot app is now called Microsoft Copilot app." [170] The web address moved too: "the browser URL will transition from m365.cloud.microsoft to copilot.cloud.microsoft, and users will be automatically redirected" [171], with the last users redirected "In early November, 2026" [172]. Microsoft's own pages still mix the two addresses, so treat m365.cloud.microsoft as the old name.
What's in the left navigation depends on whether the tenant is in Frontier, Microsoft's preview program. The general availability support page lists "three experiences in the left navigation, along with New chat, Search, Library, Agents and Skills, and Notebooks: Chat ... Cowork ... Code" [173]. The Frontier version lands people in "Home, which brings Chat and Cowork together on one screen" and replaces the Agents button: "Plugins will replace the standalone Agents entry point (called Agents & Skills for some preview users) from Chat and the Customize entry point from Cowork." [28] Microsoft says so itself: "For users enrolled in the Frontier program, the tab options at the top of the left navigation might look different." [174] Separately, the Cowork, Code and Autopilot entry points are due to reach licensed users outside Frontier too: "This update will roll out to standard customers in October and deferred customers in November." [28] Using Code still needs Frontier [68], and Autopilot is in private preview [143]. Plugins and these entry points are the parts of the new navigation heading for general availability. The Plugins rollout runs "late October 2026" to "late November 2026" [40]. Frontier is off by default: "No access (default)", and "A Microsoft Copilot license is no longer required to enroll users in Frontier. Users need licenses for the products they want to preview." [139]
Five kinds of person
Most tenants have all five. Spending policies are explained in everything that runs on credits. The controls that change these cells are in Turn off spending in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
| What | No Copilot licence | Licence, no spending policy | Licence, in a spending policy | Maker | User of a Copilot Studio agent, or a customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Label under their name | "Copilot Chat (Basic)" or "M365 Copilot (Basic)" [175] | "M365 Copilot (Premium)" [175] | Same. Nothing on the label shows the policy | Whichever licence they hold | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Chat | "Standard access"; grounding "Limited (uploaded files)" [39]. Turn limits are arriving [93] | "Priority access"; grounding "Full (meetings, emails, chats, files, and more)" [39] | Same | Same as their licence | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Researcher and Analyst | No: "Limited (no advanced agents)" [39] | Yes, from Plugins or the pinned list [28]. Researcher is limited to 25 queries a month [43]. Whether Analyst shares that 25 is unconfirmed: see limits [153] | Same, with the same Researcher limit and the same open question for Analyst. No credits involved | Same | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Library, Pages, Notebooks | Yes, with Chat eligibility and OneDrive or SharePoint storage [45, 46, 47] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Cowork, Code, Autopilot | Whether the tabs show at all: Not published. They can't be used, because all three need the licence [28] | Tabs "visible by default". Clicking gives "an in-product message after clicking on the entry points to request access or learn more" [28]. If the admin set "No users", only a link to learn more [41]. Education users can't request [28] | Cowork usable, billed to the policy. Code: Frontier tenants only. It arrives by itself if the policy has Auto-apply new services on [59]. Autopilot: private preview, not a listed policy service [143, 13]. Without Code assigned: "Code entry point and welcome page; Code cannot be used" [59] | As their policy | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Models | "Standard access" to models [39]. A selector with Auto, Quick response and Think deeper [142]. "Model choice" isn't listed for Copilot Chat [12], and named-model access is Not published. No usage-based models [42] | Included models only; "Users will not have access to UBB models unless UBB is enabled." [42] | Astra and Fable 5.1 rolling out from early to mid November if usage-based billing is enabled for the user, and "Previously communicated eligibility requirements for these models apply" [42]. Fable 5.1 also depends on organisation eligibility and the Anthropic setting [55] | Copilot Studio models by environment | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Plugins and agents | Agents on instructions and the web; tenant data needs pay-as-you-go [32]. Plugins in Chat: Not published | The catalogue, "Add" or "Request approval" [44]. Blocked ones still show, with "This plugin is blocked by your organization's policy." and a "Request access" button [62] | Same, plus Cowork plugins and skills. Admin-deployed plugins carry "a Managed by your organization label" and can't be removed [61] | Can "Upload plugin" from a .zip and share with "Only you" or "Specific users in your organization" [176]; org-wide only after an admin approves [61] | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Where tools come from | Agent store, with limits | Plugins page or Agent store; admin approval where set [44, 71] | Same, plus "the Microsoft 365 plugin marketplace" from Cowork [60] | Agent Builder from "New Agent" [48]; Copilot Studio for connectors and workflows [72] | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Automations | Not applicable | Not published | Yes, in Cowork and the Home pane [28] | As their policy | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Seeing credits, asking for more | Nothing to see | The request-access flow; the admin sees "the requested service, license status, current policy" [20] | "/cost" in Cowork; at the limit, "Request more" [30, 63]. A usage history view was promised for September 2026 [113] but "/cost" says it "does not provide month-over-month trends, usage history" [30], and no other page locates one | Where makers see credits once a Microsoft 365 policy covers their environment: Not published. The Manage capacity and Manage agent views in the Power Platform admin centre show when a policy covers it [3] | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| Building | Agent Builder "with limited capabilities" [32] | Agent Builder; Copilot Studio with the Copilot Chat or Standard harness "at no additional cost" [14]. Whether the licence also covers the GitHub Copilot harness conflicts, see conflicts | Same. A user's policy funds the services selected in it. Building in Copilot Studio bills the environment, or a Microsoft 365 resource policy if one covers it [3]. How an identity policy applies to Copilot Studio agents: Microsoft ranks it below a resource policy [3] but doesn't list Copilot Studio among its services [13]. Unclear, so test | Copilot Studio; credits come from the environment, see Copilot Studio | Sees only the agent, in Teams, a website or wherever it's published, and nothing of the Copilot app |
| At the limit | An agent that needs tenant data with no billing behind it: the in-product text is Not published; access "is limited or disabled" [32] | At a model limit: Auto "if applicable", and what this user sees is Not published. Using credits needs a policy and is "coming soon" [11] | At the limit "they lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month" [1]. Over a per-user limit in a group policy, a running task "can complete without interruption" [20]. What happens to a running task at a whole-policy limit: Not published. Enforcement isn't real time, so a user "might be able to start one or more tasks" after the limit [9]. SharePoint warns at 20% remaining and asks users to confirm before spending [54] | "You need credits to continue. This environment doesn't have credits available right now." [19] See enforcement | Sees only the agent. When usage stops, most users see "This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later." A blocked agent "stops responding, including in a conversation that's already in progress", and licensed users "might not be blocked" [10] |
Every navigation item
The Copilot app navigation, item by item
Status is as at 31 October 2026. "Licence" is the paid Copilot licence. Where Microsoft publishes nothing about an item, the cell says so.
| Item | What it is | Where it lives | Status | Licence or credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home (Chat and Cowork) | "Home is your new starting point in Copilot, where Chat and Cowork come together in one place." [143] People switch between the two "in the prompt box" [28]. Chat answers now; Cowork runs longer tasks you hand over | Copilot app on the web, Windows and Mac, in Outlook and Teams, and on mobile [177] | Home Frontier from October 2026 [28]. Cowork itself General availability [145] | "Capabilities accessed through Chat are included with the Microsoft 365 Copilot user subscription license. Capabilities accessed through Cowork use usage-based billing." [28] Cowork needs "An active Microsoft 365 Copilot license" and a spending policy [177] Bills credits |
| Code | "Copilot Code is a tab in Microsoft Copilot that turns what you describe into working software." [178] It uses "the same plugins available in Cowork" [178] | Windows and Mac desktop app, and the web. "A mobile app for Copilot Code isn't available at this release." [136] Windows devices need the Beta channel [59] | Frontier "Begins with the Frontier program in late October 2026." [59] general availability date Not published | "To use Copilot Code, users need: A Microsoft 365 Copilot license. A spending policy." [59] Bills credits. Where a user sees their Code consumption in the app: Not published |
| New | A new chat. Microsoft's pages say "New chat" [173]; none documents an item labelled only "New". Our reading: the same button | Top of the navigation pane | General availability | Free Copilot Chat or the licence Included |
| Search | "The Search tab lets you find files, chats, or other items across your Microsoft 365 environment using Copilot." [179] | Navigation pane. Admins shape results under "Settings > Search & intelligence" [105] | General availability | "Limited capabilities" without a licence, "Included" with one [12]. No credits |
| Library | "quick access to your Copilot-generated content, such as images and pages, along with items shared with you by colleagues" [180]. In Frontier it also lists "recent Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files" [28] | "the Microsoft Copilot app on the web, Windows desktop, Mac desktop, and mobile platforms. Integration with Teams and Word is planned for future releases." [45] | General availability | "You'll need Copilot Chat eligibility to access Copilot Library, but not necessarily a Microsoft Copilot license." [45] No credits |
| Plugins | "an installable package that brings together capabilities for a specific task. It can include supported agents and skills, along with configuration or references for connectors and remote MCP servers." [181] It replaces the Agents page: "By late November 2026, users will select Plugins instead of Agents, Agents & Skills, or Customize to find agents." [40] "More than 100 plugins are already available" [182] | One Plugins menu across Chat, Cowork, Code, Autopilot, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint [40]. In Cowork the Plugins tab has "Installed" and "Discover" sections and an "Upload plugin" button [176]. Admins manage them under Agents > Tools > Plugins with "All users", "No users" or "Specific users and groups" [62] | General availability rollout "late October 2026" to "late November 2026" [40] | "Users who use Cowork plugins must have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses assigned." [61] Whether a Chat-only user can use plugins in Chat: Not published. No separate plugin price is published; inside Cowork "tool and skill calls" count toward consumption [67] |
| Automations | The list of Cowork tasks that run on a schedule or on an event: "Shows your scheduled prompts with options to edit, pause, resume, or delete them." [183] "Each automated task runs as the user who created it." [67] | Cowork's Tasks view, and in Frontier the Home navigation pane "For users with access to Cowork" [28]. What a user without Cowork access sees: Not published | Home entry Frontier; the Cowork feature General availability | Cowork licence and policy. Our reading: these are Cowork activity, so they spend the creator's credits while nobody is watching. A direct Microsoft statement, run frequency limits and any admin setting: Not published |
| Workspaces | "Copilot Notebooks is now called Copilot Workspaces." A shared team place, and "Your existing notebooks automatically become workspaces." "Projects are for your own work." "Workspaces are for group work." [184] | The Copilot app, with OneNote "over time" [184] | "Copilot Workspaces will start to roll out in phases starting late October 2026." [184] | The page states none. Our reading: Notebooks terms should carry over, since "Everything you could do in Copilot Notebooks still works" [184], but confirm |
| Pinned: Researcher, Analyst | Microsoft's own agents. In Frontier "Researcher and Analyst will no longer be pinned by default in the Copilot app navigation pane. Users can continue to access these agents from Plugins and can pin them to the navigation pane based on their preferences. Organizations that want these agents to remain pinned for their users can pre-pin them through the Microsoft 365 admin center." [28] | Three pages say three places: "under Agents" [185], "under Tools" [71], "from Plugins" [28]. The message is newest. Admin pre-pin setting name: Not published | General availability agents; the unpinning is Frontier | Licence needed: Chat-only users get "Limited (no advanced agents)" [39]. No credits. Researcher is limited to "25 queries per user per month" [43]. See limits |
| Autopilot | An always-on agent with "its own identity, memory, computer and workspace" [143]. "Users can access Autopilot by going to the Autopilot tab in the Copilot app navigation pane." [28] | Navigation pane tab. No Learn or support page exists yet | Private preview from the end of September 2026 [143]. "We will update this message with rollout timing and admin control details when available." [28] | "Autopilot uses usage-based billing. Eligible users require a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and spending policy." [28] Bills credits. Rate Not published |
| Notebooks (becoming Workspaces) | A notebook that collects sources and chats, also opened in OneNote. "In the left navigation, select Notebooks." [47] | Navigation pane; if missing, "open the app launcher (waffle menu)" [47]. Admins use Cloud Policy to allow creating and viewing [105] | General availability; Frontier adds model selection and Office editing [28] | "A Microsoft Copilot or Copilot Chat license is required to use Copilot Notebooks." [47] Limits differ by licence [154]. The Notebooks figures in Published limits predate the rename. No credits |
| Pages | Editable pages made from a chat, listed in Library. "Edit in Pages" or the plus button, "More, and select Draft page or code" [46] | Library; Cloud Policy controls creating and viewing [105] | General availability | "available to those who have SharePoint or OneDrive storage, including ones without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license" [46]. No credits |
| Create | "The Create tab allows you to generate new content using Copilot prompts": "Image, Video, Infographic, Story, Poster, Edit an image, and more." [179] | Navigation pane on general availability tenants. Whether it survives in the Frontier navigation: Not published (the October list omits it [173]) | General availability | "Standard" without a licence, "Priority" with one [12]. No credits stated for work accounts |
| Agent store (All agents) | "You can find and add more agents from the agent store." "Select All Agents." Then "Add", or "Request approval instead of Add" where the admin must approve [44]. Becoming the "Plugin store" [186] | Under Agents, soon Plugins. Admins publish or block agents in the Microsoft 365 admin centre: "Members of your organization can only access the agents that you have allowed." [71] Publisher types are controlled under "Agent and plugin access" [74] | General availability; rename in progress | Chat-only users get agents on instructions and public websites; tenant data needs pay-as-you-go [32, 91]. Standard harness agents in Microsoft channels are included for licensed users acting under their own identity, with fair usage limits [17 p18, 10]. Exceptions bill credits: computer-using agents, and agent flows not started by the "When an agent calls the flow" trigger [10]. See unlicensed users |
| Model picker | "Users can select different models using the model selector at the top right of the UI." [142] Chat offers Auto, "Quick response", "Think deeper" and named models; Cowork offers a longer list and a reasoning effort level [183] | Chat, Cowork, Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Group-level control of model families is rolling out in Cowork, with more workloads planned [2, 113]. See Can admins limit who picks which model? | General availability; usage-based models in Chat and Office Early to mid Nov 2026 [42] | Included models under the licence; "Users will not have access to UBB models unless UBB is enabled." [42] GPT-6 Astra and Claude Fable 5.1 Bill credits. See the model picker |
| /cost | "You can type /cost in Cowork to see the approximate Copilot Credit usage for a task, how many credits you have used this month, and how many remain." [30] "It is not an authoritative billing record." | Cowork [30] and Copilot in SharePoint [54]. In Chat or Code: Not published | General availability | "It does not cost any credits to use /cost." [30] Only useful inside a policy |
| Office in Copilot | "users can create, edit and collaborate on Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, without leaving the app" [138] | Inside the Copilot app, beside Chat and Cowork. "No admin action is required." [138] | General availability rollout "mid-November 2026" [138]; Frontier earlier | Through Chat: included. Through Cowork: usage-based [28]. Whether Chat-only users get it: Not published |
People will ask the helpdesk about three things. First, tabs for things they can't use: Microsoft says the entry points stay visible and the old hide setting "will be removed" [28], though a later message still lists it [59]. Second, the Agents button changing its name to Plugins between late October and late November [40]. Third, Researcher and Analyst disappearing from the pinned list in Frontier tenants [28]. An older Learn page still says they're "pre-pinned in Microsoft Copilot for all licensed users" [187], but the newer message applies.
A note you can paste to your helpdesk or intranet, for licensed people [28, 40]:
You may see Cowork, Code and Autopilot in Copilot. They cost extra, so they only work once you've been given access. Clicking one lets you ask for access or read more. Everything else in Copilot works as normal. Agents is becoming Plugins.
Gaps in what Microsoft has published
- A direct statement on whether Automations spend credits, their frequency limits and any admin setting.
- Whether a Chat-only user sees the Cowork, Code and Autopilot tabs, and how the request-access flow treats someone with no licence.
- Where a user sees remaining credits outside Cowork and SharePoint, and where the promised usage history lives.
- The admin setting that pre-pins agents, and how many an admin can pin: "a limited number" [187].
- Everything about Autopilot beyond its licence and billing line. The Code general availability date. Whether Create stays in the Frontier navigation. Whether Chat-only users get Office in Copilot.
- One conflict inside the Code pages, both dated 6 October: "It's available in English at this release." [178] and "Copilot Code is available in all Copilot supported languages." [136]
Nothing in these pages treats Australian tenants differently, except that the Anthropic models behind Researcher's Claude option and the Sonnet and Opus rows of the picker are on by default outside the EU, EFTA and UK [55]. Fable 5.1 is the exception: it's available as a subprocessor model only to organisations Microsoft deems eligible. The separate Data Retention opt-in, off by default everywhere, is named for models such as Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The page doesn't say it offers Fable 5.1 [55]. Check the setting before telling people which models they'll see.
What Microsoft doesn't publish
Ask your Microsoft account team about each of these, and keep the answer in writing. If an item is listed here, we didn't find it in the pages listed under Sources at 31 October 2026.
Prices
- Dollar price of any Pre-Purchase Plan tier, in any currency
- Australian pay-as-you-go or Pre-Purchase Plan prices, and Microsoft's exchange rate for credits. The AU$299.30 pack price is published
- Partner (CSP) prices for packs or credits
Rates
- Credit rate per model, token, step or minute for Cowork, Code, advanced SharePoint work and Work IQ Chat. The bands are planning estimates only
- Anything for Autopilot beyond "usage-based": rate, admin controls, Learn page, rollout date
- Credit cost of using Fable or Astra, and the effect of the 12 November model migrations
- Per-token rates for the GitHub Copilot and customer conversation harnesses, and their overage percentage
- Whether voice is free for licensed users
Limits
- Fair usage limit values, for Copilot or Copilot Studio
- Opus and other included-model limits: value, unit, reset period, and the date overflow to credits starts
- Copilot Chat turn counts, a standalone Analyst limit, and the reset rule for Researcher
- Any list of "Microsoft channels", or the "at scale" SharePoint threshold
Controls
- A tenant-wide maximum across all spending policies
- A tenant-wide default for the draw setting, agent limit or allocation. A spending limit on a billing plan. A tenant-wide computer use setting
- Defaults for add-on capacity assignments, Copilot Studio authors, Publish Copilots with AI features and Hosted browser
- The delay for allocation, draw setting changes, group rules, agent limits and Stop usage. The only published delays are 12 minutes for a new resource policy, up to an hour for sharing, 15 minutes for the Copilot Studio app setting, and 8 to 24 hours plus 24 for Azure
- How fast a Microsoft 365 limit stops Copilot Studio usage once reached
- The end of the Copilot Studio opt-in period, and whether Auto-apply affects resource-based policies
- Admin control of overflow to credits, other than having no spending policy
Dates
- When Copilot Business default-on reaches Australia
- General availability of Code, Copilot Managed Runtime and the customer conversation harness
- First bill date for default-on tenants, and the Partner Center platform minimum
Buying
- Whether packs decrement an Azure consumption commitment. Treat this as unknown, not as no
- Pack minimums, whether several Pre-Purchase Plans add up to a tier, and whether a policy can skip packs
- The order of Draw and Bill when both are set
- A Microsoft order for turning spending back on
- A production address for the Copilot Credit Estimator. Microsoft's short link lands on a non-production-looking address
What end users see
- Anything on a "Workspaces" navigation item beyond the rename
- Whether a Chat-only user sees the Cowork, Code and Autopilot tabs, and what the access request does for them
- Where users see remaining credits outside Cowork and SharePoint
Confirm these in your own tenant. The mid-November date for direct Copilot Business purchases rests on a third-party repost of Message center post MC1476200, and older reposts say 19 October. Self-service sign-up needs a test, because Microsoft's Copilot Studio script and the Entra definition say different things: see Access to Copilot Studio. Whether the 2,000 credit per-user figure is a true minimum is unclear: see the Microsoft 365 checks.
What Microsoft doesn't publish, and where its sources disagree
Ask your Microsoft account team about each of these, and keep the answer in writing. If an item is listed here, we didn't find it in the pages named in Sources at 31 October 2026.
Not published
| Item | Why it matters | Where we looked |
|---|---|---|
| Value, unit and reset period of the Opus limit and any limit on GPT-6.1 Sol or Sonnet 5.5 | Heavy users can't be forecast | Pricing post, licence page, Credits Guide, release notes |
| Meaning of "fair use", and the value for GPT-5.6, Sonnet 5 or Auto | The word is undefined on every page read. The Product Terms page we tried returned an error, so those terms weren't checked | Pricing post, licence page, Credits Guide, Copilot Studio Licensing Guide |
| Billing tier of Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Sol in Chat | Announced for the picker with no tier stated | Copilot blog, licence page |
| Credit price of a message on Fable, Astra or any model after a limit | A user can't see the cost before choosing, and budgets can't be modelled | Credits Guide, MC1519122, licence page, Cowork models page |
| Start date for limit warnings and overflow | "coming soon" only | Licence page |
| A way for users or admins to track licence limits | Credit dashboards cover credits only | Cost Management pages, pricing post |
| A setting to turn off overflow to credits, other than holding no spending policy | Control design depends on it | Spending policy pages |
| Which models count as frontier for billing, and whether Auto ever picks one that bills | Microsoft names Astra and Fable as examples | Licence page, pricing post, Credits Guide |
| Researcher limit reset rule, what happens at the limit, Analyst's own number | Helpdesk answers | Researcher FAQ, Notebooks page, support pages |
| Copilot Chat turn counts, image counts, reset period, start date | Free Chat is being limited | Limits page, Chat overview, Chat FAQ |
| Everything about Autopilot beyond its licence, spending policy and usage-based billing | Always-on work could bill while idle, and we can't tell | Credits Guide, Copilot Studio Licensing Guide, Learn, pricing pages, blog |
| Which named models a Copilot Chat user without a licence can pick | "Standard access" is all the licence comparison says | Licence comparison, Chat overview, plans page |
| What happens to a running task when a whole policy reaches its limit | Microsoft only describes a per-user limit in a group policy | Cost Management monitoring and access pages |
| Credit ranges and the "at scale" threshold for SharePoint and OneDrive | No way to size it | Credits Guide, SharePoint Learn page |
| general availability dates for Code, Managed Runtime, Contact Center Intelligence, Business Application tools | Preview pricing may change | Credits Guide, Learn pages |
| Build-cost ranges for apps | Only runtime has bands | Credits Guide, managed runtime licensing FAQ |
| Prerequisites for Contact Center Intelligence, and whether a resource policy can cover it | Control design | Credits Guide, Cost Management pages |
| Whether capacity packs fund Code, Managed Runtime, Teams Phone Agent and Work IQ | The page names Copilot, SharePoint agent, Copilot Studio and Cowork usage | Azure bill comparison page |
| December offer names and SKU IDs, and the date default-on billing reaches Australia | Procurement and CSP planning | Partner Center announcements |
Where Microsoft's sources conflict
We show both sides and mark the newer source. The Our handling column is our own view.
| Topic | One source | Other source | Newer | Our handling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the licence cover building on the GitHub Copilot harness? | "A Microsoft 365 Copilot license lets you use Copilot Studio to build agents for the GitHub Copilot harness." [49] | "Copilot Studio that's included with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license lets the licensed users build and use internal agents within Microsoft 365 using the Copilot Chat and Standard harness at no additional cost. The standalone Copilot Studio license offers additional flexibility" [14] | Licensing page, 15 Oct. The pricing page is undated | Don't plan on it, and ask your account team in writing |
| Do all credit services need a Copilot licence? | "UBB experiences consume Copilot Credits and require a USL for access." [11] | Only Cowork, SharePoint, OneDrive and Code are marked "(Copilot license required)" [13]. "Do users need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to run an app? No." [24] | Marked list, 30 Oct | Follow the marked list. Read the general statement as covering Copilot experiences |
| Is Anthropic a Cowork prerequisite? | "Anthropic enabled in the tenant" [17 p9] | "Turning off the Anthropic model family is a model control and has no effect on whether a user can access Cowork." [67] | Guide, Nov edition. Learn updated 27 Oct | Follow Learn behaviour. Our reading: the guide's line looks carried over. Test in your tenant |
| Can the Anthropic setting be scoped? | "The setting is tenant-wide, so it can't be used to grant Anthropic models to a subset of users." [69] | "The Anthropic enablement setting can be scoped to sets of users or groups." [67] | Group wording, 27 Oct | Check the admin centre screen |
| Does Code bill credits? | "Usage counts against your Microsoft Copilot entitlement" [136] | Copilot licence plus "Copilot Credits usage-based billing enabled" [17 p13] | Guide | Treat Code as credit-billed |
| Choices at a limit | Auto or credits [2] | Auto or another model [157]; credits or "if applicable" Auto [11] | Learn, 6 Oct | Assume nothing is settled until it's live |
| Are limit warnings live? | "Users are warned as they approach a limit" [157] | "(coming soon)" [11] | Learn, 6 Oct | Treat as coming soon. User reports suggest no warning [163] |
| Opus tense | "will be included with limits" [2] | "included with limits" [11] | Learn | Present tense |
| What the Researcher limit covers | 25 "combined" [153] | 25 for Researcher, no Analyst mention [43] | FAQ, shown 26 Oct 2026, metadata 2025 | Plan on shared. Its metadata suggests the line may be old |
| Researcher model picker in Chat | Disabled when adding @Researcher, "coming soon" [43] | "You can now choose supported Researcher models and modes directly within Chat" [188] | FAQ, 26 Oct. Note dated August | Possibly still rolling out. Unresolved |
| Researcher reporting | "There is no existing reporting tool" [43] | "Admins can see usage metrics" [43] | Same page | Assume no per-user count |
| Voice in free Chat | Voice "Included" for Copilot Chat [12] | "real-time voice is available for licensed Microsoft Copilot users only" [92] | FAQ dated, 19 Oct | Our reading: the grid may mean dictation and read aloud |
| Notebooks without a licence | Licence required footnote [144] | Available to "eligible Copilot Chat users" [154] | Notebooks page, 8 Oct | Follow the Notebooks page |
| Allocating credits | "Allocate credits to users who should have access to the models." [42] | Policies "don't reserve or allocate Copilot Credits to users or groups" [1] | Learn, 30 Oct | Follow Learn. "Allocate" means assign a policy |
| Usage-based models in Chat, timing | Roadmap "October CY2026" [189] | Early to mid November [42] | Message, 21 Oct | Use November |
| Where credits are managed | "centrally managed through the Microsoft 365 admin center" [17 p5] | Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365 and Power Apps "managed in PPAC" [25 p13] | Same day, both behind MC1530368 | Both true by service. See Two systems, one credit pool |
| Setting name | "Auto-apply new services" [13] | "Allow new Agents and services as they become available" [59, 54] | Unclear | Treat as one setting. Check the screen |
| MCP billing | 0.1 per call or variable "in all integration surfaces" [17 p26] | Per-feature rates with exceptions for Dynamics 365 Premium or a Copilot licence [190, 191, 151] | Guide, October | Use the guide for preview tools. Older terms for generally available servers: Not published |
| Power Apps Premium and app hosting | Running "is included, subject to existing Power Apps Premium request limits" [17 p24] | "Hosting and management in the Copilot Managed Runtime host" "consume Copilot Credits" [17 p26] | Same guide | Follow the licensing FAQ: Premium users "don't consume Copilot Credits when they run apps" [24] |
| Who creates a policy | AI Administrator "can't create spending policies" [8] | Creating one requires "the AI Administrator role" [37] | Setup, 30 Oct | See Turn off spending in the Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Copilot Business promotion | "15% promotional pricing" [15] | $21 to $18 [14], which is 14.3% | Unclear | Quote each as printed |
| Base subscription | Required today [141, 14] | Not required from 1 December for new offers [15] | Both true on their dates | Recheck the licence page in December |
| Voice agent rates (Copilot Studio) | Bands imply about 10-15 and 17-22 credits a minute [17 p17] | "35 Copilot Credits" and "75 Copilot Credits" a minute [10] | Rates page, 31 Oct | Our reading: not reconcilable from pages read. See Copilot Studio gaps |
Pages to read with care
- The extensibility cost page says "No extra charges for accessing or using extensibility features" for licensed users [58]. Don't read that as covering Cowork, Code, the Work IQ API or the GitHub Copilot harness.
- The June 2025 Researcher post [153] predates the pricing model and the rename.
- Microsoft's public estimator short link goes to a host whose name looks like pre-production [4]. Link to the short address, not the host.
- Microsoft's page dates don't reliably show how current a page is: the Researcher FAQ's metadata is a year older than its displayed date [43].
Gaps and conflicts
Everything here comes from Microsoft's documents. We didn't check it in a live tenant. Where Microsoft says nothing, plan cautiously and ask your Microsoft contact to confirm in writing.
Not published
| Question | Status |
|---|---|
| Fair usage limit values | Not published |
| A list of "Microsoft channels" | Not published |
| Whether a Copilot licence covers voice minutes | Not published |
| Per-token, per-model or per-tool rates for the GitHub Copilot and customer conversation harnesses | Not published |
| Overage percentage for those two harnesses, and the length in time of the "grace period" | Not published |
| How long an agent limit takes to stop usage in the Power Platform admin centre. Microsoft says only "for some time" | Not published |
| How fast a reached spending limit stops Copilot Studio usage | Not published |
| What exactly bills in developer and trial environments, and a past-tense confirmation | Not published |
| Billing of agent evaluations on the standard harness | Not published |
| Billing of the computer use Test experience | Not published |
| Rate for AI-assisted authoring on the standard harness | Not published |
| Split of licensed and unlicensed use per agent in reports | Not published |
| Billing after a Dataverse for Teams upgrade | Not published |
| General availability date for the customer conversation harness | Not published |
| Any Copilot Credits included with Microsoft 365 E7 or Agent 365. Agent 365 says "There are no consumption-based costs for Agent 365 yet." [192] | Not published |
Where Microsoft's sources disagree
| Topic | One source | Another source | Which we follow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where credits are managed | "centrally managed through the Microsoft 365 admin center" [17 p5]; "managed in PPAC" [25 p13]. PPAC is Microsoft's shorthand for the Power Platform admin centre | "To opt in, create a Microsoft 365 admin center resource-based spending policy. Until then, your existing Power Platform admin center configuration remains in effect." [3] | The Learn page, which is specific and describes the opt-in: Power Platform by default, Microsoft 365 by choice. Neither PDF mentions the move, and both date from about the same time |
| When enforcement starts | 125% for custom agents, no credits in the environment for flows [10] | Stops when allocated credits are used, no percentage [19]. "can stop working" [6] | Show all four behaviours. Our reading: don't apply 125% to the newer harnesses, and don't rely on the grace period. The rates page is the newer of the two (31 October against 20 October) |
| Tenant or environment | "when a tenant reaches 125%" against "the environment's agents are blocked" [10] | "only apply to the environments in overage" [23] | Flows are resolved: they're blocked per environment [10, 6]. What starts enforcement for custom agents is still unclear. What base the 125% uses when part of the capacity is allocated: Not published |
| Voice rates | 35 and 75 credits a minute [10] | Customer conversation bands, about 10-15 and 17-22 a minute by Our reading [17 p17] | Both, by harness. Tier names also differ: Premium GenAI Voice, Premium (S2S) Voice |
| Computer use rate | "billed at the agent action rate" [10] | 5 a step, 15 on a premium model [118] | The computer use page, which has more detail. The rate card also shows "No charge" on the agent action row, and its footnote 4 removes computer use from that |
| Scope of the licence | Licence covers "classic answers, generative answers, or Microsoft Graph tenant grounding" [49]. "No extra charges for accessing or using extensibility features" [58] | All rate card rows under footnote 1 [10]. GitHub Copilot harness and computer use billed [5] | The rates page and the GitHub Copilot harness cost page, which are newer |
| Instructions-only agents not built in Agent Builder | Agents on instructions or public websites "don't incur extra costs." [58] "agents grounded in public data or instructions are free to use." [32] | Generative answers bill "unless the agent is created in Agent Builder in Microsoft 365". That page limits itself to "agents or agent flows powered by the standard harness." [10] | Unresolved. The rates page is newer, but it states its own scope as the standard harness, and these are Copilot Chat agents. "By default, pay-as-you-go billing is disabled." [26] Our reading: test a small run before you promise no charge |
| Footnote 5 in the Copilot Studio Licensing Guide | Employee-facing runtime is included, with no harness limit [25 p7] | The same page's table and the Credits Guide limit it to Standard [17 p18] | Standard only. Both harness cost pages and the launch blog agree [5, 35, 166] |
| Standard authoring with no Copilot licence | Included dot under Microsoft Copilot Studio [25 p7]; "starts billing after publish" [78] | Included with the licence, "Otherwise, Copilot Credits are required." [17 p18] | Our reading: the weight favours no charge for standard authoring |
| Customer conversation authoring | Runtime only [25 p5] | Harness can affect "authoring and runtime" [17 p15] | Unresolved. Preview and test billing aren't stated |
| Prompts in an agent flow for a licensed user | Prompts: "Yes, when run inside a standard harness agent by a licensed user" [5] | "Prompts and models in agent flows always consume Copilot Credits" [80]. "AI tools that run inside an agent flow, such as prompts, are metered separately." [10] | Unresolved. Our reading: treat the AI step as billing. The rates sentence is about exemptions from enforcement, so it suggests this but doesn't settle it |
| Test runs | Flow tests "aren't billed" [5] | Prompts and models in flows "always consume" [80] | Our reading: both can be true if you separate flow actions from AI steps. The AI Builder page is the older one (June 2026) |
| Rollover | "All Copilot Studio purchased capacity is enforced monthly and unused Copilot Credits do not carry over month to month." [25 p13] | Pre-Purchase Plan credits last the annual term [17 p5] | Packs monthly, Pre-Purchase Plan annual. See Every way to buy |
| Who needs a licence to author | Copilot licence "is required for authoring agents in Copilot Studio" [32] | Four routes in [49] | The licensing page, which the Copilot Studio Licensing Guide supports. See Control access to Copilot Studio |
| Agent flows and workflows | Change log: "Agent flows updated to workflows" [25 p22] | Separate rows with separate rules [5] | The cost page. Workflows bill differently on the GitHub Copilot harness and inside a standard agent |
| Trial licence | "you can't publish the agent." [121] | "Your agent continues to work for up to 90 days after your trial expires" [121] | Unexplained, on one page |
| Product name | "Microsoft Contact Center Intelligence" [17 p19] | "Microsoft Contact Center AI" [35] | Treat as the same product. Search for both |
Older wording still live
Some Microsoft pages still refer to messages and billed sessions. Don't quote these for current billing: the Copilot pay-as-you-go meters page, which says "$0.01 per message" [193]; the session questions on the billing FAQ [23]; the "message pack" wording on the standard harness licensing page [49]; and the capacity line on the licence assignment page, which Manage Copilot Credits contradicts [122, 6].
Common claims tested
We checked claims from reseller and analyst posts, forums, video titles and aggregator sites against Microsoft's own sources, as they stood on 31 October 2026. Wrong means Microsoft's sources contradict it. Stale means it was once true or once announced. Partly means it's true with conditions left out. Unsupported means we found no Microsoft source for it. The last group lists common claims that check out, so you don't over-correct.
| Claim | Verdict | What Microsoft says |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday Copilot is now metered, and chat costs credits | Wrong | Everyday AI stays on the per-user licence, "and there are no changes to the value you already have". Usage limits are coming, with a free route back to Auto. [2] |
| The Copilot licence comes with a monthly credit allowance, and the 4,000 is included | Wrong | 4,000 is a default maximum on a metered charge, "with UBB charges based on actual usage". [15] |
| E7 includes Cowork usage or a credit pool | Unsupported | E7 "brings together Microsoft 365 E5, Copilot, Entra Suite, and Agent 365", with no credits listed. The only E7 credit offer is a bundle: "Microsoft 365 E7 + annual Copilot Studio capacity pack Buy 5 Get 5", through 31 December 2026. [15] Our reading E7 itself carries no credits. Packs are bought alongside it. |
| Usage-based billing is on by default for all Copilot customers | Wrong | It applies to new Copilot Business purchases only. "Microsoft 365 Copilot (Enterprise) isn't in scope." [16] |
| Default-on starts 2 November (partner) or 19 October (direct) | Stale | The partner date is 1 December, "previously communicated as November 2, 2026". [15] The direct date is reported as mid-November. [18] |
| The default limit is $10 a user a month | Unsupported | We found this figure on no Microsoft page. The default is "4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month". [15] Our reading That's $40 at list. |
| Only brand new subscriptions are affected by default-on | Partly | It also covers "Adding seats to existing Copilot Business subscription" through the portal and trial conversions. Seat changes through the API don't start billing. Microsoft marks this page as describing unreleased features. [16] |
| The December change applies worldwide | Wrong | Eleven markets are left out at first. "It will initially not be available in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain." [15] |
| Nothing can ever bill until an admin creates a policy | Partly | True for enterprise: "UBB services stay off until an admin creates a spending policy". [2] A default-on Copilot Business purchase creates the policy itself. [16] |
| Usage-based billing launches in Q4, so nothing is billing yet | Wrong | Cowork has billed since June: "Billing for Copilot Cowork begins today." [145] The Q4 line refers to the wider Copilot rollout. [113] |
| After 1 July, tenants without usage-based billing had Cowork suspended | Stale | 1 July ended a grace period: early Frontier tenants "will not be billed until July 1, 2026". [145] Access now comes only through a spending policy that selects Cowork. [67] We found no Microsoft statement of any suspension. |
| Seeing Cowork in the app means it's switched on and spending | Wrong | Entry points are visible by default. People with no spending policy "will not be able to access these capabilities". [28] |
| Azure budgets limit Copilot spending | Wrong | "Budgets and alerts help finance and service owners monitor spending, but they don't stop usage." [5] Budgets on the older Copilot pay-as-you-go page don't stop it either. [27] |
| A spending limit is only a warning | Wrong | At the limit, "they lose access to agents and services for the rest of the month". [1] Enforcement can be delayed. [9] |
| A one credit limit is a way of blocking a user | Wrong | "Setting a very low credit limit doesn't prevent access." Remove the user from the policy instead. [9] |
| Tasks running over the limit finish and aren't billed | Partly | Microsoft says this for the per-user limit, with a condition: the task "can complete without interruption" and the excess "isn't billed (at Microsoft's sole discretion)". [20] Our reading Don't plan on it, and don't extend it to a policy limit. |
| Spending policies allocate credits to people | Wrong | "Spending policies are limit-based controls and don't reserve or allocate Copilot Credits to users or groups." [1] An older post uses "Allocate credits to users" loosely. [42] Our reading The newer page applies. |
| A policy covers only what you ticked when you made it | Wrong | Auto-apply new services is "enabled by default for all spending policies". [102] |
| Changing the billing method means deleting the policy | Stale | "Changing the billing method doesn't require you to delete and recreate the policy." [1] |
| All Copilot Credits are managed in the Microsoft 365 admin centre | Partly | The Credits Guide says so, [17 p5] the Copilot Studio Licensing Guide disagrees, [25 p13] and Copilot Studio moves only by choice: "Environments that are not moved will continue to use their existing cost controls in the Power Platform admin center." [4] |
| Copilot Studio costs are managed only in the Power Platform admin centre | Stale | "Spending policies can be applied to a supported environment or an individual agent." General availability by 20 November. [4] |
| Copilot Studio spending has moved to the Microsoft 365 admin centre automatically | Wrong | It's "not enabled automatically for existing Copilot Studio environments". [4] |
| Copilot Studio agents are free with a Copilot licence | Partly | Only on the standard harness, in Microsoft channels, for a licensed authenticated user, within fair usage. [10, 17 p18] Even then, computer use, autonomous runs and agent flows on other triggers bill. [5, 10] For the GitHub Copilot harness, "This usage isn't included with a user's Microsoft 365 Copilot license." [5] |
| Licensed users pay 25 credits per autonomous trigger | Unsupported | No 25 rate appears in the rate card. An agent action is 5 credits, and agent actions include triggers. Autonomous runs do bill. [10, 5] |
| Agent actions are always charged, even for licensed users | Partly | The rate card shows "No charge" when the inclusion conditions are met, and the full rate otherwise. [10] |
| Every usage-based service needs a Copilot licence | Partly | One post says so, [2] but the newer list marks only Cowork, SharePoint, OneDrive and Code as "Copilot license required". [13] "Do users need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to run an app? No." [24] |
| Credits roll over | Wrong | Packs: "Unused credits do not roll over to the next month." [25 p16] Pre-Purchase Plans last one year. [17 p5] |
| All prepaid credits expire monthly | Wrong | The Pre-Purchase Plan runs for its term: "Unused credits expire at the end of the annual term." [17 p5] One older line in the Copilot Studio Licensing Guide speaks of "All Copilot Studio purchased capacity" monthly. [25 p13] Our reading Packs monthly and plans annual is the reading that fits everything else. |
| Allocating capacity to an environment sets a fixed maximum | Partly | Only with no overage source: "If no overage source is enabled, the environment can consume only its allocated prepaid credits." [6] "An allocation isn't a boundary if the environment can continue drawing from tenant capacity or pay-as-you-go billing." [5] |
| Copilot and Copilot Studio hold separate credit pools | Wrong | Credits pool at the tenant, and pack credits allocated in one centre leave the other: "Available credits = Total purchased credits - Credits pre-allocated to environments in Power Platform admin center". [8] |
| Published credit bands are prices, and a Cowork task costs $1 to $3 | Wrong | "These figures are rough planning estimates." [17 p7] Credit rates per model or step: Not published |
| Cowork bands are 70-200, 400-600 and over 1,500 | Stale | The November guide reads 100 - 300, 300 - 700 and over 700. [17 p7] The older figures are attributed to an earlier edition, which we didn't read. |
| Input tokens run 60 times output in agents | Unsupported | No such Microsoft figure in the guides or the rate card. [10] |
| Microsoft has published the licence usage limits | Wrong | They're announced with no values: "Reach usage limits in the USL (coming soon)". [11] |
| From 1 December, Copilot no longer needs Microsoft 365 | Wrong | The purchase rule changes, but the dependency doesn't: "Copilot experiences continue to depend on the Microsoft 365 apps and services a customer is licensed for". [15] |
| The December offers change the Copilot price | Wrong | They're "priced the same as the current offers". [15] |
| AI Builder credits end on 1 November | Wrong | It depends on contract end: "November 1, 2026, is not a universal cutoff for existing credits." [137] |
| AI Builder credits convert to Copilot Credits one for one | Wrong | They don't convert: "there is no single conversion ratio". [137] |
| The GitHub Copilot harness is GitHub Copilot, so GitHub's credits and subscriptions cover it | Wrong | It "is a Microsoft Copilot Studio authoring and orchestration framework, not the GitHub Copilot service." [79] It bills Copilot Credits. [5] |
| A 20% Pre-Purchase Plan discount needs a $3M spend | Partly | The 20% tier is 300,000,000 credits. [17 p5] Our reading That's $3,000,000 at list and $2,400,000 after the discount. Microsoft publishes no dollar price per tier. |
| $0.008 is the street price of a credit | Partly | A pack is $200 for 25,000 credits a month. [25 p16] Our reading $0.008 holds only if every pack credit is used every month, or at the top Pre-Purchase Plan tier. |
| Pay-as-you-go is $0.01 per credit, billed in arrears | Checks out | "Pricing: $0.01/Copilot Credit", "billed in arrears at the end of the billing month." [17 p4] |
| A pack is $200 for 25,000 credits a month, with no rollover | Checks out | "$200 per credit pack/month (billed annually)". [25 p16] |
| Spending order is packs, then Pre-Purchase Plan, then pay-as-you-go | Checks out | Published in that order for spending policies. [8] The Agent plan's place is less clear: see Which credits go first. |
| Pre-Purchase Plans auto-renew and are final sale | Checks out | "The setting is configured to renew automatically by default." "All purchases are final." [38] |
| The Pre-Purchase Plan is bought in the Azure portal | Checks out | It is, [17 p5] and the Copilot Credit plan can now also be bought from Cost Management in the Microsoft 365 admin centre. [8] |
| Agents are blocked at 125% of prepaid capacity, and new agent flow runs when the environment has no credits | Partly | "Enforcement is triggered when a tenant reaches 125% of their prepaid capacity." [10] That trigger applies to the tenant and gives each environment no margin: an environment with no overage source "can consume only its allocated prepaid credits", [6] and the enforcement page says credit experiences stop when allocated credits are used, with no percentage. [19] New agent flow runs are blocked when the environment has no credits. [10] Our reading Don't plan on the 25%. |
| Standard harness per-event rates are 1, 2, 5 and 10 | Checks out | Classic answer, generative answer, agent action and tenant graph grounding. [10] |
| The highest per-user limit wins across policies | Checks out | "Highest per-user limit" comes first in the order. [1] |
| Everyday Work IQ grounding and Researcher, Analyst and Facilitator carry no extra charge | Checks out | "There are no incremental charges for Work IQ accessed in Microsoft Copilot experiences". [17 p14] |
Plain definitions
Marks used on this page
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Our reading | Our inference. Everything without this mark is Microsoft's wording or a plain restatement of it, with the source numbered beside it. |
| Not published | We looked and Microsoft hasn't published it. In the Copilot and Copilot Studio areas the chip links to that area's gaps section. |
| General availability Preview Frontier | Microsoft's status for a feature: generally available, preview, or Frontier. Each is defined in the list below. |
| From 1 Dec 2026 | A dated change Microsoft has announced and not yet made. |
| Included Bills credits Limited Off | Whether something uses Copilot Credits. |
| Microsoft 365 admin centre Power Platform admin centre Azure | Which admin centre a control is in. Blue is Copilot and teal is Copilot Studio throughout. |
| Term | Plain meaning | Belongs to |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Credit | The unit of consumption "for Microsoft Copilot Studio, Microsoft Copilot, and other AI experiences across Microsoft offerings". [25 p14] $0.01 each on pay-as-you-go. [17 p4] | Both |
| Tenant pool | The tenant's shared credits. Prepaid pack credits not yet allocated to an environment are what an environment can "draw" on. [6] | Both |
| USL | User subscription licence: the per-user Copilot licence, "priced per user per month". It covers everyday AI. [2] | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Usage-based billing (UBB) | Paying in Copilot Credits for what's used, for advanced work such as Cowork and Code. [11] | Both |
| Spending policy | The Cost Management item that decides who or what may use metered services, how much, and which billing method pays. It's a limit as well as an access control. It holds no credits. [1, 9] Guides also write "spend policy", and SharePoint pages "cost management policy". | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Identity-based policy | A spending policy that covers all users or security groups. [1] | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Resource-based policy | A spending policy that covers agents or environments. It takes over from Power Platform controls for what it covers, except AI Builder features and their credits. An identity-based policy can't be converted into one. [3] | Microsoft 365 admin centre over Copilot Studio |
| Billing plan | The link between an environment and an Azure subscription for pay-as-you-go, with a hidden Azure resource behind it. "An environment can only be linked to one billing plan at a time." [103, 22] Older pages call it a billing policy. | Power Platform admin centre Azure |
| Billing policy | In the Microsoft 365 admin centre, the older pay-as-you-go option for Copilot Chat agents, SharePoint agents and the Retrieval API, under Copilot > Billing & usage. It's separate from a spending policy. [26, 27] | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Copilot credit policy | A third kind of policy, also under Copilot > Billing & usage. It spends capacity pack credits on Copilot Chat with no Azure subscription, up to 10 a tenant. Copilot Chat stops for its users when the packs run out. "Copilot credit policies are currently only available for Microsoft Copilot Chat." [36] | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Environment | A space that holds your organisation's business data, agents, apps and flows. [120] It's the unit Copilot Studio charges. | Power Platform admin centre |
| Allocation | Assigning prepaid credits (packs, or credits included with eligible Dynamics 365 Premium licences) to one environment. [5, 6] Our reading Pre-Purchase Plan credits reach an environment through a billing plan. Allocation only moves pack credits. | Power Platform admin centre |
| Harness | The engine that runs an agent: it decides when to call the model and which tools to use. Which one you pick decides how the agent bills, and what it can do. [79] The three are the standard harness, GitHub Copilot harness and customer conversation harness Preview. [17 p15] | Power Platform admin centre |
| Capacity pack | A tenant subscription of "25,000 Copilot Credits per month" with no rollover. [25 p16, 25 p17] More at how to buy Copilot Credits. | Both |
| Pre-Purchase Plan | A one-year discounted prepayment, shortened by Microsoft to "P3". It's "layered on top of pay-as-you-go". The Copilot Credit plan covers credits. The Microsoft Agent plan is broader and uses Agent Commit Units. [8, 131, 25 p16] Unused amounts expire at the end of the term. [17 p5] | Azure |
| Fair usage (fair use) | The undefined limit on what the licence includes. "The USL has always come with fair use, and that won't change." [2] Limit values: Not published | Both |
| Frontier | Microsoft's optional early-access program. "Frontier is optional and controlled by your admins." Enrolled users get eligible public preview features before general availability. [139] | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| General availability (GA) | Generally available: released and past preview. [139] | Both |
| Preview | Our reading An early release ahead of general availability, so expect its behaviour and billing to change. [139] | Both |
| Cowork | Hand Copilot a longer task: you describe the outcome and it works through the steps, with you keeping oversight. [17 p6] | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Code | Describe a dashboard, tracker or app and Copilot builds it, using the context of your work. [17 p11] | Microsoft 365 admin centre |
| Autopilot | An always-on personal agent in the Copilot app, previously called Scout. It uses usage-based billing. [28] | Not published |
| Work IQ | What Copilot and agents know about your work, built from signals in Microsoft 365 and your business systems. [17 p13] | Both |
| Draw, and the draw setting | An environment taking credits from the tenant pool, instead of using its own allocation. [6] The Microsoft setting is "Draw from the available capacity in my tenant", and this guide calls it the draw setting. | Power Platform admin centre |
| Managed environment | A Power Platform environment with extra admin controls, which has its own licence condition. [132, 88] | Power Platform admin centre |
| Data policy | Rules on how agents connect to data and services, set through the connectors and channels you allow or block. [75] | Power Platform admin centre |
| CSP | Cloud Solution Provider: buying through a Microsoft partner. [15] | Partner Center |
| MACC | Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment: a commitment to spend a set amount on Azure. A Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan counts towards it. [25 p15] | Azure |
For the wider idea of credits as a currency, see The currency of AI is credits. For agents, see Your agent has a price tag now. To work a purchase through in Australian dollars, use the Copilot Credit buying calculator. These are older articles. Where they differ, this guide is more recent.
Changelog
First published 31 October 2026. All facts were read on 31 October 2026.
What changed in Microsoft's sources in the last two months
Our reading The Why it matters column is our own analysis.
| Date | Change | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct | Billing rates page rewritten: a blocked agent now stops mid-conversation, licensed users might not be blocked, agent flows are blocked per environment, and premium tools are priced per 1,000 tokens. [10] | Older enforcement wording is gone. A conversation in progress now ends when an agent is blocked. |
| 30 Oct | AI Builder exclusion added to the Copilot Studio cost page. [3] Copilot Notebooks renamed Copilot Workspaces. [184] | Microsoft says not to move anything using AI Builder onto a resource-based policy. Notebooks limits predate the rename. |
| 30 Oct | Learn pages on cost management updated, with a new page on managing Copilot Studio costs in the Microsoft 365 admin centre. [3, 13, 8, 1] | Describes One control plane as if available, ahead of the general availability date. |
| 29 Oct | November editions of both licensing PDFs. The Credits Guide's only November entry is Copilot in SharePoint and OneDrive, and the Copilot Studio Licensing Guide log has no November entry. [17 p30, 25 p22] | Neither mentions the Copilot Studio move, so both are already behind. |
| 29 Oct | Copilot Studio cost controls announced for the Microsoft 365 admin centre, general availability by 20 November. [4] | The statement that Copilot Studio costs are managed only in the Power Platform admin centre is no longer complete. |
| 26 Oct | AI Builder credits retirement detailed. [137] | No conversion, and usage falls back to Copilot Credits. |
| 22 Oct | Graph APIs for Copilot cost management on the beta endpoint. [140] | Manage policies by API, but not in production. [101] |
| 21 Oct | Usage-based models in Chat and the Office apps announced. Copilot Code rollout in Frontier, updated 28 October. E7 Buy 5 Get 5 announced. [42, 59, 15] | Frontier models reach everyday apps, and new services join policies with Auto-apply on. |
| 16 Oct | Reported update: direct default-on moves from 19 October to mid-November, Business Premium tenants first. [18] "(add-on)" naming begins. [15] | Anything quoting 19 October is out of date. |
| 14 Oct | Partner default-on confirmed at 1 December, moved from 2 November in the announcement dated 1 October. [15] | Australia and ten other markets stay out at first. |
| 13 Oct | Copilot Studio model retirements for 12 November, updated 26 October. [87] | Automatic migration, with credit effect unstated. |
| 6 Oct | New setting, Access to usage-based billing experiences, documented. The older discovery setting is deprecated. [41, 112] | Default is All users, and it controls who can request, not who gets access. |
| 30 Sep | Teams Phone Agent generally available, and Copilot in SharePoint and OneDrive rollout begins. [57, 146] | Two more services selectable in spending policies. |
| 25 Sep | New Copilot pricing model announced, with FinOps features in preview. [2, 113] | Makes everyday and advanced the dividing line, and announces licence usage limits. |
| 21 Sep | First default-on notice for Copilot Business, reported. [18] | Source of the 19 October and 2 November dates, both since replaced. |
| 10 Sep | Cost Management updates: Auto-apply on by default, and usage follows a user between policies. [102] | Existing policies can widen by themselves. |
| 1 Sep | Date given for developer and trial environments to move to usage-based billing. The page still reads in the future tense. [5] | GitHub Copilot harness work in developer and trial environments was due to start billing on this date. Confirm in your tenant's reports. See developer and trial environments. |
Sources
Every number in the guide points here. Select a number to see its source. We read all of them on 31 October 2026. Message center posts sit behind admin sign-in, so we read them on a public mirror. One post rests on a third-party repost. Each is labelled below.
- Managing AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing 30 October 2026
- Evolution of the Copilot pricing model, Microsoft Copilot Blog 25 September 2026
- Manage Copilot Studio costs in the Microsoft 365 admin center 30 October 2026
- MC1530368: Microsoft Copilot Studio cost controls are expanding to Cost Management in the Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 29 October 2026
- Manage costs for agents powered by the GitHub Copilot harness 28 October 2026
- Manage Copilot Credits and capacity for Copilot Studio 14 October 2026
- Govern Copilot Credit consumption for agents powered by the GitHub Copilot harness 6 October 2026
- Set up usage-based billing for Copilot Credits 30 October 2026
- Determine access controls for Copilot Cowork 21 August 2026, updated 21 October 2026
- Billing rates and management 30 October 2026, updated 31 October 2026
- Understanding the user subscription license (USL) and usage-based billing (UBB) 5 October 2026
- Microsoft Copilot Plans and Pricing - Enterprise Undated, read 31 October 2026
- Understand usage-based billing and cost management for Copilot Credits 30 October 2026
- Microsoft Copilot Plans and Pricing - Business Undated, read 31 October 2026
- October 2026 announcements, Partner Center Items dated 1, 14 and 21 October 2026
- Usage-based billing for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business in Partner Center 9 October 2026, updated 12 October 2026; marked pre-release
- Copilot Credits Guide, November 2026 November 2026 edition
- MC1476200: Simplifying AI access: Introducing usage-based billing, Microsoft 365 message center, reported in a third-party repost (no Microsoft-hosted copy read) 21 September 2026, updated 16 October 2026
- Enforcement policy for agents consuming Copilot Credits 3 August 2026, updated 20 October 2026
- Monitor Copilot Credit spending 1 October 2026
- View Copilot Credit consumption in the admin center and on your Azure bill 25 September 2026
- Set up pay-as-you-go, Power Platform 30 September 2025
- FAQ for Copilot Studio billing and licensing 19 October 2026
- Copilot Managed Runtime licensing FAQ (preview) 7 October 2026
- Copilot Studio Licensing Guide, November 2026 November 2026 edition
- Microsoft Copilot pay-as-you-go service overview 17 July 2026
- Set up Microsoft Copilot pay-as-you-go 17 July 2026
- MC1479277: Microsoft Copilot: New ways to work across Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 25 September 2026, updated 12 October 2026
- Microsoft 365 roadmap, items 577834 and 490738 Read 31 October 2026
- Check your credit usage for Cowork tasks with /cost 13 August 2026
- Copilot Studio pricing, Australia Live page read 31 October 2026
- Set up your development environment for a Copilot plugin (prerequisites) 30 September 2026
- Copilot Managed Runtime overview and key concepts for admins (preview) 13 October 2026
- Voice applications prerequisites and licensing (Teams) 21 October 2026
- Manage costs for agents powered by the Customer Conversation harness 13 October 2026
- Use Copilot Studio capacity packs for Microsoft Copilot Chat and SharePoint agents 29 April 2026
- Teams Phone Agent: usage-based billing setup 19 October 2026
- Optimize Copilot Credit costs with a pre-purchase plan 17 July 2026
- How Copilot Chat works with and without a Microsoft Copilot license (support) 8 July 2026
- MC1484008: Microsoft Copilot: Introducing the Microsoft plugin registry for Microsoft Copilot experiences, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 30 September 2026
- Access requests to usage-based billing experiences 6 October 2026, updated 16 October 2026
- MC1519122: Microsoft Copilot: usage-based billing models in Chat and Word, Excel, and PowerPoint via the model selector, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 21 October 2026
- Microsoft Copilot Researcher agent frequently asked questions Page metadata 31 October 2025, shown as updated 26 October 2026
- Get more agents in the Microsoft Copilot app (support) 30 September 2026
- FAQ about Microsoft Copilot Library (support) 10 February 2026
- Get started with Microsoft Copilot Pages (support) 24 September 2026
- Get started with Microsoft Copilot Notebooks (support) 8 September 2026
- Build your own agent with Microsoft Copilot (support) 29 September 2026
- Licensing for agents powered by the standard harness 3 August 2026, updated 22 October 2026
- Control who can create and manage environments in Power Platform 6 October 2026
- Capacity add-ons 12 December 2025
- Self-service sign up for email-verified users 13 December 2024
- Block unauthorized self-service sign-ups and purchases (Copilot Studio) 28 January 2026, updated 5 February 2026
- Get started with Copilot in SharePoint 25 September 2026
- Anthropic models in Microsoft Online Services 18 September 2026
- Set up Teams Phone Agent (Teams admin center) 29 October 2026
- MC1482800: Teams Phone Agent is rolling out to general availability on Sept 30, 2026, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 29 September 2026
- Plan licensing and cost (Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility) 30 September 2026
- MC1519871: Copilot Code is rolling out in Frontier, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 21 October 2026, updated 28 October 2026
- Use plugins with Copilot Cowork 27 August 2026, updated 29 October 2026
- Manage plugins for Copilot Cowork 31 August 2026, updated 27 October 2026
- Manage plugins, skills, and MCP servers 14 October 2026, updated 23 October 2026
- Copilot Cowork adoption hub Undated, read 31 October 2026
- spendingPolicy resource type 2 October 2026
- Usage-based billing guidance for CSPs, partner-managed customers, and MACC 1 October 2026
- Use the local browser with Cowork 22 October 2026
- Manage Copilot Cowork for your organization 14 September 2026, updated 27 October 2026
- Manage Copilot Code for your organization (Frontier) 28 October 2026
- Choose a model for Copilot Cowork 14 September 2026, updated 24 October 2026
- How to use the Consumption Dashboard in Insights 8 September 2026
- Manage agents in the Microsoft 365 admin center 23 October 2026
- Agent Builder overview 26 October 2026
- FAQ for agents powered by the GitHub Copilot harness 19 October 2026
- Agent settings in Microsoft 365 admin center 3 September 2026, updated 23 October 2026
- Configure data policies for agents 1 October 2026
- Users outside the Copilot Studio authors security group can access Copilot Studio 9 September 2025
- Control how agents are shared 20 July 2026
- Overview of usage-based billing (Copilot Studio) 6 October 2026
- Harnesses in Copilot Studio 19 October 2026
- Licensing and Copilot Credits (AI Builder) 16 June 2026
- Environments overview (Power Platform) 8 October 2026
- Quotas and limits (Copilot Studio) 27 October 2026
- Rules for environment groups 14 October 2026
- Environment groups 28 July 2025
- Tutorial: Manage Copilot Credits allocations programmatically 28 August 2026
- Adopting the GitHub Copilot Harness: Cost Control and Governance, Microsoft Copilot Studio CAT blog 7 August 2026, updated 13 August 2026
- MC1506318: Copilot Studio - Information regarding the end of support for selected AI models, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 13 October 2026, updated 26 October 2026
- Licensing requirements for managed environments 31 August 2026
- Important changes (deprecations) coming in Power Platform 28 October 2026
- Where Are Your Copilot Credits Going?, Microsoft Copilot Studio CAT blog 25 August 2026, updated 30 October 2026
- Microsoft Copilot overview 28 October 2026
- Frequently asked questions about Copilot Chat 19 October 2026
- Limits for features and capabilities in Microsoft Copilot Chat 30 October 2026
- Microsoft Copilot Credits report 3 April 2026, updated 18 August 2026
- View usage and billing information (Power Platform pay-as-you-go) 14 January 2025
- Tutorial: Create and manage budgets (Azure Cost Management) 26 June 2025
- Agent usage estimator (Copilot Studio) 3 August 2026
- Help your customers get answers and support with Teams Phone Agent, Microsoft Teams Blog October 2026
- Introducing Microsoft Contact Center Intelligence, Dynamics 365 Blog 21 October 2026
- Pay-as-you-go meters (Power Platform) 14 October 2026
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Cost Management API overview 2 October 2026
- MC1470425: Microsoft Copilot Cost Management: September Updates, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 10 September 2026
- Pay-as-you-go plan overview 29 May 2025
- Tenant settings 30 October 2026
- Copilot settings (admin settings) 31 October 2026
- Manage self-service purchases and trials (for admins) 8 October 2025
- Use AllowSelfServicePurchase for the MSCommerce PowerShell module Read 31 October 2026
- Self-service purchase FAQ Read 31 October 2026
- Assign AI provider access to users and groups 22 April 2026
- Connect to SpaceXAI models 28 October 2026
- Create spendingPolicy Read 31 October 2026
- Discovery setting for AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing 15 June 2026, updated 2 October 2026
- MC1479276: Microsoft Copilot: Evolving the Copilot pricing model and new FinOps capabilities for AI, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 25 September 2026
- Issues and FAQs about pay-as-you-go plans 22 September 2026
- Default environment routing 6 October 2026
- Limit sharing 2 March 2026
- Administer computer use 7 May 2026, updated 18 September 2026
- Automate web and desktop apps with computer use 20 October 2026
- Model availability and controls 2 October 2026
- Work with Power Platform environments in Copilot Studio 29 April 2026
- Get access to Copilot Studio 27 October 2026
- Assign licenses and manage access to Copilot Studio 4 May 2026
- PowerShell support for Power Apps and Power Automate 25 February 2026
- Product names and service plan identifiers for licensing 18 August 2026
- Using self-service sign-up in your organization 6 May 2026
- Microsoft.PowerPlatform/accounts template reference 9 December 2024
- Azure Policy built-in policy definitions 27 October 2026
- Azure Policy overview 4 March 2025
- Buy a reservation 17 July 2026
- Automatically renew reservations 17 July 2026
- Microsoft Agent prepurchase plan 29 September 2026
- Managed environments overview 8 October 2026
- Copilot Cowork usage report 8 September 2026
- Copilot Studio pricing, United States Live page read 31 October 2026
- Cancel your subscription 2 July 2026
- Copilot Code (Frontier) requirements 1 October 2026
- MC1526652: AI Builder credits retirement: Prepare to use Copilot Credits, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 26 October 2026
- MC1530611: Office in Copilot brings the full power of Office into the Microsoft Copilot app, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net October 2026
- MC1529472: Frontier expands to include public previews in Microsoft Teams, new Outlook for Windows, OneDrive, and SharePoint, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 28 October 2026
- MC1521616: Microsoft Graph APIs for Copilot cost management, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 22 October 2026
- License options for Microsoft Copilot 19 October 2026
- Overview of Microsoft Copilot Chat 9 September 2026
- Introducing the new Copilot with Home, Code and Autopilot 25 September 2026
- Microsoft Copilot service description 5 August 2026
- Copilot Cowork is now generally available 16 June 2026
- SharePoint AI innovations hit general availability September 2026
- Work IQ general availability, Microsoft Licensing News June 2026
- Copilot Managed Runtime overview for admins (preview) 13 October 2026
- Work IQ API overview 20 August 2026
- Requests limits and allocations 14 October 2026
- Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide March 2026
- Interpreter agent in Microsoft Teams 22 September 2026
- Researcher and Analyst are now generally available in Microsoft 365 Copilot 2 June 2025
- Microsoft Copilot Notebooks Licensing 8 October 2026
- File upload in Microsoft Copilot 28 September 2026
- Get started with voice features in Microsoft Copilot 1 October 2026
- Available today: OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5.5 in Microsoft Copilot 30 September 2026
- More Models, One Copilot 22 September 2026
- Available today: OpenAI GPT-6 Astra in Microsoft Copilot 4 September 2026
- Available today: Anthropic Claude Fable 5.1 in Microsoft Copilot 2 September 2026
- Understanding AI functionality and models in Microsoft Online Services 23 October 2026
- Microsoft 365 Copilot token limit, Microsoft Q&A community thread (user report) Community post
- Copilot usage limits, Microsoft Q&A community thread (user report) August to September 2026
- Quickstart: classic agent for Teams 29 October 2026
- Copilot Studio usage limit and agent unavailable errors Read 31 October 2026
- More powerful agents and workflows... Introducing a new harness for Copilot Studio, Copilot Studio Blog 3 August 2026
- Prompt tokens 14 January 2026
- Agent flows overview 27 October 2026
- Agent Builder 27 October 2026
- Get started with the Microsoft Copilot app (support) 20 August 2026
- MC1454108: Microsoft 365 Copilot app update: Simpler Copilot access, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 13 August 2026, updated 2 September 2026
- MC1462915: Allow connections to copilot.cloud.microsoft before the Copilot URL redirect, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 27 August 2026, updated 8 October 2026
- Get started with Microsoft Copilot (support) 1 October 2026
- Use projects in Copilot Cowork 27 October 2026
- What Copilot license do I have (support) 15 April 2026
- Customize Copilot Cowork 14 September 2026, updated 21 October 2026
- Get started with Copilot Cowork 14 September 2026, updated 21 October 2026
- Copilot Code common questions (Frontier) 1 October 2026, updated 6 October 2026
- Use a screen reader to explore and navigate the Microsoft Copilot app (support) 2 March 2026, describes the older navigation
- Get started with Microsoft Copilot Library (support) 24 November 2025
- What is a Microsoft 365 Copilot plugin? 30 September 2026, updated 12 October 2026
- Introducing the plugin registry: one place to discover and govern plugins, Microsoft Copilot Blog 30 September 2026
- Copilot Cowork common questions 29 September 2026, updated 24 October 2026
- Copilot Notebooks is now Copilot Workspaces 30 October 2026
- Get started with Researcher in Microsoft Copilot (support) 8 September 2026
- MC1511052: Upcoming changes to Agents in SharePoint and OneDrive, Microsoft 365 message center, as relayed by mc.merill.net 16 October 2026
- Agent installation in Microsoft Copilot 18 May 2026, updated 18 August 2026
- Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes Latest entry 27 October 2026
- Microsoft 365 roadmap, item 571400 Read 31 October 2026
- Connect to Dataverse with MCP 5 June 2026
- Dynamics 365 Sales MCP overview 17 July 2026
- Microsoft Agent 365 licensing FAQ
- Meters for Microsoft Copilot pay-as-you-go services 17 July 2026
- What's new in Copilot Studio 5 October 2026, updated 22 October 2026