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Updated November 4, 2026

Copilot licensing

Licenses, credits and pricing, based on Microsoft's official guides.

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Copilot Chat or Microsoft Copilot license

Use Copilot ChatIncluded with Microsoft 365 Microsoft Copilot licensePer-user subscription
Included Included
Copilot Chat does not read your mailbox or files automatically: it only works on content open in Outlook or Teams, or on a file you give it. Included
Depending on your Microsoft 365 plan, Copilot is available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with standard access: fewer features, no priority at peak times and no access to your other data. Included
Researcher and Analyst are reserved for users with a Microsoft Copilot license. Included
Included Included
Possible without a license, but every answer is billed in Copilot Credits, once the administrator has enabled usage-based billing. Included
Only the license lets an agent read email, the directory, Teams messages and meetings. Included
Without a license, only SharePoint agents are available, and every use is billed in credits. Everyday use is included. Processing thousands of files or automated work is billed in credits.
Cowork requires the Microsoft Copilot license. The license is required, but every task also consumes credits: from 100 to more than 700 depending on complexity.
Copilot Code requires the Microsoft Copilot license. Every creation or change consumes credits: from 25 to more than 200 depending on complexity.
An agent that works on its own, answers by voice or automates a process is always billed in credits. Even for a licensed employee, an autonomous, voice or process automation agent is billed in credits.
Licenses only cover your employees: an agent used by customers is billed for every conversation. Licenses only cover your employees: an agent used by customers is billed for every conversation.
Building and hosting are billed in credits. Building and hosting are billed in credits. Hosting is included for users with Power Apps Premium.
A third-party tool that queries your data through the Work IQ APIs is billed by usage. Even with the license: a third-party tool using the Work IQ APIs is billed by usage.

Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost with eligible Microsoft 365 plans; the Microsoft Copilot license is added per user. Uses billed in credits require the administrator to enable usage-based billing. Depending on the Microsoft 365 plan, an unlicensed user may have standard access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

This reference does not replace Microsoft's contractual terms (Product Terms). USD list prices, indicative: they vary by contract and reseller, and Microsoft may change them at any time.

Glossary

Microsoft terminology explained

Copilot Credit
The billing unit for all Microsoft services paid by usage: agents, Cowork, AI-generated apps. One credit is worth $0.01 at list price.
Microsoft Copilot USL (formerly Microsoft 365 Copilot)
Monthly per-user subscription. It covers Copilot in the apps and some agents, but not every service.
Harness
The technical foundation that runs an agent in Copilot Studio. There are three: standard agent, process automation agent, customer engagement agent. The engine determines billing.
Tenant graph grounding
The agent searches the organization's email, files and sites before answering. 10 extra credits per answer, except for a licensed employee.
Autonomous agent
An agent started by an event (an incoming email, a new order) or a schedule, without a user interacting with it. Always billed in credits.
Microsoft channels
Teams and the Copilot app: the only channels where a standard agent is included for a licensed employee.
Fair usage limits
A limit Microsoft reserves the right to set on uses included in the license. It is not publicly quantified.
Public Preview
A feature that is available but not final: pricing and rules may change without notice.
Frontier Program
Microsoft's program that opens new capabilities to pilot customers before general availability.
MACC
An amount the organization has committed to spend on Azure. Credits bought pay-as-you-go or through an annual reserve count toward it.
Dataverse
The database behind Copilot Studio and the Power Platform.
Model Context Protocol
A standard that lets an agent use an application's functions: look up a customer record, update an order.
API
The interface one piece of software uses to query another. When a tool uses a paid Microsoft API, each call can be billed.

Sources

Where the data comes from

History

Page updates

    • First version, based on the Copilot Credits, Copilot Studio and Power Platform guides of November 2026
    • Microsoft change in November: Copilot in SharePoint and OneDrive updated

Updates

Stay informed of licensing changes

Microsoft revises its licensing guides regularly. This page is updated with every new version; receive a summary of the changes and their budget impact (in French).

Audit of your Copilot licenses

Review of licenses and agents: actual license needs, credit-consuming agents, the right purchase option, spending caps.

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Further reading (in French): Copilot Cowork: credit-based billing · The cost of AI models