Microsoft’s announced a new change to the pricing model for Copilot Business subscriptions designed to make it easier to access advanced AI capabilities without additional Azure billing setup. 

From 1 December 2026, usage-based billing will be default for all new Copilot Business licences purchased through CSP. You’ll be able to access the sandbox environment in Partner Center from 2 November to get your systems ready and test the billing flow ahead of this change going live. 

Why is Copilot Business going to usage-based billing? 

Previously, usage-based billing had to be configured separately before customers could access eligible metred Copilot experiences, requiring additional Azure and billing setup. From 1 December, Partner Center will automatically provision the required Azure billing infrastructure and a default spending policy when eligible Copilot Business licences are purchased, making these experiences available with less administrative setup. 

What’s affected by this change? 

Notably, Copilot Business isn't becoming entirely pay-as-you-go. Summaries, drafting and basic analysis as well as auto model selection for included models will not be an additional cost, this change is specifically meant to target the advanced AI workloads, including: 

• Copilot Cowork 

• Work IQ APIs 

• GitHub Copilot Harness 

• Advanced SharePoint/OneDrive agentic work 

Microsoft is expected to add further usage-based agents and services over time. 

The default spending limit is set at 4,000 Copilot Credits per user, per month. This isn't an allowance of free credits: you'll only be charged for the Copilot Credits you actually consume, up to the spending limits your administrators have set. If you don’t wish to access these features, you can set the spending limit to zero to disable usage-based billing, or you can manage the spending cap for individual users in your organisation if you want to choose who has access to advanced features. 

Will your Copilot Business licences be usage-based? 

Usage-based billing will be enabled by default when an eligible Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licence is purchased on or after 1 December 2026. 

Importantly, this works at tenant level. If you already have Copilot Business licences and purchase an additional eligible licence on or after 1 December, the usage-based billing spend policy will apply to both your new and existing Copilot Business licences. 

However, Microsoft has confirmed an exception for tenants that already have one or more Microsoft 365 Copilot or ME7 licences. These tenants will be excluded from usage-based billing being enabled by default when they purchase Copilot Business licences. 

How to manage usage-based billing for Copilot Business 

If you’ll be affected by this change, it’s important that you take action ahead of time to manage how Copilot will be billed in your business. Your Microsoft 365 administrator should: 

• Review Copilot > Cost Management in the Microsoft 365 admin centre 

• Restrict usage-based services to approved users or security groups 

• Set organisation-level and per-user monthly spending limits 

• Configure administrator alerts and user threshold notifications 

• Review which services and agents are covered by each spending policy 

• Turn off Auto-apply new services if future usage-based services should require approval before being included 

• Monitor Copilot Credit consumption regularly 

Need help managing Copilot Business billing? 

If you have any concerns about this update or want to discuss how it will affect your business, get in touch using the form below. As a Microsoft specialist in Infrastructure and Modern Work, we’re here to help ease the transition to this new billing model. Whether you need support with managing Copilot billing or gaining oversight of your licences and users, we have the expertise and tools you need.