Copilot can be bought without a base plan from December, and Copilot for Legal is generally available.

• Copilot and Copilot Business: no qualifying base subscription needed from December
• Base-dependent offers renamed to (add-on) — key automation off SKU IDs, not names
• Copilot for Legal is generally available worldwide — 20+ legal skills

What moved, and what it means for your organization

1. Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Business can be bought without a qualifying base subscription · Confirmed on Microsoft's page
   • What it means for you: Copilot can reach roles that hold no qualifying base plan. Plan who it reaches, set the limit before the first credit, and widen on proof — entitlement rerouted to new seats, never removed.
   • One thing to check: List the roles in your tenant with no qualifying base plan who could now hold Copilot, and decide which actually need it.
   • Microsoft's page: learn.microsoft.com — Partner Center — 14 October 2026
2. Base-dependent Copilot offers renamed to include (add-on) in their names · Confirmed on Microsoft's page
   • What it means for you: Automation and reporting that match offers by name will drift when the names change. Key them to SKU IDs so your entitlement view stays accurate as the catalogue shifts.
   • One thing to check: Find any script, report or workflow that matches Copilot offers by name, and switch it to the stable SKU ID.
   • Microsoft's page: learn.microsoft.com — Partner Center — 14 October 2026
3. Copilot for Legal is generally available worldwide — 20+ legal skills inside Microsoft Copilot · Confirmed on Microsoft's page
   • What it means for you: Legal teams gain purpose-built skills in Word and Cowork. If you run Copilot, plan which roles get them first, set the limit before the first credit, and widen on proof.
   • One thing to check: Confirm whether your Copilot licensing includes the new legal skills, and identify the legal roles who would use them first.
   • Microsoft's page: techcommunity.microsoft.com — Microsoft Copilot blog — 15 October 2026

Every claim, with its page

• learn.microsoft.com — Partner Center — as the page states it: 14 October 2026
• techcommunity.microsoft.com — Microsoft Copilot blog — as the page states it: 15 October 2026
• techcommunity.microsoft.com — Microsoft blogs — as the page states it: 13 October 2026
• techcommunity.microsoft.com — Microsoft blogs — as the page states it: 14 October 2026

A PhoenixHalo brief — not a Microsoft publication. PhoenixHalo reads Microsoft's own pages every week so the people who run Copilot do not have to. Demo by request — https://phoenixhalo.com/demo/

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