PhoenixHalo Request a demo
Insights · Microsoft moved

Copilot Business through CSP bills for usage by default.

On 16 September 2026, Microsoft announced that from 2 November 2026, new Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licenses bought through a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partner include usage-based billing by default. Pay-as-you-go becomes the default billing configuration, and new licenses arrive with the Azure subscription it needs and a preset monthly limit.

Here is what changes, what it costs, the controls already in the admin center, and the four settings worth deciding first.

What changes

  • New purchases only. New purchases of Microsoft 365 Copilot Business through CSP, standalone and in bundles. The announcement does not describe a change to licenses already in place.
  • Pay-as-you-go by default. Usage-based experiences are reachable with less billing setup. Microsoft names Copilot Cowork, Work IQ APIs and GitHub Copilot Harness.
  • Set up on arrival. New licenses include the Azure subscription setup needed for usage-based billing, with a preset monthly limit. Microsoft's announcement, its partner blog and its Learn pages name the preset without stating an amount, so read yours in Copilot › Cost management on day one.

What it costs

Usage is measured in Copilot Credits, Microsoft's common unit for usage-based Copilot experiences. Microsoft's Copilot Credits Guide (September 2026) prices a credit at $0.01 on the pay-as-you-go meter, billed in arrears at the end of the billing month. Pre-purchase plans (P3) are also available.

How many credits a Cowork task uses depends on the work: the models chosen, the runtime, the context it draws on and the tools it uses. Microsoft's own planning estimates:

  • Light task — a few sources, light reasoning, one short deliverable: 100–300 credits, roughly $1–$3 at the pay-as-you-go rate.
  • Medium task — many sources, structured reasoning, two or more outputs: 300–700 credits, roughly $3–$7.
  • Heavy task — broad aggregation, deep reasoning, many outputs: more than 700 credits, over $7.

Microsoft calls these rough planning estimates; actual use varies with workflows and usage patterns. Its Copilot Credit estimator models a specific workload.

The controls you already have

  • Cost management. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, Copilot › Cost management answers “where are we spending, and are we on track?” It shows Copilot Credit use by spending policy, user, group, agent and service, for the services on usage-based billing — as of 24 September 2026, Cowork, apps built with Cowork, and the Work IQ API.
  • Spending limits. A monthly limit for the organization, and optional monthly limits per person, so no single person can use up the month's credits.
  • Alerts. Administrators set alerts at a credit amount or a percentage. The emails start at that threshold and repeat weekly until the monthly period resets. People with a personal limit can be notified as they approach it.
  • One switch, two effects. Turning Cowork on or off also turns app-building on or off by default.
  • Existing capacity counts. Agent P3 and Copilot P3 credits can be used for experiences such as Cowork — though capacity consumed in the Power Platform admin center reduces what is left for Cowork and the Work IQ API.

Four settings to decide first

  1. The organization's monthly limit. Keep the preset while you watch, or raise it where you want room to grow.
  2. Per-person limits for the first people who will use Cowork.
  3. Who can turn on Cowork — and with it, the apps people build.
  4. Who gets the alerts each month, and who hears first when a limit is near.

For CSP partners and Microsoft account teams

Microsoft's guidance to partners is to brief teams on the change and the preset monthly limit, help customers understand their usage-based billing options, and plan usage-based scenarios into adoption. The conversation goes further when the customer already knows which Copilot seats are working and which are waiting for a name — the question Aristo's License Report answers.

Stay current

Monday Edge covered this change in its brief for the week of 21 September — five minutes every Monday, from Microsoft's own pages only. Free, no sign-up. This week's brief

Sources: Microsoft Partner Center, September 2026 announcements (16 September 2026); Microsoft Learn, Usage-based billing and cost management for Copilot Credits and Managing AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing; Microsoft, Copilot Credits Guide (September 2026). A PhoenixHalo explainer, not a Microsoft publication. Checked 24 September 2026.

Published 24 September 2026 · All insights