Over the last year, Microsoft has embedded GenAI experience and features across its suite of services, applications, and products, and in the process, have popularized the word “Copilot”. Among all these GenAI embedded offerings (“Copilots” in particular) from Microsoft, Copilot for Microsoft 365 has generated the most interest.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 provides access to Microsoft Copilot with enterprise-grade security, privacy, and compliance, and seamlessly integrates the copilot experiences in Teams, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other Microsoft 365 apps.
A brief overview of Copilot for Microsoft 365 [M365 Copilot, in short] licensing requirements and pricing is presented below. Details for the same can be found at the official Microsoft website for M365 Copilot.
Tagline for M365 Copilot is: “Your AI assistant for work”, emphasizing applications for work-related purposes. Accordingly, individual consumers (have Microsoft 365 personal/family subscriptions) are not currently eligible to purchase Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Note: Individual consumers can purchase Microsoft Copilot Pro license. Details for the same can be found at the official Microsoft website for Copilot Pro.
Presently, Copilot for Microsoft 365 license is available as an add-on license with the qualifying Microsoft 365 plans only. Customers eligible for this add-on license must have any one of the following plans: Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise, Apps for Business, Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, E5, F1, F3, Office 365 E1, E3, E5, F3, Exchange Online Kiosk, Plan 1, Plan 2, OneDrive for Business Plan 1, Plan 2, SharePoint Online Plan 1, Plan 2, Teams Essentials, or Teams Enterprise, or versions of these plans that don’t include Teams. Education customers must have a license for Microsoft 365 A1, A3, A5 for faculty or Office 365 A1, A3, A5 for faculty or higher education students aged 18+.
If you’re an existing Microsoft customer with a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan, you can add Copilot to your subscription from your Microsoft admin center or contact a Cloud Solution specialist like IFI Techsolutions or account representative. Education customers can purchase through their resellers or the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.
Pricing for the Copilot for Microsoft 365 license (add-on) is:
$30.00/user/month with an annual subscription (i.e., annual commitment of $360.00/user)
Please Note:
- No trial is available for M365 Copilot.
- This is an add-on license and can only be purchased for (with) a qualifying Microsoft 365 license (plan)
How is Microsoft Copilot Licensed?
The licensing for Microsoft Copilot isn’t uniform. Users may need a different Copilot license for each solution you implement. This blog will describe the various Copilot licensing options that Microsoft offers in order to assist you in understanding the distinctions between all of the products and to let you know where Copilot can be used in your company.
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Copilot for Microsoft 365
Using large language models (LLMs) with your information, Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 connects with your Microsoft 365 apps—Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and more—to boost productivity. Customers that participate in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program can acquire Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. You can purchase it annually across all channels with no seat minimum regardless of the size of your organization. Copilot is a supplemental SKU. This means that before the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 license is added, one of the licenses listed below needs to be active. The requirements for a user are as follows:
Commercial – Enterprise
- Microsoft 365 E5
- Microsoft 365 E3
- Office 365 E1
- Office 365 E3
- Office 365 E5
Commercial – SMB
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Education
- Microsoft 365 A5 for faculty
- Microsoft 365 A3 for faculty
- Office 365 A5 for faculty
- Office 365 A3 for faculty
Frontline
- Microsoft 365 F1
- Microsoft 365 F3
Microsoft Copilot for Sales
Microsoft Copilot for Sales integrates seller workflows with the capabilities of Copilot for Microsoft 365. Microsoft Copilot for Sales makes use of a huge language model and data from the CRM platform to develop creative ideas, save time and effort, forge better bonds with customers, and close more deals. Copilot for Sales, which can be purchased through CSP on a yearly basis, comes with the Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscription. This license will be available separately and will not be a part of any Dynamics 365 license. It’s crucial to remember that in order to get Copilot for Sales, you must first purchase a base product license, just like what is described under Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Copilot for Service
Upgrade your contact center with a service-oriented copilot. Copilot for Service extends your current contact center with generative AI, improving service experiences and increasing agent productivity. It also includes Copilot for Microsoft 365. You can buy the Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscription as part of Copilot for Services on CSP for a one-year term. Like Copilot for Sales, Copilot for Service requires the purchase of a basic product license.
Microsoft Copilot Studio
You can construct customer support chatbots and customise your own Copilot experiences using Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. Utilise your plugins and data to build a custom experience that is specific to your business or workflow. This licence is available through CSP. Microsoft Copilot Studio requires the following in order to create and manage copilots:
Individual users that want access to build and administer copilots should be granted a license for each user, also referred to as a Microsoft Copilot Studio User License. The license here is free.
The tenant administrator should obtain a Microsoft Copilot Studio license for your company. It is not possible to give this license to specific users. There will be 25,000 SMS per tenant per month with this license.
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Microsoft Copilot (Formerly Bing Chat Enterprise)
Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered web chat tool that can be your constant companion. Copilot helps businesses and educational institutions protect corporate data by offering commercial data protection when qualified users log in with their work or school credentials. For most Microsoft 365 and Office 365 work and school subscriptions, Copilot (previously known as Bing Chat Enterprise) is available at no additional cost. To purchase Copilot, you will need a base product license, which is comparable to what is described under Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Copilot Pro
If you are a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family user, Copilot Pro is a subscription that provides faster AI image production, increased performance, and access to Copilot in Word, Excel (Preview), PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Some Microsoft 365 apps require a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription in order to unlock Copilot. One person can use Copilot Pro. To utilise Copilot in the Microsoft 365 apps, each user who has shared their Microsoft 365 Family subscription with you will need to purchase a separate Copilot Pro subscription.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding aid that generates code, learns from it, and completes your code automatically, enabling you to write code more quickly and intelligently. You can boost productivity by converting natural language cues into code.
Built-in Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365
Certain Copilots are integrated into pre-existing cloud apps, including Dynamics 365. It is imperative that you confirm that you have met both the application and Copilot conditions, if applicable. Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, Sales Enterprise Customer Services, Business Central, Finance, and Supply Chain Management are presently offering Copilot in “Preview” mode. To make sure you can use this in your cloud-based solution, Stoneridge can assist you in navigating the prerequisites.
These solutions include:
- Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement
- Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
- Microsoft Copilot and the Power Platform
- Microsoft Copilot and Power Automate
Ready to get started?
Boost Productivity, Empower Teams – Unlock Copilot Today!
Microsoft Copilot offers diverse licensing options tailored to different needs, making it a flexible addition to any organization’s tech stack. Whether you’re looking to enhance productivity in Microsoft 365 apps or improve CRM workflows with Copilot for Sales, there’s a solution for everyone. At IFI Techsolutions, we can help you navigate these options and integrate Microsoft Copilot into your existing infrastructure, ensuring you leverage the full potential of AI-powered tools for your business success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Copilot for Sales or Copilot for Service part of Copilot for Microsoft 365?
Copilot Sales or Service is different from Copilot for Microsoft 365. These tools are meant to focus on CRM or customer support. Businesses are required to buy these tools separately. Copilot for Microsoft 365 primarily works with productivity apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and more.
Can I only issue Copilot licenses to particular users?
Yes. There are licenses on a user basis. Admins can assign Copilot to particular teams and members. This allows focused deployment, testing, or gradual rollout. Organizations can control who uses AI features first. This helps in effective cost control and employment of Copilot only where it is needed.
Is Copilot for Microsoft 365 available for individual buyers?
Copilot for Microsoft 365 has been developed for use by companies and organizations that own valid Microsoft 365 licenses. It is not meant for individual buyers. Individual users can rather use Copilot Pro. It comes with AI assistance for Word, Excel, and other personal productivity tasks to assist personal users.
Does Copilot for Microsoft 365 store or use company data for training?
No. Microsoft AI models are not trained using your business data. Company files remain within your Microsoft 365 tenant. Copilot can only securely access content for productive needs. It provides enterprise-grade security, privacy, and compliance standards that guarantee thorough organizational data protection.
Are there any user limits or quotas in Copilot?
Yes. Microsoft has policies to ensure responsible usage; however, there is no hard cap for most tasks. There are monthly quotas for certain workloads, such as Copilot Studio (e.g., SMS usage). These restrictions guarantee equitable resource distribution.
