Microsoft 365 Copilot is a paid add-on to your existing Microsoft 365 subscription

Microsoft 365 Copilot is not a standalone subscription. It layers on top of a Microsoft 365 business plan you already have — Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, or an enterprise plan. The add-on costs $30 per user per month and requires that each person using it holds an active Microsoft 365 license.

You cannot buy Copilot alone. Your organization must first have Microsoft 365 for business, then add Copilot to the accounts of the people who will use it. This means the total monthly cost per person is the base subscription price plus $30.

Copilot works inside the Microsoft 365 apps you already use: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It does not replace those applications or change how you access them. It adds an AI assistant that can draft text, analyze data, create slides, and summarize meetings within those same tools.

Key Takeaways

  • Copilot costs $30 per user per month and requires an existing Microsoft 365 business subscription for each person.
  • Your organization controls which employees get Copilot access, so you can add it to some accounts and not others.
  • Copilot works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams — the apps your team already uses.
  • You set up Copilot through your Microsoft 365 admin center, not through a separate sign-up process.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot is different from Copilot Pro, which is a separate $20-per-month consumer product.

Who can use Microsoft 365 Copilot

Your organization's administrator controls access. Any employee or team member with a Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, or enterprise license can have Copilot added to their account. The administrator decides which people get it and which do not.

Copilot requires that users have a work or school account tied to your organization's Microsoft 365 tenant. Personal Microsoft accounts cannot use the business version of Copilot. If someone in your organization uses a personal Microsoft account instead of a work account, they cannot access Copilot through your subscription.

There is no minimum number of licenses required. An organization can add Copilot to one person's account or to hundreds. You pay only for the accounts that have it turned on.

What Copilot does in each Microsoft 365 app

In Word: Copilot can draft text, rewrite sections, adjust tone, summarize long documents, and generate outlines. You describe what you need, and it produces text you can edit and refine.

In Excel: Copilot can analyze data, create formulas, spot trends, and generate charts. You can ask it to explain what data shows or to suggest what to calculate next.

In PowerPoint: Copilot can create slides from a text outline, design layouts, add speaker notes, and suggest visual improvements. You can also ask it to turn a document into a presentation.

In Outlook: Copilot can draft emails, summarize long message threads, and suggest replies. It works on messages you are composing or reading.

In Teams: Copilot can summarize meetings, highlight key decisions, and generate action items from the transcript. It works on meetings you attended or recorded meetings you can access.

How to set up Copilot for your organization

Your Microsoft 365 administrator handles the setup. They log into the Microsoft 365 admin center, navigate to the Copilot section, and enable it for the organization. Then they assign the $30 monthly add-on to specific user accounts.

Once enabled, users see a Copilot button or icon in their Microsoft 365 apps. They click it to open the Copilot panel and start using it. No separate login or account creation is needed — it uses their existing work account.

Your administrator can also set policies about how Copilot works in your organization. For example, they can control whether data from your company's documents is used to train Microsoft's AI models, or whether Copilot can access certain types of files.

The difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Pro

Microsoft 365 Copilot is for organizations and costs $30 per user per month. It integrates with your company's Microsoft 365 apps and can access your organization's documents, emails, and files (within the permissions you set).

Copilot Pro is a separate product for individual consumers and costs $20 per month. It is a standalone subscription that does not require Microsoft 365. Copilot Pro works through a web browser or a mobile app, not inside Microsoft 365 applications.

If your organization has Microsoft 365 Copilot, individual employees do not need Copilot Pro. The business version is designed to work with your company's data and tools. Copilot Pro is for personal use outside of work.

Billing and contract terms

Microsoft 365 Copilot is billed monthly. Your organization pays $30 per user per month for each account that has it enabled. If you add Copilot to 10 people, you pay $300 per month. If you remove it from someone's account, you stop paying for that person the following month.

There is no long-term contract required. You can add or remove Copilot from accounts at any time through your admin center. Changes take effect in the next billing cycle.

The cost is separate from your base Microsoft 365 subscription. Your existing Microsoft 365 bill does not change — Copilot appears as an additional line item on your invoice.

Data privacy and security with Copilot

Microsoft 365 Copilot processes your organization's data to generate responses. By default, Microsoft does not use the content you create or the documents Copilot accesses to train its AI models. Your administrator can verify this setting in the admin center.

Copilot respects the same permission structure as the rest of Microsoft 365. If an employee cannot normally access a document or email, Copilot cannot access it either. It does not bypass your existing security settings.

All data sent to Copilot is encrypted in transit. Your organization's content stays within your Microsoft 365 tenant and is not shared with other organizations or the public.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I try Copilot before paying for it?

Microsoft offers a limited trial period for some organizations. Contact your Microsoft account representative or check the Copilot section of your admin center to see if a trial is available. Trial availability varies by region and organization type.

What if my organization uses Google Workspace or another platform instead of Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 Copilot only works with Microsoft 365 subscriptions. If your organization uses a different platform, you cannot use this product. Some other platforms have their own AI assistants, but they are separate products with different pricing and features.

Do all Microsoft 365 plans support Copilot?

Copilot works with Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, and enterprise plans. It does not work with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions, which are consumer products. Your administrator can confirm which plans your organization uses.

What happens to Copilot access if an employee leaves?

When you remove an employee's Microsoft 365 account, their Copilot access ends immediately. Your administrator removes the Copilot add-on from that account, and you stop paying for it in the next billing cycle.

Can Copilot work offline?

No. Copilot requires an internet connection and active connection to Microsoft's servers. It cannot function offline or in airplane mode. Your organization must have reliable internet access for users to use Copilot.