Microsoft Copilot: Copilot Chat limits from 2 November, usage billing from early 2027

What happened

According to Microsoft's Partner Center announcement of 4 November 2026, new fair use limits in Copilot Chat apply from 2 November for organisations with 2,000 or fewer Microsoft 365 seats and from 9 November for larger ones. They cover users without a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence on the web, desktop and mobile apps. Image generation already had limits. Microsoft does not publish the limits, admins cannot view or adjust them, and users see a notice saying when the feature will be available again. A response already in progress is not cut off.

In its 3 November announcement, Microsoft says usage based billing will be on by default for new Copilot Business purchases through a CSP partner in its fiscal 2027 third quarter, January to March 2027, instead of 1 December 2026. The new timing applies in all markets. A purchase creates a spending policy with a limit of 4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month and 1,200,000 per organisation. Credits pay for advanced features such as Copilot Cowork, the Work IQ APIs and GitHub Copilot Harness, while everyday use stays within the seat price.

Microsoft prices pay as you go at $0.01 per Copilot Credit, as it said when it launched Copilot Cowork in June. By our own arithmetic the default limit means up to $40 per user per month on top of the licence. According to the Partner Center page, usage billing cannot be fully switched off: the limit is set to zero or the policy is deleted, and usage already incurred is still owed. From 1 December 2026 Copilot Business can also be bought without a Microsoft 365 base subscription at the same price, and its promotional yearly price ends on 31 December 2026.

“Copilot Chat remains included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions”

What it means for an office in Cyprus

For an office that relies on the free Copilot Chat as its main AI tool, the change means the heaviest users will start seeing limit notices and, in most organisations, a button to request a licence. Chat is not going away, but it is no longer safe to build a daily process on it, such as drafting client replies or summarising documents.

For offices thinking about buying Copilot Business through a local partner, the delay gives time. A purchase in the first quarter of 2027 will switch on usage billing by default for the whole organisation, including licences it already holds. The per user price is no longer the only number in the budget: you also need a spending limit and someone who checks usage every month. Microsoft's prices are in dollars and exclude VAT.

What to do

• Find out who in the office uses Copilot Chat every day and for which tasks, so you know who will hit the limits first
• Tell whoever handles IT support that limit notices are not a fault, and decide who approves licence requests in the Microsoft 365 admin center
• If you are buying Copilot Business, compare the promotional yearly price that ends on 31 December 2026 with buying after the 2027 change, and ask your partner for the per credit price in writing
• Before any new purchase, set per user and organisation spending limits in Copilot > Cost management, below 4,000 credits if you do not need Cowork
• Compare the total cost with ChatGPT Business or Claude Team, based on how your staff actually work