--- title: "New Copilot, New Cost Model: What Home, Code & Autopilot mean for you" description: Microsoft's new Copilot (Home, Code, Autopilot) splits pricing into a flat subscription and usage-based Copilot Credits. What it means for you, explained. image: https://www.geltec.nl/hubfs/ai-generated-9104187_1920.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.geltec.nl/en/blog/nieuwe-copilot-wat-home-code-en-autopilot-betekenen-voor-uw-it-budget#main-content) [![Geltec\_Logo\_Horiz\_RGB\_F](https://www.geltec.nl/hs-fs/hubfs/Geltec_Logo_Horiz_RGB_F.png?width=200&height=60&name=Geltec_Logo_Horiz_RGB_F.png)Homepage](https://www.geltec.nl?hsLang=en) - [Services](https://www.geltec.nl/services?hsLang=en) - [Optimized Licensing Blueprint](https://www.geltec.nl/services/optimized-licensing-blueprint?hsLang=en) - [Optimized Commercial Architecture](https://www.geltec.nl/services/optimized-commercial-architecture?hsLang=en) - [Commercial Health Check](https://www.geltec.nl/services/commercial-health-check?hsLang=en) - [M365 Strategy & Optimization Assessment](https://www.geltec.nl/services/m365-strategy-assessment?hsLang=en) - [True Up and Annual Reporting Service](https://www.geltec.nl/services/true-up-service?hsLang=en) - [Copilot AI Optimization](https://www.geltec.nl/services/copilot-ai-optimization?hsLang=en) - [Azure Cost Optimization](https://www.geltec.nl/en/services/azure-cost-optimization?hsLang=en) - [Managed Services](https://www.geltec.nl/services?hsLang=en) - [True Up as a Service](https://www.geltec.nl/managed-services/true-up-as-a-service?hsLang=en) - [License Advisory as a Service](https://www.geltec.nl/managedservices/advisory-as-a-service?hsLang=en) - [Managed Optimization](https://www.geltec.nl/managed-service/managed-optimization?hsLang=en) - [About us](https://www.geltec.nl/over?hsLang=en) - [Our approach](https://www.geltec.nl/over?hsLang=en#Aanpak) - [Contact](https://www.geltec.nl/en/contact?hsLang=en) - Resources - [Blog](https://www.geltec.nl/blog?hsLang=en) English Select a language ✕ - [Nederlands](https://www.geltec.nl/blog/nieuwe-copilot-wat-home-code-en-autopilot-betekenen-voor-uw-it-budget) - [English](https://www.geltec.nl/en/blog/nieuwe-copilot-wat-home-code-en-autopilot-betekenen-voor-uw-it-budget) Schedule a meeting - [Services](https://www.geltec.nl/services?hsLang=en) - [Optimized Licensing Blueprint](https://www.geltec.nl/services/optimized-licensing-blueprint?hsLang=en) - [Optimized Commercial Architecture](https://www.geltec.nl/services/optimized-commercial-architecture?hsLang=en) - [Commercial Health Check](https://www.geltec.nl/services/commercial-health-check?hsLang=en) - [M365 Strategy & Optimization Assessment](https://www.geltec.nl/services/m365-strategy-assessment?hsLang=en) - [True Up and Annual Reporting Service](https://www.geltec.nl/services/true-up-service?hsLang=en) - [Copilot AI Optimization](https://www.geltec.nl/services/copilot-ai-optimization?hsLang=en) - [Azure Cost Optimization](https://www.geltec.nl/en/services/azure-cost-optimization?hsLang=en) - [Managed Services](https://www.geltec.nl/services?hsLang=en) - [True Up as a Service](https://www.geltec.nl/managed-services/true-up-as-a-service?hsLang=en) - [License Advisory as a Service](https://www.geltec.nl/managedservices/advisory-as-a-service?hsLang=en) - [Managed Optimization](https://www.geltec.nl/managed-service/managed-optimization?hsLang=en) - [About us](https://www.geltec.nl/over?hsLang=en) - [Our approach](https://www.geltec.nl/over?hsLang=en#Aanpak) - [Contact](https://www.geltec.nl/en/contact?hsLang=en) - Resources - [Blog](https://www.geltec.nl/blog?hsLang=en) Schedule a meeting English Select a language - [Nederlands](https://www.geltec.nl/blog/nieuwe-copilot-wat-home-code-en-autopilot-betekenen-voor-uw-it-budget) - [English](https://www.geltec.nl/en/blog/nieuwe-copilot-wat-home-code-en-autopilot-betekenen-voor-uw-it-budget) ![](https://www.geltec.nl/hs-fs/hubfs/ai-generated-9104187_1920.jpg?width=1920&height=1076&name=ai-generated-9104187_1920.jpg) Microsoft Usage-based billing Copilot # New Copilot, New Cost Model: What Home, Code & Autopilot mean for you ![Danny Gelens](https://www.geltec.nl/hs-fs/hubfs/logos/profile-dgelens.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=profile-dgelens.jpg) Danny Gelens September 27, 2026 On September 25, 2026, Microsoft announced the biggest redesign of Copilot to date, built around three new capabilities — Home, Code and Autopilot — and, more consequentially for licensing teams, a new two-tier commercial model that splits Copilot spend between a fixed per-user subscription and usage-based billing. ## What was announced Microsoft rebuilt the Copilot app around three new capabilities, positioned by CEO Satya Nadella as turning Copilot into "a new OS for work". - **Home** merges the existing Chat and Cowork modes into a single starting point, and embeds Word, Excel and PowerPoint directly into the Copilot experience ("Office in Copilot"), so users can create and edit Office files without leaving the app. - **Code** lets any employee, not just developers, describe an app, tracker, dashboard, automation or workflow in natural language and have Copilot build it. It runs on the same underlying technology as GitHub Copilot and executes inside a sandboxed, tenant-hosted environment (the Copilot Managed Runtime), now in public preview and open to third-party tooling through an SDK and CLI. - **Autopilot** is a persistent, proactive agent: an owner gives it a name, a role and a goal, and it keeps working inside Microsoft 365 — watching channels, following up on threads, running recurring work — without being prompted each time. It is the successor to the earlier "Scout" agent concept. Alongside these three pillars, Microsoft also introduced Fabric IQ (grounding Copilot in Power BI semantic models), a new plugin registry, and previewed two additional experiences: **Today**, a proactive command center spanning mail, calendar, Teams and tasks (private preview, October 2026), and **@Copilot in Teams**. For a licensing team, the headline is not the feature list. It is what accompanies it: a restructured commercial model. ## The commercial model shift: User SL (USL) vs. Usage-Based Billing (UBB) Microsoft now splits Copilot spend into two categories, described in its own materials as "Everyday AI" and "Advanced AI". **Everyday AI — stays on the flat per-user subscription (USL).** Copilot Chat, Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, model selection (including the "Auto" model router), and Microsoft-built agents such as Researcher, Analyst and Facilitator remain covered by the existing Microsoft Copilot user subscription license, priced per user per month. Microsoft states there is no pricing change to this layer, though it confirms a fair-use limit applies, with a warning before any limit is reached and the option to switch to Auto model selection or move to credit-based billing. **Advanced AI — moves to usage-based billing (UBB) with Copilot Credits.** Cowork, Code, Autopilot, new advanced experiences in apps such as SharePoint, and access to frontier models (Microsoft names Anthropic's Astra and OpenAI's Fable-class models as examples) are billed through Copilot Credits, layered on top of the USL — the USL remains a prerequisite to access these capabilities, it does not replace it. Microsoft frames this explicitly as a "plug-in hybrid" model: the USL is the battery covering routine work at a fixed cost, UBB is the fuel tank for tasks that need more capability than the flat fee covers. Copilot Credits are Microsoft's existing usage currency (already used for Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365 agents and Work IQ APIs), pooled at tenant level, purchased either pay-as-you-go ($0.01 per credit, billed in arrears) or through the annual Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan (P3), which now offers tiered discounts from 5% at 300,000 credits up to 20% at 300 million credits, with unused credits expiring at year end. ## FinOps for AI: new spend governance controls Microsoft ships a set of governance controls alongside the pricing change, branded "FinOps for AI": - For enterprise customers, UBB capabilities are visible in the product but stay switched off, and nothing is billed, until an admin creates a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center. - Admins can set budgets at tenant and group level, including user-level caps inside group policies, with alerts at configurable spend thresholds. - Spend can be mapped to existing cost structures (Azure subscriptions, resource groups), and reporting can be broken out by user, group, workload, policy and payment method. - Policies can be managed programmatically through the Microsoft Graph API, for organizations that want to integrate spend control into their own BI or FinOps tooling. - End users can see their own credit usage, remaining balance and usage history directly inside Copilot. - Cost management coverage in Agent 365 is expanding from Cowork and the Work IQ APIs to include Code and the Copilot Managed Runtime; support for Copilot Studio agents is planned for October 2026. This is a materially more granular control layer than the credit-pack and PAYG mechanisms most organizations are used to from Copilot Studio, and it is the piece that determines whether "Advanced AI" spend stays predictable or becomes a budgeting surprise. ## Rollout timeline and availability None of Home, Code or Autopilot carry a general-availability date yet. | Capability | Stage as of September 25, 2026 | | --- | --- | | Home | Starts rolling out to the Frontier early-access program "in the coming weeks" | | Code | Starts rolling out to Frontier "in the coming weeks"; a previewfor Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro plans is slated for late 2026 | | Copilot Managed Runtime | Public preview | | Autopilot | Expanding to private preview at the end of September 2026 | | Today (command center) | Private preview, October 2026 | | Credit-based use of Advanced AI features (general rollout) | Expected to begin rolling out between October and December 2026 | | Copilot in SharePoint on usage-based billing | General availability September 30, 2026 | | Copilot Studio agents added to Agent 365 cost management | Planned for October 2026 |   ## Licensing implications for organizations **1. Existing Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses are not devalued.** The per-user subscription that most Benelux enterprise customers already hold keeps its current scope — Chat, in-app AI across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and the built-in agents — at no stated price change. Organizations do not need to renegotiate the base license because of this announcement. **2. A new, separate spend category is being introduced for agentic work.** Cowork, Code, Autopilot and frontier-model access sit outside the USL and require Copilot Credits. Any organization planning to adopt these capabilities should expect a second line item in its Copilot cost model, governed by consumption rather than seat count — structurally the same shift Copilot Studio customers have already experienced with Copilot Credits, now extended to the core Copilot app. **3. Existing Copilot Credit purchasing constructs carry over, but rates have moved.** The Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan (P3) tier structure published in September 2026 differs from the tiers documented earlier in 2026 — both the credit volumes per tier and the discount percentages have changed. Organizations that modeled Copilot Studio costs earlier this year, or that hold an existing P3 commitment, should have that modeling refreshed against the current guide before renewal or expansion. **4. Governance is now a licensing decision, not just an IT setting.** Because UBB stays switched off until an admin configures a spending policy, the choice of who sets budgets, caps and alerts — and whether departmental chargeback is enabled through Azure subscriptions or resource groups — is effectively part of the licensing conversation, not a downstream technical task. **5. Fair-use limits on the USL are a new variable to monitor.** Microsoft has introduced fair-use limits on the flat-fee tier, with a warning before a user hits a limit and a choice between switching to Auto model selection or moving that user's usage to credits. Organizations with heavy Copilot users should factor this into adoption planning, since it can quietly convert what looked like flat-fee usage into metered spend. ## What to do now - **Inventory current Copilot entitlements.** Confirm which users hold the Microsoft Copilot USL and what that already covers, so the "Everyday AI" baseline is understood before evaluating anything on Copilot Credits. - **Treat Cowork, Code and Autopilot as a separate budget line from day one**, not as an extension of the existing per-user cost. Use Microsoft's Copilot Credit estimators before enabling any of these for a broader user group. - **Refresh any Copilot Credit cost modeling done before September 2026** against the current Pre-Purchase Plan tiers and pay-as-you-go rate, particularly if a P3 commitment is up for renewal. - **Assign ownership of the spending policy** in the Microsoft 365 admin center before enabling UBB for any group — decide who sets budgets, caps and alerts, and whether departmental chargeback will run through Azure cost structures. - **Monitor fair-use limit notifications** for heavy Copilot users once Home and Code roll out, to catch any unplanned shift from flat-fee to credit-based usage early. - **Hold off on Frontier enrollment decisions until governance is in place.** Early access to Home and Code is valuable for evaluation, but should follow — not precede — a decision on who controls spend. ## Sources - [Introducing the new Copilot with Home, Code and Autopilot — Official Microsoft Blog, September 25, 2026](https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/09/25/introducing-the-new-copilot-with-home-code-and-autopilot/) - [Evolution of the Copilot pricing model — Microsoft Copilot Blog (Tech Community), September 25, 2026](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-copilot-blog/evolution-of-the-copilot-pricing-model/4559416) - [Microsoft Copilot Credits Guide, September 2026 (official PDF)](https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/bade/documents/products-and-services/en-us/ai/Copilot-Credits-Guide-September-2026.pdf) - [September 2026 Partner Center announcements — Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/announcements/2026-september) All figures above (credit pricing, P3 tiers, rollout dates) are taken directly from these primary sources. No pricing, deadline or contractual detail in this document has been estimated or assumed. ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geltec.nl%2Fen%2Fblog%2Fnieuwe-copilot-wat-home-code-en-autopilot-betekenen-voor-uw-it-budget](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geltec.nl%2Fen%2Fblog%2Fnieuwe-copilot-wat-home-code-en-autopilot-betekenen-voor-uw-it-budget) ## Keep reading ### [![](https://www.geltec.nl/hs-fs/hubfs/tylijura-ai-generated-9093688_1920.png?width=1920&height=1076&name=tylijura-ai-generated-9093688_1920.png) Microsoft CSP M365 Copilot Business Usage-based billing becomes default on new Copilot Business licenses.](https://www.geltec.nl/en/blog/usage-based-billing-becomes-default-on-new-copilot-business-licenses?hsLang=en) ### [![](https://www.geltec.nl/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Modern%20Office%20Team%20Discussing%20Microsoft%20Pricing%20Changes.png?width=1536&height=1024&name=Modern%20Office%20Team%20Discussing%20Microsoft%20Pricing%20Changes.png) Microsoft Price updates Microsoft is switching to annual currency-based price updates: what is changing and what isn't?](https://www.geltec.nl/en/blog/microsoft-is-switching-to-annual-currency-based-price-updates-what-is-changing-and-what-isnt?hsLang=en) [![Geltec\_Logo\_Horiz\_RGB\_W\_Reversed](https://www.geltec.nl/hs-fs/hubfs/Geltec_Logo_Horiz_RGB_W_Reversed.png?width=200&height=60&name=Geltec_Logo_Horiz_RGB_W_Reversed.png "Geltec_Logo_Horiz_RGB_W_Reversed")](https://www.geltec.nl?hsLang=en) Microsoft Software Licensing & Optimization Experts Geltec is an independent consultancy firm specializing in Microsoft licensing and optimization. We help organizations reduce their software costs, manage risks, and simplify their software licensing based on a proven methodology. ##### Contact **E:** [info@geltec.nl](mailto:info@geltec.nl) **T:** [+31 78 7990 217](tel:+31787990217) ##### Company details Lindehof 136 3295 WH 's-Gravendeel The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce-no:98122576 EU VAT-ID:NL868365889B01 --- © 2026 Geltec B.V.. 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