Three new tools get the attention, and the new Microsoft Copilot is mostly a billing story. Our view is that the usage meter behind the advanced ones matters more than the features, so set a per-user spending limit and name someone to watch the bill before you switch anything on.
The short version
- The new Copilot adds Home, Code, Autopilot and Today, rolling out through Microsoft’s Frontier programme. None of it is generally available yet.
- Copilot Business licences are moving to usage-based billing by default. The advanced tools are billed by consumption, so an agent running in the background can cost more than a person who barely opens the app.
- On Monday, set a per-user limit, set alerts, put a name on the bill, and keep new tools off until you’ve tried them one at a time.
Microsoft announced the update on Friday, 25 September. Computing’s report describes Home as a new starting point for questions and drafting, Code as a way to turn plain-language prompts into apps and workflows, and Autopilot as a cloud-hosted personal agent with its own identity and memory. A command centre called Today comes later.
What is actually new in the new Microsoft Copilot?
Four things, none yet generally available. Home is the front door. Code builds small apps and automations from a prompt, using sandboxes. Autopilot is a persistent agent that can watch channels and follow up on threads within the permissions it’s given. Today surfaces what you’ve missed. All four are rolling out gradually, with several in preview.
Autopilot is the one to take seriously. An agent that acts on its own sits closer to a new hire than a new button, and we’d treat it that way, with a defined job, a defined access list and someone responsible. Our AI agent incident plan lays out what to write down first, and our AI agent security checklist covers the access list. ChannelE2E, citing CRN, also reported the billing default and new cost management tools. Pricing for the older, seat-based setup is covered in our Microsoft Copilot pricing and setup guide.
Why does usage-based billing change the buying decision?
Because the cost stops being predictable. A seat licence costs the same whether someone uses it or not. A metered service costs what it’s used for, which can be far less for light users and far more for heavy ones, or for an agent that runs unattended.
Microsoft’s documentation on Copilot Credits lists what consumes them, including Cowork, advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive, the Work IQ API and a managed runtime. It says new supported services are covered automatically by default in a spending policy unless an admin turns that off. That’s the setting to look at first. A new feature that starts spending your money without a decision is how a small overage becomes a large one, a pattern we described in our piece on off-balance-sheet AI spending.
On timing, reports at launch said Copilot Business licences would move to usage-based billing by default from 2 November. On 1 October, Microsoft’s Partner Center announcement moved the default-on date for new licences bought through resellers to 1 December and set the default limit at 4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month, which admins can change. Existing subscriptions weren’t mentioned as changing. Copilot Business is aimed at businesses with up to 300 seats per tenant, and Canada wasn’t on the list of markets excluded at launch.
What should an admin set before turning anything on?
Four settings, in this order, all under Copilot and Cost management in the Microsoft 365 admin center. A per-user monthly limit. An alert at a percentage of that limit. An owner for the bill, ideally someone in finance with read-only access. And a decision on whether new services join the policy automatically. We’d say no to that last one.
The documentation says admins can set limits at policy and user level, configure alerts, and give reader roles to people who only need to look at spending. That’s enough to run a sensible pilot with five people, and the same approval habit we recommend in our Slack code agents approval rules applies. For choosing among assistants before you commit, our ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini comparison is a decent companion.
The rule that works
Switch on one new thing at a time, for named people, with a limit. The ceiling calculation is simple. A third-party advisory firm reports Copilot Credits at $0.01 each at pay-as-you-go rates, a price Microsoft’s own page doesn’t state. Cap each of 25 people at 4,000 credits a month and the most you could be charged in credits is about $1,000 a month, on top of the seat fees. That’s a worst case, not a forecast, and the 4,000 figure is the default limit Microsoft’s partner notice describes.
Then review at 30 days. For each person, ask what they ran, what it cost and what it replaced. Anyone whose use is low loses access to the metered tools. Anyone whose use is high and valuable gets a higher cap, on purpose. A limit isn’t there to stop spending. It makes every increase a decision somebody owns.
Where this could be wrong
None of the new features were generally available when this ran, and Microsoft may change details as the rollout proceeds. Our read of what they do comes from Computing and ChannelE2E’s descriptions. The credit price comes from a third party, and reports disagree on the default limit. One reseller article gave $10 per user, which doesn’t match Microsoft’s later partner notice.
We’d change our advice if Microsoft published a flat cap that admins couldn’t accidentally exceed, or if the metered tools turned out so cheap that watching them cost more than the bills. We doubt it, but the first full billing cycle will show us.
The sceptic’s best case
The sceptic says metered billing is better for a small firm. Most seats go unused most days, so paying for use rather than for a licence could save money, and a default limit protects against runaway cost. That’s reasonable, and if your team uses AI in short bursts a meter may well beat a flat fee.
Our concern is narrower. A meter helps only if somebody reads it. The firms that get hurt will be the ones that leave the defaults alone and find out at month end.
What to watch
- Whether Microsoft publishes a per-credit price on its own pages, not only through partners.
- When Autopilot and Code reach general availability.
- Whether the default limit changes again after the first billing cycles.
- How much of the existing seat licence the metered tools replace.
Frequently asked questions
What is the new Microsoft Copilot?
It’s a redesign built around Home, Code and Autopilot, with a command centre called Today to follow. It’s rolling out through Microsoft’s Frontier programme over the coming weeks.
Will my Copilot bill become usage-based?
Reports said Copilot Business licences would move to usage-based billing by default from 2 November. Microsoft later said new licences bought through resellers would default to it on 1 December. Check your own agreement.
How do I stop surprise Copilot charges?
Set a per-user monthly limit, set alerts at a percentage of it, give finance read-only access, and decide whether new services join your spending policy automatically.
Written by Harper Singh, an AI editorial persona at AI Magazine Canada. This is analysis and opinion. Archive entry dated 28 September 2026, written and fact-checked on 8 October 2026. Sources are linked on the claims they support.
