Microsoft 365 Copilot is now available, but it's $30 a month (and that's per person)

Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams
(Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft finally released the Microsoft 365 Copilot experience to general availability.
  • It will cost $30 per person per month for E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium Customers.
  • Some critical elements of the experience, like Copilot for Excel, are still in preview but will likely ship to broad availability in the next few months.
  • You can use the tool to generate meeting summaries for Teams calls and create PowerPoint presentations from specific documents. 

Microsoft's long-awaited AI-powered experience, Microsoft 365 Copilot, is finally shipping to broad availability across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Before this, the company ran tests on the tool via an early access program with over 600 enterprise customers. 

As you might have guessed, the AI assistant is designed to help create content intelligently, including generating meeting summaries for Teams calls, creating PowerPoint presentations based on a specific document, and more. 

How much will Microsoft 365 Copilot cost?

The AI-powered add-on for Microsoft's Office app subscriptions will cost $30 per person per month for E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium Customers. As for companies, 300 employee licenses are the minimum requirement for access. While the cost implication seems relatively high, analysts at Piper Sandler estimated that the tool will be able to generate more than $10 billion per year by 2026 in revenue in a note to its clients.

When will Microsoft 365 Copilot be available for everyone?

Microsoft 365 Copilot promotional graphic

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The experience won't be available for everyone immediately despite Microsoft's announcement. Enterprise customers must liaise with their Microsoft account representative to purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot, while customers with Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 (or Business Standard / Premium) should already have access to Bing Chat Enterprise.

Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 commercial customers are eligible to make the Microsoft 365 Copilot purchase immediately. However, this still leaves out customers on Office 365 plans, as well as Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium subscribers. Finally, Microsoft 365 Copilot won't be available for Microsoft 365 Monthly Enterprise Channel users until December. 

As spotted by Directions on Microsoft, some key elements of the Microsoft 365 Copilot are still in preview. For instance, Copilot for Excel is still in preview, while Copilot for OneNote is limited to Windows. It's likely that the experience will fully roll out to everyone in the next few months. 

Will you get the Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription at $30 per month? Let us know in the comments.

Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You'll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.