Things have changed recently when it comes to licensing Coilot Agents. Here is the latest information I can find. In short, every user that needs access to tenant information for use with Copilot, requires a license.
🔒 Confirmed Licensing Requirements
1. No Included Message Capacity with a Single M365 Copilot License
Confirmation: Correct. Your individual Microsoft 365 Copilot license does not include a pool of Copilot Studio message capacity that can be used by other users in the tenant who are unlicensed.
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Your License Rights: Your M365 Copilot license grants you the right to:
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Create and manage Copilot Studio agents for internal workflows at no extra charge for your own usage.
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Access and use those agents yourself without incurring additional usage costs.
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The Consumption: The consumption of your unlicensed colleagues is considered an organizational-level cost that must be covered by a separate organizational subscription for Copilot Studio.
2. Unlicensed Users Cannot Use Tenant-Grounded Agents Without Organizational Metering
Confirmation: Correct. Unlicensed users will not be able to use an agent that grounds its answers in shared tenant data (like SharePoint or OneDrive) unless the organization has set up a Copilot Studio billing subscription.
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Agents that Access Tenant Data (SharePoint/OneDrive):
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These agents access Graph-grounded data, which is considered a premium function and is billed on a metered basis (using “Copilot Credits”).
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This metered consumption must be paid for by the organization.
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The Required Organizational Licensing: To enable the unlicensed users to chat with your agent, the tenant administrator must set up one of the following Copilot Studio subscriptions:
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Copilot Studio Message Pack (Pre-paid Capacity): Purchase packs of Copilot Credits (e.g., 25,000 credits per pack/month). The unlicensed users’ interactions are consumed from this central pool.
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Copilot Studio Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG): Link a Copilot Studio environment to an Azure subscription. The interactions from the unlicensed users are billed monthly based on actual consumption (credits used) through Azure.
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Official Licensing References
SharePoint / OneDrive Agent — Licensing & Usage Summary
Quick reference table describing what licenses and costs are required for users to access an agent that integrates with SharePoint or OneDrive.
| Scenario | User’s License | Licensing Requirement to Access SharePoint/OneDrive Agent | Usage Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed User (You) | Microsoft 365 Copilot (Add-on License) | No additional license required. | No additional charges for using the agent you created. |
| Unlicensed User (Colleague) | Eligible M365 Plan (e.g., E3/E5) WITHOUT M365 Copilot | Organizational Copilot Studio subscription (Pay‑As‑You‑Go or Message Pack) must be enabled in the tenant. | Metered charges (Copilot Credits) are incurred against the organizational capacity / Azure subscription. |
Key Reference: Microsoft documentation explicitly states: “If a user doesn’t have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license… if their organization enables metering through Copilot Studio, users can access agents in Copilot Chat that provide focused grounding on specific SharePoint sites, shared tenant files, or third-party data.” This confirms the unlicensed users’ access is contingent on the organizational metering being active.
Summary of Action Required
To make your agent available to your unlicensed colleagues, you need to inform your IT/licensing administrator that they must procure and enable Copilot Studio capacity (either Message Packs or Pay-As-You-Go metering) in your tenant. Your personal M365 Copilot license covers your creation and use, but not the consumption of others who are accessing premium, tenant-grounded data.
Microsoft agent usage estimator
The organizational consumption for agents created in Copilot Studio is measured in Copilot Credits.
💰 Copilot Studio Organizational Pricing (USD)
Microsoft offers two main ways for the organization to purchase the capacity consumed by unlicensed users accessing tenant-grounded data:
Copilot Credits — Pricing
| Pricing Model | Cost | Capacity Provided | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepaid Capacity Pack | USD $200.00 per month (per pack) | 25,000 Copilot Credits per month (tenant-wide pool) | Stable/predictable, moderate usage, budget control (lower cost per credit). |
| Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) | USD $0.01 per Copilot Credit | No upfront commitment. Billed monthly based on actual usage. | Pilots, highly variable usage, or as an overage safety net for the Prepaid Packs. |
Note: All prices are Estimated Retail Price (ERP) in USD and are subject to change. Your final price will depend on your specific Microsoft agreement (e.g., Enterprise Agreement) and local currency conversion.
📊 Copilot Credit Consumption Rates
The cost is based on the complexity of the agent’s response, not just the number of messages. Since your agent uses SharePoint/OneDrive data, the key consumption rate to note is for Tenant Graph grounding.
| Agent Action/Scenario | Copilot Credits Consumed (Per Event) |
|---|---|
| Tenant Graph Grounding (Accessing SharePoint/OneDrive data) | 10 Copilot Credits |
| Generative Answer (Using an LLM to form a non-grounded answer) | 2 Copilot Credits |
| Classic Answer (Scripted topic response) | 1 Copilot Credit |
| Agent Action (Invoking tools/steps, e.g., a Power Automate flow) | 5 Copilot Credits |
Example Cost Calculation
Let’s assume an unlicensed user asks the agent a question that requires it to search your SharePoint knowledge source (Tenant Graph Grounding) and generate a summary answer (Generative Answer)The Prepaid Pack option is more economical for this level of steady, high usage. Your IT team will need to monitor usage and choose the appropriate mix of Prepaid Packs and PAYG overage protection.
Total Credits = (Credits for Grounding) + (Credits for Generative Answer)
Total Credits = 10 + 2 = 12 Credits per conversation
If 100 unlicensed users each have 5 conversations per day:
Daily Conversations: 100 users × 5 conversations = 500
Daily Credits: 500 conversations × 12 credits/conversation = 6,000 credits
Monthly Credits (approx): 6,000 credits/day × 30 days = 180,000 credits
Monthly Cost Estimate:
Using Prepaid Packs:
180,000 credits / 25,000 credits per pack ≈ 7.2 packs
The organization would need to buy 8 packs per month.
Monthly Cost: 8 packs × $200 = USD $1,600
Using Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG):
Monthly Cost: 180,000 credits × $0.01/credit = USD $1,800
The Prepaid Pack option is more economical for this level of steady, high usage. Your IT team will need to monitor usage and choose the appropriate mix of Prepaid Packs and PAYG overage protection.
Here are the sources that were used to compile the information, each with a direct hyperlink:
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Copilot Studio licensing – Microsoft Learn
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Billing rates and management – Microsoft Copilot Studio
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Microsoft 365 Copilot Pricing – AI Agents | Copilot Studio
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Copilot Studio pricing & licensing (2025): packs and credits
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Copilot Credits consumption – LicenseVerse – Licensing School
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Get access to Copilot Studio – Microsoft Learn
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Manage Copilot Studio credits and capacity – Power Platform | Microsoft Learn
CIAOPS 