Microsoft 365 Copilot Business: usage-based billing on by default for new CSP licences from 1 December

Microsoft has confirmed that, from 1 December 2026, usage-based billing will be switched on by default for new Microsoft 365 Copilot Business licences sold through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) programme. The update was posted to Partner Center on 1 October 2026 and moves the start date back from 2 November, the date Microsoft had communicated earlier.

What changed

• Pay-as-you-go becomes the default. New purchases of Copilot Business, including standalone offers and bundles, will come with usage-based billing already enabled. Microsoft says the new licences include the Azure subscription setup needed to bill that usage.
• What draws on it. Microsoft names usage-based experiences such as Copilot Cowork, Work IQ APIs and GitHub Copilot Harness. These consume Copilot Credits on top of the per-user licence.
• A default ceiling. The preset spending limit is 4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month, and admins can change it. Microsoft’s own example: an organisation with 100 Copilot Business users could consume up to 400,000 credits a month under the default, with charges based on actual use.
• Phased by market. Microsoft lists eleven countries where the change will not initially be available. South Africa is not on that list.
• Controls already exist. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, the Cost management dashboard lets admins create spending policies, set organisation and user limits, configure alerts and restrict which users and groups can use each service. One setting to check is “Auto-apply new services”, which is on by default and extends a policy to future services automatically.

What it means for buyers in South Africa and Africa

Copilot Business is aimed at smaller organisations, which often have the least capacity to watch cloud consumption. A licence that also carries open-ended usage billing changes how you budget: the per-user price is no longer the whole cost.

Before buying or renewing Copilot Business after 1 December, we suggest you:

1. Decide who should be allowed to use credit-consuming features, and create spending policies to match.
2. Review the default per-user limit and lower it if the business case does not need it.
3. Turn on admin alerts and give finance read-only access to the consumption reports.
4. Decide whether new services should join a policy automatically or only after review.
5. Agree with your reseller how usage charges will be invoiced, in USD or ZAR, and how often.

Microsoft has not published South African pricing for Copilot Credits in this announcement, so ask for a written quote before committing.

Planning a Copilot purchase? See our Microsoft 365 and Copilot licensing advice, or read our guide to what IT leaders need to know about Microsoft 365 Copilot.