Microsoft Copilot for business
Microsoft Copilot for business is Microsoft's AI assistant inside Microsoft 365. Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription. The fuller Microsoft 365 Copilot license is a paid add-on. Microsoft lists business bundles and a $30 per user per month enterprise license, paid yearly.
What it is
Microsoft's enterprise pricing page says Copilot Chat is secure, web-grounded chat for Microsoft Entra account users who already have an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription. Adding Microsoft 365 Copilot puts Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, and grounds chat in business data Microsoft calls Work IQ.
The business pricing page sells Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot and Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot as yearly bundles, and it says Copilot also shows up in apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. Microsoft says marketing prices can differ from the checkout price because of currency and country.
Microsoft says an Azure subscription is required to use agents, and that custom agents on Copilot Chat can be metered. This page does not cover Copilot Studio pack prices.
These are examples of how an owner might use the tool. They are not customer results, and they are not a promise that the product will do the job by itself.
Plans
Yearly prices below are the ones Microsoft prints on its pricing pages. Microsoft says your checkout price can differ.
Copilot Chat
Included at no additional cost with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription, for users with a Microsoft Entra account. Microsoft says it includes web-grounded chat and Copilot in Outlook and the Copilot app. Agents your organization builds can be metered.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot
$23.50 per user per month, paid yearly, on Microsoft's business pricing page. It includes Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, plus the Business Standard apps.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot
$32 per user per month, paid yearly, on the same page. It adds the Premium security and management controls Microsoft lists, for up to 300 users.
Microsoft 365 Copilot (enterprise add-on)
$30 per user per month, paid yearly. Microsoft says you need a separate qualifying Microsoft 365 license, and you add Copilot through a Microsoft representative. It includes chat grounded in business data and Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
How an owner would use it
Invoicing follow-ups
Draft the reminder in Outlook from the invoice facts in the thread. You still pull the balance from the ledger. Copilot should not be the system that decides who owes you.
Missed-call replies
If the missed call became an email, answer from Outlook in your normal voice. For an SMS, use the text-back prompt and send it from the phone system.
Scheduling
Outlook and Teams are where Microsoft says Copilot sits. Use it to clean up a reminder or a recap. The public booking page can stay on the scheduler customers already have.
Reporting
Microsoft puts Copilot in Excel. Start from a sheet you exported, and ask for a short read of the columns you already trust. Do not paste in a guess and call it the week.
Hiring
Draft the posting in Word from the work the role does. Keep compensation and screening with you.
SOPs
Write the SOP in Word, where the team can open a file with a name. Copilot can turn a brain dump into steps. You still walk the steps once before you call it done.
Questions owners ask
What is Microsoft Copilot for business?
It is Microsoft's AI assistant for Microsoft 365. Copilot Chat comes with eligible work subscriptions at no extra cost. Microsoft 365 Copilot is the paid license that adds Copilot inside the Office apps and grounds answers in work data.
How much does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost?
Microsoft's enterprise page lists Microsoft 365 Copilot at $30 per user per month, paid yearly, on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. The business page lists Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50 and Business Premium with Copilot at $32, both per user per month paid yearly. Checkout can differ by country.
Is Copilot Chat free for a small business?
Microsoft says Copilot Chat is included at no additional cost if you have an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription and a Microsoft Entra work account. It is not a separate free consumer app.