The first practical question is usually "what do we need to buy?" The answer is short, but there are a few prerequisites that trip people up.
The subscription underneath
Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on to an existing Microsoft 365 business or enterprise subscription — the plans that include the desktop apps, Exchange mailboxes and SharePoint. If your business runs on those, you are eligible. If you are on an email-only plan, the add-on cannot be attached.
What it costs
Microsoft prices Copilot per user, per month, on top of the base subscription. The price has changed over time and differs by region and agreement, so we quote it at the time rather than print a number here. The practical point: it is priced per person, so you can start with ten people rather than everyone.
Prerequisites people miss
- Work accounts in Entra ID (the Microsoft 365 directory), not personal accounts.
- Current apps. Copilot appears in up-to-date Microsoft 365 apps; old perpetual versions of Office do not get it.
- OneDrive and SharePoint in use. Copilot works on files stored there. Files on a local drive or an old file server are invisible to it.
- Permissions in order. Not a licensing requirement, but the thing that decides whether the roll-out is a success or a surprise.
How to try before committing
Assign licences to a pilot group with real, repetitive work, for one month. Give them three concrete uses. At the end, ask what they would not want to give back. Expand from there. Copilot licences are monthly on most agreements, so a pilot is not a commitment.
We handle the licensing, the prerequisites and the pilot for customers as part of managing their Microsoft 365 — which means the first time most people hear about Copilot in their business is when it is already working.
