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Microsoft love creating multiple products with very, very similar names. It is extremely annoying.
There are currently seventeen distinct things called Copilot. Some are free, some are £81.60 a month, one is a laptop, and several have been renamed at least twice. Two of them share a name and do completely different things with your data.
This page is the map. Every fact on it comes from Microsoft’s own documentation, checked in July 2026, and because this changes constantly there is a prompt at the bottom you can use to bring it up to date yourself.
Do I already have Copilot?
Almost certainly yes, and it is the one nobody tells you about.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost with almost every business Microsoft 365 plan, from Business Basic upwards. It is proper work AI chat: current models, file upload, and commercial data protection, meaning what you type is not used to train anything and it stays inside your business terms.
Most businesses do not know this. So staff who assume the company has not bought any AI go and use the free public version on a personal account instead, which is the one arrangement that puts your work somewhere you cannot see it.
Before you spend anything: find out who already has Copilot Chat, and tell them.
The free one and the work one are different products with almost the same name. Microsoft Copilot on a personal account sits outside your business entirely, under the consumer Microsoft Services Agreement. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat on a work account is covered by your business terms. Same word on the tin.
How much does Copilot cost for a business?
It depends on how many staff you have, and most businesses get this wrong.
If you want Copilot working inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams rather than just chat, that is the paid add-on. There are two versions of it. They are the same product.
| What you buy | Who can buy it | Per user per month, ex VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat | Anyone on a qualifying business plan | Included, free |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | Up to 300 users, on Business Basic, Standard or Premium | £13.80 promo, list £16.10, paid yearly |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | E3, E5, or any business over the 300 cap | £23.10, paid yearly |
| Business Standard with Copilot | Up to 300 users, one combined licence | £18.10 |
| Business Premium with Copilot | Up to 300 users, one combined licence | £24.60 |
A business with fewer than 300 staff buying the enterprise version is paying about £110 per person per year more than it needs to. On thirty people that is £3,300 a year for nothing. It is worth checking your own invoice this afternoon.
The two “with Copilot” bundles became permanent SKUs on 1 July 2026. They are one licence instead of two and they suit businesses that want a single line on the bill.
Which Copilot is which?
Here is all seventeen. Most businesses need to care about three of them.
Free and personal
| Name | What it is | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot | The free AI chat for personal use, on the web and in the app. Not covered by business data protection. Was called Bing Chat | Free |
| Microsoft 365 Personal / Family | The normal home Office subscription. Copilot has been included since January 2025 | £8.49 / £10.49 a month |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | The top home tier, added October 2025. Higher Copilot limits | £18.99 a month |
| Copilot Pro | No longer sold. Existing subscriptions still work. Do not buy or recommend it | Withdrawn |
Work, included with Microsoft 365
| Name | What it is | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat | Secure work AI chat with commercial data protection, current models, file upload. Free with almost every business plan. The one most people do not know they have | Included |
Work, paid add-on
| Name | What it is | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | Copilot inside your apps, for businesses up to 300 users | £13.80 |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Identical features, for enterprise plans or over 300 users | £23.10 |
| Microsoft 365 E7, “Frontier Suite” | E5 plus Copilot, Entra Suite, Agent 365 and Security Copilot in one plan. Generally available 1 May 2026 | £81.60 |
Windows and hardware
| Name | What it is | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot on Windows 11 | There is no separate “Windows Copilot” any more. The Copilot key opens whichever Copilot your account is licensed for, and businesses can remap it | Free |
| Copilot+ PC | A hardware badge, not a licence. A Windows 11 machine with an NPU of 40+ TOPS and 16GB RAM. Unlocks on-device Windows features like Recall. Buying one gives nobody Copilot at work | Price of the PC |
Specialist
| Name | What it is | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Security Copilot | AI assistant for security work, inside Defender and Entra. For IT and security teams | Usage-based Security Compute Units via Azure. 400 SCUs included per 1,000 E5 or E7 licences, then $6 per overage unit |
| Microsoft Copilot Studio | Low-code tool for building your own agents. Was Power Virtual Agents | Included with Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, or standalone |
| GitHub Copilot | For writing software code. The original Copilot, from 2021, and the name everything else borrowed | Free tier $0, Pro $10, Pro+ $39, Max $100, Business $19 per seat |
| Sales agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot | Was Viva Sales, then Sales Copilot. No longer a separate product | Included with M365 Copilot, CRM licence still needed |
| Copilot in Dynamics 365 | AI features inside the Dynamics apps | Included with the Dynamics licence |
| Microsoft Copilot in Azure | AI helper in the Azure portal, for admins | Free with an Azure subscription |
Heard an old name? Here is what it is now
Microsoft has renamed most of these at least once, and in one case renamed it and then renamed it back. If somebody in your business is asking about a product that no longer exists, this is why.
| You may have heard… | What it is today |
|---|---|
| Bing Chat, or “the new Bing” | Microsoft Copilot, the free personal one |
| Bing Chat Enterprise | Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, free with work Microsoft 365 |
| Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection | Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat |
| Windows Copilot, or Copilot in Windows | Removed. The Copilot key now opens the app for your account type, and businesses can remap it |
| The “Office” app, or the “Microsoft 365” app | Renamed the “Microsoft 365 Copilot” app in January 2025. Same app, confusing new name |
| Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft 365 Copilot. Microsoft flipped the name back in 2025 |
| Copilot Pro | No longer sold. Copilot is included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family; Premium is the paid upgrade |
| “Copilot for Teams” | Not a product. Copilot in Teams is a feature of the Microsoft 365 Copilot licence. Teams Premium is a different thing entirely |
| Copilot for Security | Microsoft Security Copilot |
| Power Virtual Agents | Microsoft Copilot Studio |
| Viva Sales, Sales Copilot, Copilot for Sales | The Sales agent inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. No longer a separate licence |
| Copilot for Service | Folded into Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service |
| The Copilot key on new keyboards | Still there. It opens the Copilot app for your account type, and businesses can remap it |
Do I need a Copilot+ PC?
No, and buying one will not give your staff Copilot at work.
A Copilot+ PC is a class of Windows 11 laptop with a dedicated AI chip, specifically an NPU rated at 40 TOPS or more and at least 16GB of RAM. It unlocks on-device Windows features such as Recall. It is hardware.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is a subscription. The two are unrelated, and the similar names have cost people money. If you are replacing machines anyway, a Copilot+ PC is a reasonable choice. If you are buying them expecting to get Copilot in Word, you will be disappointed.
What should we actually do?
For most businesses, three steps in this order.
| Do this | Why | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find out who already has Copilot Chat, and tell them it exists | Free, already paid for, and it stops people using personal accounts |
| 2 | Check your invoice against the 300-seat line | £110 per person per year if you are on the wrong one |
| 3 | Sort your permissions before rolling out the paid add-on | Copilot shows people what they can already open. Untidy folders become searchable |
Step 3 is the one people skip. In a lot of businesses everyone can see everything, and that was survivable until it became searchable. Copilot will answer “give me everybody’s payroll information” or “give me everyone’s bank details” quite happily, if the person asking already has access to those folders.
This page will go out of date. Here is how to refresh it yourself
Microsoft renames and reprices these constantly. Rather than ask you to trust a table with a date on it, here is the prompt we use to rebuild it. Paste it into any capable AI assistant and you will get a current version.
Using ONLY Microsoft official sources (Microsoft Learn, microsoft.com pricing pages and Partner Center announcements), rebuild a plain-English guide to every type of Microsoft Copilot. For every Copilot product include: Category, Current name, Previous or other names, What it is in plain English, Who it is for, Top things included, and UK cost excluding VAT. Cover at least the free Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Chat, Copilot Business, the enterprise add-on, E7, Windows, Copilot+ PC, Security Copilot, Copilot Studio, GitHub Copilot, the Sales agent, Dynamics and Azure. Add a second table that is an old name decoder: every old or informal name and what it is called now. Add a third table listing every source URL used and the date checked. Keep the language plain throughout.
If that feels like giving away the method, it is. A table nobody can check is worth less than one you can rebuild.
[VIDEO_PLACEHOLDER]
So, what now?
Do step one today. It takes ten minutes and it is free: find out who already has Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, and tell them.
If working out which licences you are on and whether they are the right ones is not a job you want, that is the sort of thing an AI Manager handles. And if you are earlier than that and just want the basics, start with getting started with AI in your business.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot?
One is free and personal, the other is a paid work product, and they share a name for no good reason.
Free Microsoft Copilot on a personal account is a general assistant and sits outside your business terms. Microsoft 365 Copilot works inside your own files, email and Teams, under your business agreement. There is also Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat in between, which is free with most business plans.
Is Copilot Pro still available?
No. It has been withdrawn and is no longer sold to new customers.
Existing subscriptions still work. Copilot is now included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family, and Microsoft 365 Premium is the paid upgrade for heavy personal use. If you are still paying for Copilot Pro, look at whether Premium is better value.
Do I need a Copilot+ PC to use Copilot?
No. A Copilot+ PC is a laptop with an AI chip, not a licence.
It unlocks on-device Windows features. It does not give anyone Copilot in Word, Excel or Outlook, which is a subscription. The names are similar and it has cost people money.
What happened to Bing Chat Enterprise?
It is now called Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, and it is free with almost every business Microsoft 365 plan.
It was also called “Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection” for a while. Three names, one product.
Is there a Copilot for Teams?
No. Copilot in Teams is a feature of the Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, not a product you can buy on its own.
Teams Premium is a separate product and does something different. They are often confused.
Why is Copilot cheaper for small businesses?
Because Microsoft sells the same product at two prices depending on your size.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is £13.80 per user per month for businesses up to 300 users on a Business plan. The enterprise add-on is £23.10. If you qualify for the first and are paying the second, you are overpaying by roughly £110 per person per year.
Which Copilot should a small business start with?
The free one you already have: Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.
Prove people will actually use it before paying for the add-on. Most businesses that buy Copilot licences first end up with half of them unused.
All prices are UK, excluding VAT, taken from Microsoft’s own pricing pages and Partner Center announcements and checked on 20 July 2026. Page last reviewed 17 August 2026 and reviewed quarterly. Owner: Dave Lane.
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