SharePoint Copilot credits are the new meter running behind Copilot in SharePoint, and a lot of admins are asking me the same thing: what do I get for the license I already pay for, and what suddenly costs extra? I read the Microsoft documentation so you do not have to. Here is the plain version.
Copilot in SharePoint reaches general availability this month. Microsoft is using a hybrid model: everyday work stays in the Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and ‘advanced work’ runs on usage-based billing. That is where SharePoint Copilot credits come in.
The short version on SharePoint Copilot credits
- Everyday Copilot in SharePoint is included in the Microsoft 365 Copilot license. No extra cost, no opt-in.
- Advanced work uses SharePoint Copilot credits. It needs usage-based billing, switched on through a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- No spending policy means no access to advanced work and no bill. Nothing is charged by default. An admin has to turn it on.
- It is not one policy for everything. Advanced work in SharePoint and Cowork share the spending policy model. SharePoint agents and Copilot Chat still use the older pay-as-you-go billing policy.
What is included and what costs SharePoint Copilot credits
The split below follows the Microsoft Learn documentation for Copilot in SharePoint. Jukka Niiranen summarised it well in his LinkedIn post, which is worth a look as well.
| Included in the Copilot license | Needs Copilot Credits |
|---|---|
| Ask questions, find content and catch up | Work across large or unbounded content sets, like large-scale synthesis and document review |
| Create HTML, Word, Excel or PowerPoint files | Create entire sites and solutions |
| Create and edit pages, libraries or lists | Create and edit files, pages, libraries and lists at scale |
| Create simple rules, approvals and deterministic workflows | Build multistep, complex AI workflows, such as skills in scheduled automations |
| Rename and share individual files | Real-time Autofill metadata |
| Create and manage skills | Generate or edit images in libraries and pages |
| Autofill metadata | Analytics on how sites, pages, news and documents perform |
My rule of thumb for SharePoint Copilot credits: understanding, creating and organising is included. Automating and operating at scale costs credits. How many credits a task uses depends on the type of task, its complexity and the amount of content involved. Microsoft does not give a fixed price per action, so do not expect a neat price list.
How SharePoint Copilot credits are consumed
When a prompt moves into advanced work, Copilot asks the user to confirm before it spends anything. The user can type /cost to see what a task used and how much of the monthly limit is left. At 20 percent remaining, Copilot warns the user. When the limit is reached, the usage-based features pause until the next month, and the user can ask for more credits from that prompt.
Users without SharePoint Copilot credits get a clear message about what Copilot cannot do. If a task crosses the at-scale threshold, Copilot finishes what it can and asks the user to start a new chat. Nobody gets a surprise invoice from a single prompt.
Which policy covers what
This is where most of the confusion sits. There are two systems next to each other.
| Service | Policy type | Where to configure |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced work in SharePoint, Advanced work in OneDrive, Cowork, Work IQ API, Teams Phone Agent | Spending policy | Microsoft 365 admin center, Copilot, Cost management |
| SharePoint agents, Copilot Chat agents | Pay-as-you-go billing policy (Copilot Chat can also use a Copilot credit policy) | Microsoft 365 admin center, Copilot, Billing and usage, Pay-as-you-go services |
So is it the same policy as Cowork? For advanced work in SharePoint, yes. In a spending policy you tick the services it covers, so one policy can cover Cowork and advanced work in SharePoint together. You can also build separate policies per group, each with its own limit and billing method. For SharePoint agents, no. Microsoft states that Copilot credit policies are currently not available for SharePoint agents, so you keep using pay-as-you-go billing there.
What happens if you set up nothing
This is the question I get most, so here it is without the fluff.
- Advanced work and Cowork: a spending policy is an access control, not only a budget. A user who is not in a policy that selects the service cannot use it. They can send a credit request to an admin. You are not billed.
- SharePoint agents: pay-as-you-go is off by default. A Global Admin has to create a billing policy and connect it to the service before anyone can use the metered agents.
- Everyday Copilot in SharePoint: unaffected. It stays part of the license.
Costs for SharePoint Copilot credits only start when an admin turns usage-based billing on. Nobody gets charged just because nothing was configured. The risk is the opposite: you configure it too broadly.
Preview and GA timing
| Milestone | What changes |
|---|---|
| Public preview | Everyday capabilities with weekly usage limits |
| General availability, starting 30 September 2026 | Weekly preview limits removed, advanced work with credits added |
| 1 November 2026 | Preview PowerShell availability controls stop being honored, use Site AI settings and Restricted Content Discovery instead |
This should be rolling out in October 2026 for most tenants according to Microsoft, as the rollout continues after the start on 30 September.
How to set up a spending policy for SharePoint Copilot credits
- Open the Microsoft 365 admin center and go to Copilot, then Cost management.
- Select Add spending policy and give it a name.
- Under Access scope, choose all users or specific security groups.
- Under Agents and services, select Advanced work in SharePoint.
- Set limits and alerts, choose a billing method, then review and add the policy.
For the billing method, SharePoint Copilot credits are drawn through prepaid capacity packs first (25,000 credits per month per pack), then a Copilot Credit pre-purchase plan if you have one, then pay-as-you-go on your Azure subscription.
Admin tips: where the defaults can hurt
- The default spending policy targets all users. Set the scope on purpose.
- Auto-apply new services is on by default. Newly supported services get added to existing policies automatically. Switch it off for policies where you want to review first.
- A per-user limit is optional. Without one, a single person can burn a large part of the budget. Set one.
- Any limit grants access. A policy with a limit of one credit still gives access until that credit is used. To keep someone out, leave them out of the policy.
Do not give everyone SharePoint Copilot credits. Microsoft itself suggests prioritising content managers (knowledge, records and compliance roles) and site managers (intranet and collaboration leads). Content creators depend on need. Most other users will be fine with what the license already includes. Put the right people in a security group, scope the policy to that group and review the Consumption tab every month.
License requirements for SharePoint Copilot credits
Advanced work needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot license on top of the credits. The credits pay for the extra consumption, the license does not cover it. Site-wide real-time Autofill also needs usage-based billing enabled for that specific site, so check the Site AI settings on the sites where you want it.
If you want to see how Copilot is showing up in other places, have a look at my posts on the new Copilot entry point in Teams and on Teams pinned resources.
The Paul-Take
The Paul-Take: I like the SharePoint Copilot credits model more than I expected. Everyday work stays in the license, and the expensive, large-scale jobs are metered. That is fair. What I do not like is that the budget is now yours to manage, and the defaults are generous. Auto-apply on, all users in scope, no per-user limit. That is a recipe for a surprise bill in a tenant where nobody looked.
My advice is simple. Start small. Pick the ten people who really manage content at scale, give them a policy with a limit and an alert, and look at the numbers after a month. Then decide if you need more. And please check the SharePoint agents billing separately, because that one lives in a different place.
MVP reference list
- Get started with Copilot in SharePoint (Microsoft Learn)
- Usage-based billing overview for Copilot Credits (Microsoft Learn)
- Managing AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing (Microsoft Learn)
- Capacity packs vs pay-as-you-go for Copilot Chat and SharePoint agents (Microsoft Learn)
- Manage Copilot Cowork for your organization (Microsoft Learn)
- Jukka Niiranen on LinkedIn: free vs paid tasks in Copilot in SharePoint