Non-licensed co-pilot users using agents on our intranet portal.

Question

We are piloting a SharePoint-based Copilot chat experience ("MySource Chat" (intranet)) for internal users across multiple regions.

We are seeing that:

• Users with M365 Copilot licenses → can access the agent
• Users without licenses → cannot access the agent

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What We Need to Confirm

Our goal is to enable access for non-licensed users, but without requiring full Copilot licensing for every user. We'd like to have billing for those users when used to be billed and paid through our MCA, but finding this isn't an option.

We’ve heard that a PAYG (Azure consumption-based) approach may enable this, but that separates the centralized payment we have established with our MCA.

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Important Context

• This appears to be a Co-Pilot Studio agent
• Creating a PAYG setup is not our preferred direction due to added billing complexity
  • We would only consider it if it is the only supported way to enable non-licensed access

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Questions

1. Is PAYG required or supported to enable non-licensed users in a SharePoint Copilot experience?
2. Are there any Microsoft-recommended alternatives to support mixed licensed and non-licensed users?
3. What is the simplest supported approach to validate this during a pilot?

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What We’re Trying to Avoid

• Standing up a separate PAYG Azure subscription unless absolutely necessary

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Expected Outcome

Clear guidance on:

• Whether our current approach can support non-licensed users
• We are seeing that:
  • Users with M365 Copilot licenses → can access
  • Users without licenses → cannot access

Answer 1

Hello @Tim Boseman (US)

First, let me summarize this case briefly to make sure we are on the same page. Based on your concerns:

• Users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses can access your SharePoint-based agent
• Users without licenses cannot access it
• You want to extend access without assigning licenses to everyone and without introducing complex billing

In your current setup, users are accessing the agent through SharePoint Copilot. Because of this, it is important to understand the key point that:

• SharePoint Copilot is a licensed experience, so it only allows users who have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license
• Even if your agent is already built correctly in Copilot Studio, SharePoint will still check the user’s license before allowing access

At the same time, there is another important aspect:

• Copilot Studio itself can support users without licenses
• However, in that case, every interaction must be covered by Copilot Credits (a consumption-based model)

Copilot Credits prepurchase plan

Below is the suggested approach for you to test and validate to allow non-licensed users to interact with the agent while keeping your current setup intact:

1/ Keep your current SharePoint Copilot setup

This ensures that licensed users continue to have full access and a consistent experience.

2/ Add Copilot Studio capacity (prepaid credits)

• Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center -> Billing -> Purchase services
• Search and buy Copilot Studio capacity pack
• Go to Power Platform Admin Center
• Navigate to Licensing -> Copilot Studio -> Summary

3/ Publish the Agent to Another Channel

This step helps to provide access for non‑licensed users (outside SharePoint Copilot).

• Open your agent in Copilot Studio
• Click Publish
• Go to Channels
• Add one of the following:
  • Microsoft Teams (recommended)
  • Custom website (web chat link)
• Share the Teams app or web link with users

Expected Result:

Users without licenses now have an alternative access point

4/ Test with Non‑Licensed Users

• Send the Teams app or web link to test users
• Ask them to:
  • Open the agent
  • Ask a question
• Check in Power Platform Admin Center -> Copilot Studio -> Summary
• Confirm credits are being used

Expected Result:

• Users can interact with the agent
• Usage is covered by Copilot Credits

Besides, as this is a relatively complex scenario involving multiple steps and billing considerations, it is important to carefully review each configuration to ensure everything works smoothly and does not impact your operations.

Therefore, as a final recommendation, I suggest reaching out to Microsoft Engineering Support by submitting a support ticket. This will allow you to receive tailored guidance that best aligns with your organization’s needs and specific requirements.

Please follow the detailed steps below.

(If you are not the global admin, please kindly ask your IT Admin to do it for you)

• Sign into the "Microsoft Admin Center"
• After clicking on "Help & Support" button like this image, you can type "I need agent support via phone or email". After that, you can click on "Contact support"
• Choose contact method: "Phone"
• Fill all the information in this contact support details, please describe your situation carefully so they will have enough information to help you.
• Finally, clicking on "Contact me"

After completing them, you will receive an email appointment for a meeting to review this issue professionally together.

Wishing you all the best!

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Answer 2

1. Is PAYG required or supported to enable non-licensed users in a SharePoint Copilot experience?

For a SharePoint-based Copilot agent (“MySource Chat”) that is grounded in tenant data (for example, SharePoint, Microsoft Graph, or Copilot connectors), non-licensed users can only access that agent through usage-based (pay-as-you-go) billing.

From the documented models:

• Licensed users (Microsoft 365 + Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on, including Microsoft 365 Copilot Business and E7 Frontier Suite) have full access to Copilot Chat and agent experiences, including agents grounded in tenant data, with no additional usage-based charges.
• Usage-based billing (pay-as-you-go) allows tenants to enable agent access for users without a full Copilot license. In this model:
  • Users can access Copilot Chat and agents without a full Copilot license.
  • Usage-based billing applies when agents use shared tenant data (for example, SharePoint, Copilot connectors), and consumption is measured in Copilot Credits.
  • An Azure subscription and billing policy setup in the Microsoft 365 admin center are required.

For agents in SharePoint specifically:

• Access is controlled either by Copilot license assignment or, if pay-as-you-go billing is set up, by security groups assigned to the billing policy.
• Without a Copilot license and without usage-based billing, users cannot access agents grounded in SharePoint or other tenant data.

Therefore, for non-licensed users to use a SharePoint-grounded Copilot agent, a pay-as-you-go configuration is required and is the supported path.

2. Microsoft‑recommended alternatives to support mixed licensed and non‑licensed users

Supported options for mixed populations are:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses for users who need full Copilot and agent capabilities, including tenant-grounded agents.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (included for eligible Microsoft 365/Office 365 users) plus:
  • Declarative agents grounded only in instructions and/or public websites:
    • These are available at no additional cost.
    • They do not have access to tenant data (no SharePoint, no Graph connectors, no tenant files).
    • They can be used by users without a Copilot license and without usage-based billing.
  • Agents that use tenant data (SharePoint, Copilot connectors, Dataverse, etc.):
    • For non-licensed users, these require usage-based billing (Copilot Credits) configured via Copilot Studio and an Azure subscription.

In other words:

• Mixed licensed and non-licensed users can share:
  • Instruction-only/public web grounded agents (no tenant data) at no extra cost.
• Mixed access to tenant-grounded agents (like a SharePoint intranet agent) is supported only by:
  • Copilot licenses for licensed users, and
  • Usage-based billing for non-licensed users.

There is no documented alternative that allows non-licensed users to access tenant-grounded SharePoint agents without either a Copilot license or usage-based billing.

3. Simplest supported approach to validate this during a pilot

To pilot with both licensed and non-licensed users while minimizing complexity:

1. Confirm licensing for current pilot users
   • Keep Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses assigned to the current pilot group. These users will continue to access the SharePoint-based agent without additional usage charges.
2. Decide on the grounding model for the pilot agent
   • If the agent must use SharePoint/intranet content:
     • Configure usage-based billing (Copilot Credits) in the Microsoft 365 admin center, backed by an Azure subscription.
     • Assign the billing policy to a small security group of non-licensed pilot users.
     • This enables those non-licensed users to access the SharePoint agent, with consumption billed via Copilot Credits.
   • If a temporary pilot can run without tenant data:
     • Reconfigure or create a separate agent grounded only in instructions and/or public websites.
     • This agent can be used by both licensed and non-licensed users without pay-as-you-go and without additional cost, but it will not access intranet/SharePoint content.
3. Manage access in SharePoint
   • For SharePoint agents:
     • Use Copilot license assignment to control which licensed users can access agents.
     • If pay-as-you-go is configured, use security groups on the billing policy to control which non-licensed users can access those agents.
4. Keep in mind environment limitations
   • Usage-based billing is not supported in Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud High (GCCH) and Government Community Cloud Moderate (GCCM). In such environments, non-licensed users cannot use tenant-grounded agents via pay-as-you-go.

Summary relative to the observed behavior

• Current behavior (licensed users can access; non-licensed users cannot) is expected when:
  • The agent is grounded in SharePoint/tenant data, and
  • Non-licensed users do not have usage-based billing enabled.
• To allow non-licensed users to access the SharePoint intranet agent while keeping centralized billing:
  • Configure usage-based billing (Copilot Credits) tied to an Azure subscription and manage access via billing policies and security groups.
  • There is no supported path to give non-licensed users tenant-grounded SharePoint agent access without either Copilot licenses or usage-based billing.

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References:

• Set up your development environment for Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Manage access to agents in SharePoint
• Licensing and cost considerations for Copilot extensibility options
• Frequently asked questions about Copilot Chat
• Agents admin guide for Microsoft 365
• Prerequisites for managing agents in Microsoft 365