Can users access the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat API (preview) with Microsoft 365 Copilot pay-as-you-go service?

Question

Hi - On the Overview of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat API (preview) page I read the following:

The Chat API is available at no extra cost to users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on license. Support for users without a Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on license isn't currently available.

On the Microsoft 365 Copilot pay-as-you-go service overview page, however, I see that Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is supported.

The following services are available for pay-as-you-go billing:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
• SharePoint agents
• Microsoft Copilot Retrieval API (Preview)

Can someone help me understand whether users access the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat API (preview) with Microsoft 365 Copilot pay-as-you-go service?

Thanks, Marco

Answer 1

Hi @Marco vanW

Based on the information you provided, I understand you are looking to clarify a contradiction between two Microsoft documentation pages regarding licensing. On one hand, the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat API (preview) documentation states it requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on license and does not support unlicensed users. On the other hand, the Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) overview lists "Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat" as a supported service. You want to know if users can access the Chat API via the pay-as-you-go billing model.

According to current Microsoft Learn documentation, users cannot access the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat API (preview) using only the pay-as-you-go service. The Chat API strictly requires a full Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on license.

The confusion comes from a subtle distinction in the documentation between the developer API and the end-user Chat Service. Here is the breakdown of the two concepts:

1. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat API

This is a developer-facing API used to embed Copilot intelligence directly into custom applications, internal portals, bots, or third-party platforms.

It allows developers to build custom interfaces that support multi-turn conversations, grounding from Microsoft 365 data (SharePoint, OneDrive), and enterprise/web search. It is available at no extra cost only to users who already possess a formal Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on seat license. PAYG cannot be used to unlock this API for unlicensed users.

2. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (Pay-as-you-go Service)

The "Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat" listed on the pay-as-you-go page refers to the end-user chat experience and agent hosting, not the developer API.

It is designed for metered, usage-based billing covering work-based chats, deploying declarative/custom agents, and accessing data extensions within the standard Microsoft interfaces (like copilot.microsoft.com or the integrated M365 apps). It allows organizations to pay for consumption-based agent executions and casual chat features without committing to a full upfront annual seat license for every user, but it does not grant programmatic access to the underlying Chat API endpoint.

I hope this clears up the documentation mismatch! Let me know if you need any further clarification on these architectural paths.

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