M365 Copilot licensing question

I agree that company size should not be a factor in who gets access to Copilot. If a company is willing to pay to have E-3 licenses and the $30 per month for Copilot, then why is that not an option? According to Bing Chat Enterprise, the number of people in the US who work for companies with less than 300 employees may be as high as 50%:

"As you can see, there is no definitive answer to your question, as different sources may use different criteria and methods to measure the size and impact of small businesses. However, based on these estimates, it seems that the percentage of the US workforce that works for companies with less than 300 employees is somewhere between 30% and 50%. I hope this helps you. If you need more information, you can visit the Bing search results for more details. Have a nice day! "

That also assumes a company would want a Copilot license for all of its employees (which is probably not likely).

It is extremely disappointing. Our speculation is Microsoft doesn't have the processing power to release this outside of EA.

There is still no word as to when Copilot will be available to non-EA customers. I heard a rumor you would be able to purchase through a CSP around the new year. However, I was unable to find anyone to corroborate it. I have also been unable to find any information as to if the 300-seat minimum will also be required.

So with all the marketing of November 1, release it really is only for companies that have at least 300 seats that want to use copilot.This is really crazy and was not marketed correctly. What this means is this release is really not a public release but only for the “big guys”. I have to say i am really disappointed on the way Microsoft marketed this. Let’s run the numbers 30/month per user at a minimum of 300 users is a minimum of $108,000/per year. It will be a long time before this tool is available for the small business or even the mid size company has access to this.

Microsoft shame on you for advertising this as a public release past your early release. This is not a public release.

For anyone finding this post via search, here is an official source for the minimum requirement of 300 seats at 30 USD per seat per month for Microsoft 365 CoPilot at launch:

SKU and transaction details (for Licensing Solution Providers)

7. What is the price for Microsoft 365 Copilot?

Microsoft 365 Copilot will cost $30 USD per user per month and will be available for purchase

via “Lead Status,” which means that support from a Microsoft Commercial Executive is needed to

transact it. Additionally, the minimum purchase size will be 300 seats, and partners will be able

to quote the product to customers from November 1 onwards, as there will be no pricing

preview in October.

8. Is there a minimum number of seats customers should buy?

Yes, customers must buy at least 300 seats of Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Dear Ra12345789,

I think that the information may be wrong. From the article Microsoft 365 Copilot requirements | Microsoft Learn, if your organization uses Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 today, then you likely already meet most of these prerequisites.

The information about prize and the purchase size of Microsoft 365 Copilot may haven't been published. From the information in How to prepare for Microsoft 365 Copilot - Microsoft Community Hub, Github co-pilot for Business is $19 per user per month. However, it is just a reference.

Sorry for that we may provide no further information currently. I suggest you contact the administrator if you aren't the administrator and let him phone our billing support team to see whether they can provide more information about the prize.

Find Microsoft 365 for business support phone numbers by country or region - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn

Thanks for your understanding and have a nice day!

Sincerely

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator