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Copilot Chat moving from classic billing to cost management
MC1463507 · build prod-20251231-200323
Category
stayInformed
Severity
normal
Major change
False
Last modified
2026-08-28 21:39:34
Summary source
Azure OpenAI (gpt-4.1)
Action by (Graph)
Action by (AI)
2026-09-20 00:00:00
Services
Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft 365), Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Tags
Feature update, Admin impact
Master tags
Admin, Compliance, No Copilot License
Roadmap IDs

One-line summary

Copilot Chat policy management in the Microsoft 365 admin center is moving from 'Billing & Usage' to 'Cost Management' for unified usage and cost controls; existing policies will be auto-migrated.

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Details

Summary
Microsoft Copilot Chat policy management is moving from "Billing & Usage" to "Cost Management" in the Microsoft 365 admin center by mid-October 2026. Existing policies will auto-migrate without changes, with no end-user impact. Administrators should review Geo-level policy scopes and update documentation accordingly.

Body (from Message Center)

[What and why:]

We're improving how administrators manage Microsoft Copilot Chat policies by moving policy administration in the Microsoft 365 admin center from "Copilot > Billing & Usage" to "Copilot > Cost management". This change unifies Copilot Chat usage and cost controls under a single pane with Cowork and Work IQ APIs.

[Rollout schedule:]

We will begin rolling out in late September 2026 and expect to complete by mid-October 2026.

[Impact on your organization:]

As part of this update, existing Copilot Chat Declarative Agen policies configured through "Copilot > Billing & Usage" will be automatically migrated to "Copilot > Cost Management" in the Microsoft 365 admin center. These policies govern how users without an assigned Microsoft 365 Copilot user license access declarative agents--such as agents built through Agent Builder. No changes will be made to your existing policy configurations during the migration.

After the rollout:

  • Administrators will manage Copilot Chat policies through the Cost Management experience.
  • Existing policies will continue to function as configured. Administrators have the flexibility
  • No end-user impact is expected.
  • Generally, no administrative action is required to preserve current policy settings. If there are exceptions to this admins will be able to see what actions they need to take to complete the migration within the admin center.

Once migration is complete, references and entry points for policy management will direct administrators to Cost Management rather than the classic billing experience.

The following capabilities will not be available in the initial Cost Management experience:

  • Multiple alert thresholds
  • Limits and budgets in dollars 

Important: Copilot Chat billing policies are currently resolved at a detailed Azure Region level. The new Cost Management experience operates at a poader Geo level. As a result, some existing billing policies may be migrated from a specific Azure Region to an equivalent Geo-level scope. Policy functionality will continue to be supported, but administrators should review migrated policies if they currently rely on Region-specific billing configurations

[Action required / Recommendations:]

No action is required before rollout.

We recommend that administrators:

  • Familiarize themselves with the Cost Management experience.
  • Update any internal documentation, training materials, or administrative runbooks that reference the classic billing experience.
  • Notify relevant administrators of the upcoming management experience change.

Additional documentation will be available prior to rollout.

[Compliance considerations:]

Customer data is not expected to be moved or processed differently as part of this change. However, billing policies currently scoped to specific Azure Regions may be mapped to broader Geo-level scopes during migration, changing how administrators configure and manage billing controls.

Administrative controls are moving to a different management surface. Depending on final implementation, reporting and policy visibility may be presented through Cost Management experiences rather than classic billing.

Raw JSON (for debugging)

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      "Summary": "Microsoft Copilot Chat policy management is moving from \"Billing \u0026 Usage\" to \"Cost Management\" in the Microsoft 365 admin center by mid-October 2026. Existing policies will auto-migrate without changes, with no end-user impact. Administrators should review Geo-level policy scopes and update documentation accordingly."
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    "tags": [
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    "title": "Copilot Chat moving from classic billing to cost management"
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