Microsoft 365 Family subscribers will finally be able to share AI benefits

is a senior correspondent and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.

Microsoft bundled its AI-powered Office features into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions last year, but it only allowed the primary account holder to access the AI benefits. Now, Microsoft is about to let Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers share Copilot and AI usage features, alongside access to Office apps and OneDrive storage, with up to five other people on a plan.

In an email to Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers seen by The Verge, Microsoft outlines the changes that are coming to subscription plans over the coming months:

• AI for everyone on your plan: Share your Copilot benefits and AI usage with other members on your plan. Plus, manage AI access for younger family members.
• More flexible AI usage: Your individual AI feature limits will shift to a single AI usage allowance that you can apply to the advanced AI features you use most. Plus, purchase more AI usage when you need it.
• More flexible cloud storage: Your cloud storage allowance will change from 1 TB per person to 2 TB of shared storage so everyone on the plan can use the free space while keeping their own accounts and files private. This change will apply after your first renewal after 2nd May, 2027.

The storage changes seem like the major downside to Microsoft’s updates. Instead of getting 1TB of OneDrive storage per account, Microsoft is now limiting this to just 2TB of shared storage across the entire plan. Microsoft argues this makes storage more flexible if one member exceeds 1TB, but it looks like it’s an easy way for the company to upsell more OneDrive storage in reality.

According to a support note, “Existing subscribers in eligible markets might also qualify for transitional bonus storage.” Microsoft is also planning to provide support to families that use a lot of storage

The changes are being announced a year after Microsoft 365 Premium launched, which offers all the benefits of a Copilot Pro and a Microsoft 365 Family subscription for $19.99 a month. The “more flexible AI usage” change could mean that some subscribers end up paying more for AI usage, depending on how they’re using Copilot.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.