Copilot Chat has usage caps, and Microsoft would rather you found them by hitting them

Mystery limits expand for users without the paid add-on, with upgrade prompts ready when features run dry

Microsoft is applying usage limits to more Copilot Chat features for commercial users without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and it won't publish the numerical caps.

Copilot Chat comes with qualifying Microsoft 365 business and enterprise subscriptions. Without the Copilot add-on, it can reason over web information and uploaded files. The paid license adds broader access to work data, including emails, meetings, chats, and documents.

Tasks already in progress won't be interrupted. Once a limit is reached, users will receive an in-product notice explaining when to retry the affected feature.

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Administrators can't adjust these limits; Microsoft sets them. The Windows behemoth says it "doesn't publish specific limits because they're subject to change."

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Microsoft also suggests that hitting a limit "might indicate interest in additional Copilot capabilities." The remedy it proposes for administrators to consider is, conveniently, another license.

Users may also be offered an upgrade route – although buying a license themselves depends on whether their organization permits self-service purchases. Microsoft explained: "In most organizations, the limit notification includes an option to upgrade.

"Users can select it to request a Microsoft 365 Copilot license from their admin, who can approve or deny requests in the Microsoft 365 admin center. If the organization allows users to buy licenses directly, users might also see an option to purchase a license."

Microsoft concluded: "Admins can turn off direct purchases for each product."

The rollout began on November 2 for organizations with 2,000 or fewer Microsoft 365 seats and is due to start on November 9 for larger organizations. It also applies only to users without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license in commercial tenants. Web, desktop, and mobile apps are all affected.

The change could be Microsoft's latest wheeze to turn included Copilot Chat access into paid add-on sales. Users who hit an unpublished ceiling may well start pestering administrators for an upgrade.

The alternative is that admins decide tighter controls are preferable to unpredictable feature availability. Not necessarily the sales outcome Microsoft had in mind. ®