One App, Two Realities: The New Divide in Microsoft 365 Copilot Experiences

With the arrival of Copilot Search as Generally Available in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app from August, those who are licensed for Microsoft 365 Copilot get another AI-powered experience to try. But in organizations with a mix of licensed and unlicensed users, we get another point of bifurcation of the Microsoft 365 experience.

Microsoft 365 has always varied in what apps and services are available based on license or license tier. However, in general, these lines of demarcation have been fairly clear. Now though, we are increasingly seeing far fuzzier lines where both licensed and unlicensed users will have subtly different versions of substantially similar capabilities.

In Search this means that the Copilot Search experience will be ringfenced for licensed users, but any user will still be able to access the standard Microsoft Search powered experience from that same Search option in the Copilot app.

The same is true for Create, where both licensed and unlicensed users see a similar but somewhat different experience. And even Copilot chat itself looks very similar except for a "Work/Web" switcher for those with a license. The potential for confusion here is amplified by these different experiences all living within the same Microsoft 365 Copilot app.

In terms of training and adoption management, this is to some extent a new world. Not just because the process of onboarding team members to AI technology is so different than other types of software, but because a user's experience of what seems like the same capability will vary based on factors that are somewhat hidden from them.

The reality is undeniable: Microsoft 365 is being made both more powerful AND more complex by the integration of Copilot.

As Microsoft seeks to amplify the value of investing in Microsoft 365 Copilot watching out for the caveats included in learning content will become all the more important as the day-to-day experience becomes one that is firmly two-tier for the Copilot haves and have nots.

Is this the right approach?

Time will tell. But Google has already decided to walk an entirely different path than the one Microsoft is navigating by simply baking Gemini into Workspace - exactly the same path Microsoft has taken with its consumer M365 product.

❓ How are you approaching meeting the needs of M365 Copilot licensed and unlicensed users both trying to get the best out of subtly different experiences of Microsoft 365?

First published on Linkedin on 07/06/2025 -> click to view here