Usage-based billing (UBB) is arriving in the Copilot Chat model selector.
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From early November, GPT-6 Astra and Claude Fable 5.1 will be available in Copilot Chat and in Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint as separately billed models not included in the user subscription license (USL). Microsoft expects the rollout to complete by mid-November (MC1519122).
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Access depends on three settings. The user must have a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license, UBB must be enabled for them, and they need Copilot Credits allocated. In Microsoft's preview image, these models carry a "Uses credits" label in the menu, sitting alongside the models already included with the license. Microsoft also plans a later update that will let users request more credits from their admin.
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For admins, the thing to check before November is your spending policies. "Allow new agents and services as they become available" has been on by default for every policy since September (MC1470425), which is how "Advanced work in SharePoint" and "Advanced work in OneDrive" arrived in existing policies earlier this month (alongside a growing list of other UBB features). Microsoft hasn't said whether these models will appear as their own service in a policy, so it's worth reviewing who your policies cover and whether that setting should stay on.
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If you are an SMB carrying Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses, you also need to look out for the mid-November implementation of MC1476200. It will create a default spending policy, if one doesn't already exist, on any new purchase of a Microsoft Copilot Business license, with a spending limit of 4,000 Copilot Credits per user per month. Purchases through CSPs will be added December 1, and tenants that buy direct with only Business Basic or Standard will be added at some point in the future.
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Getting access to the latest models definitely opens up new doors for productivity. But I know a lot of customers are already getting a bit worn down by the flood of UBB features that have arrived over the last few months. What is clear is that it's still possible to get immense value out of Copilot without any additional spend. But we're early enough in this UBB cycle that it isn't clear yet how quickly today's most advanced added-cost models will become tomorrow's USL defaults. That's where Microsoft's commitment to deliver frontier capability through UBB, while keeping everyday productivity consistent through the USL, will really be tested.
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Will you want to switch these models on for your users as soon as they are available? How are you balancing the cost versus value discussion now that USL and UBB will be a part of nearly every Copilot surface?
First posted on Linkedin on 10/27/2026 → View Linkedin Post Here