TL;DR:

Copilot Studio has officially moved out of the Power Platform Licensing Guide into its own dedicated document — a quiet but meaningful change introduced in June 2025. While the usage-based model remains the same, the separation signals Microsoft’s shift toward standalone, consumption-driven pricing for AI tools. Copilot Studio now has its own guide detailing billing rates, usage estimators, and agent activity costs, while all major references have been removed from the Power Platform guide. For IT operations and licensing teams, this marks the start of a broader transition to pay-per-use models across Microsoft’s ecosystem. Keep both guides updated, watch for usage-based billing creep, and prepare for renewals that reflect this new AI-first licensing era.

New guide, same usage-based model

There’s been a quiet but important shift in Microsoft’s licensing documentation. If you’ve been tracking the Power Platform licensing guide over the past few months, you might have noticed something in the June 2025 edition: Copilot Studio is gone.

In short: Copilot Studio has “graduated” out of the Power Platform PDF andnow lives in its own dedicated guide.

As Jukka Niiranen noted, Microsoft has released a dedicated Copilot Studio Licensing Guide that consolidates information previously scattered across Microsoft Learn articles, pricing pages, and various Power Platform PDFs.

There was no formal announcement of this change, just a quiet footnote in the June 2025 Power Platform change log:

"For Microsoft Copilot Studio licensing information, please refer to the Microsoft Copilot Studio Licensing Guide."  

What’s in the new guide?

• How to buy Copilot Studio

• Billing rates for agent activity and AI tools

• A usage estimator

• Licensing scenarios (e.g. trials, enterprise deployment)

• Details on Dataverse, Managed Environments, multiplexing

• Appendices on billing, preview terms, terminology and change log

And what’s changed in the Power Platform guide?  

As Jukka pointed out, most references to Copilot Studio have now been removed. Only a few mentions remain in the change log, likely a sign that the transition is still in progress.

Importantly, there are no changes to the underlying licensing model at this time. Copilot Studio continues to follow usage-based billing:

• Agent messages

• AI tool calls

• API usage

All contribute to billed consumption.

Why it matters: Are we phasing out Power Platform… or phasing in pay-per-use?

This might seem like a minor update to documentation, but it points to a bigger shift. Microsoft is carving out its high-value tools like Copilot Studio into standalone billing structures, separate from the Power Platform umbrella many organisations still depend on.

In a LinkedIn post, Roberto Lofaro recalled earlier transformations in software licensing:

• From 1980s maintenance fees (that sometimes continued even after updates stopped),

• To project-based and license-based SaaS in the 1990s,

• To today’s consumption-first models.

We’re moving closer to a model where AI features become embedded in every desktop and mobile tool and incur usage charges whenever they connect to cloud services. Think of Copilot in Office or even WhatsApp integrations that quietly activate background AI.

In Roberto’s words, "It is almost a Chromebook model: you can activate the offline use, but will lose features”.  

In short, key features will only work when connected, and often at a cost.

What to watch out for (especially if you're in IT Ops)

As Copilot Studio moves into its own licensing framework, here are a few things to keep on your radar:

• Update cycles: Don’t rely on the Power Platform guide alone. Keep track of the standalone Copilot Studio guide, it is likely to receive more frequent updates.

• Broken references: If your internal documentation or procurement materials still reference Copilot Studio under Power Platform, it’s time for an update.

• Pay-per-use creep: Be cautious about where AI usage might trigger billing. Even features that seem low-touch may generate billable events.  

• Preview ≠ free: Not all preview features are cost-free. Some already contribute to billed usage, especially in environments with connected data.

Keep track of your usage. You can use the Copilot Studio agent usage estimator (still in preview).

Your next Microsoft renewal might look very different

Microsoft is reorganising its licensing playbook to support an AI-first future. Copilot Studio getting its own guide is more than a formatting choice — it signals a broader shift toward usage-based pricing models.

If you’re involved in IT operations, licensing, or governance, keep an eye on these developments. Especially before your next renewal.

The bottom line is: Microsoft’s pricing structure has been changing a lot recently. Want to optimise licenses before your upcoming renewal? Contact us to discuss your use case.

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