Two changes interlock and change how Copilot is procured.
A clear boundary inside the Office applications
Since June, Copilot features within Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote have been limited to users with a corresponding licence. The era of blurred transitions, where individual features were reachable without a licence, is over.
In practice: anyone who assumed that "some Copilot" was there for everyone will notice the gap and has to decide for whom the licence is worthwhile.
Copilot permanently in the business bundles
Since 1 July there have been two new bundles with Copilot permanently included: Business Standard with Copilot at 23.50 US dollars and Business Premium with Copilot at 32 US dollars per user per month. The previous plans remain available separately, and promotional pricing for the add-on runs until the end of 2026.
The message behind it is notable: Copilot is no longer a promotional offer but part of the regular portfolio.
Our assessment
Together these create a clear decision that can no longer be postponed: either a deliberately selected group is licensed or Copilot becomes the standard for everyone via the bundle.
Both are defensible. What does not work is the middle path of hope: buying a few licences and expecting the benefit to spread by itself. In our experience, impact arises where a department is fully equipped and adapts its processes accordingly. Not where individuals experiment as islands.
For the calculation we recommend an unfamiliar angle: do not ask what the licence costs, but which recurring activity it is meant to replace. If that answer is hard to give, the time has not yet come.