Microsoft Copilot for Small Business: What’s Included and What Costs Extra?

Running a new business means a lot of small jobs. Most days, you might be:

• answering a pile of emails
• planning your week
• writing posts and flyers
• putting together documents and price lists
• looking up answers to business questions

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant that can help with jobs like these. It doesn’t replace you. It helps you get a first draft done faster, so you can spend your time on the parts only you can do.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant for work. You type a question or a request in plain words. What you type is called a prompt. Copilot then writes back with a draft, a summary, some ideas or an answer.

The names are changing

Microsoft is renaming things right now:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot is becoming Microsoft Copilot.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is becoming Microsoft Copilot Chat.
• The Microsoft 365 app is now the Microsoft Copilot app.

For a while, you may see both old and new names. They mean the same thing.

Three different Copilots

Microsoft uses the Copilot name for more than one product:

• Work Copilot is what this article covers. You use it by signing in with a work account. That’s the email and login that come with your Microsoft 365 business plan, like [email protected].
• Personal Copilot is a separate app for personal Microsoft accounts. We don’t cover it here.
• GitHub Copilot helps people write software code. We don’t cover it here either.

How does Copilot work?

Here’s what happens when you use Copilot:

1. You type a prompt. For example, “Draft a friendly reply to this customer.”
2. Copilot gathers information. It looks at what it’s allowed to use. (Microsoft calls this grounding.)
3. The AI writes a response. You get a draft, a summary or an answer.
4. You check it. You read it, fix it and decide whether to use it.

The big difference between the two versions is step 2: what Copilot can look at before it answers.

Either way, you get a draft to check. The paid version only uses work information you already have permission to see. It doesn’t open up anything new to you.

What do you already get with Microsoft 365?

If your business has Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard or Business Premium, Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost. With it, you can:

• chat with Copilot and have it research the web
• upload files and ask questions about them
• write and rewrite emails, posts and documents
• make simple images
• use some basic helpers

You get standard access. That means when Copilot is very busy, it may be slower or some features may pause for a bit.

You also get business-level data protection when you sign in with your work account. Your prompts and Copilot’s answers aren’t used to train Microsoft’s AI.

Copilot in Outlook is also included. It can help you draft replies and answer questions about your inbox, calendar and meetings.

To try Copilot Chat, go to m365copilot.com and sign in with your work account. You can also use the Microsoft Copilot app.

Check your Copilot label

Not everyone on an included plan gets the same thing. Some people also get Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Others don’t. It depends on your licence and how your Microsoft 365 account is set up.

Microsoft shows a label to tell you which version you have. You’ll find it at the bottom of your Microsoft 365 home page, and in some apps.

What does the paid version add?

The paid version is for businesses that want Copilot to work across all of their Microsoft 365 information. It adds:

• Search across your work. Copilot can look through your emails, files, chats, meetings and calendar on its own. You don’t have to upload anything first. It only sees what you already have permission to see.
• Full Copilot inside your apps. That includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Teams.
• First-in-line access. When Copilot is busy, paid users go first. Microsoft calls this priority access.
• Advanced helpers. Microsoft calls these agents. Examples include Researcher, for deeper research, and Analyst, for working with numbers.

Here’s how the two versions compare:

Add-on or bundled plan?

There are three ways to buy the paid version for a small business:

1. Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on). You add it to the Business Basic, Standard or Premium plan you already have. It’s for businesses with up to 300 people.
2. Business Standard with Copilot. One plan that includes both Business Standard and paid Copilot.
3. Business Premium with Copilot. One plan that includes both Business Premium and paid Copilot.

What does it cost in Canada?

These prices are for a one-year commitment, paid yearly. Tax is extra. Paying month to month costs more.

Features and prices checked September 24, 2026. They can change, so check Microsoft’s Canadian website before you buy.

How could Copilot help a new business owner?

Here are five kinds of work where Copilot can save you effort and give you a better first draft. Each one shows what you can do with the included version, and what the paid version adds.

Marketing

• Included: Describe your business and your offer. Ask for campaign ideas or draft posts.
• Paid: Copilot can also use your brand files and past work to shape its drafts.

Email

• Included: In Outlook, draft replies and ask about your inbox or calendar.
• Paid: Pull together what’s in your emails, files, meetings and Teams chats.

Research

• Included: Look up public information. Summarize documents you upload.
• Paid: Compare what’s online with your own business files.

Planning

• Included: Type in your goals and turn them into an outline, checklist or action plan.
• Paid: Build plans using your files, meetings and calendar.

Paperwork

• Included: Draft meeting agendas, how-to steps, templates and to-do lists.
• Paid: Catch up on the emails, chats, meetings and documents you missed.

Copilot can save you time. It can’t promise more sales. What you do with its drafts is up to you.

What Copilot can’t do for you

Copilot is helpful, but it makes mistakes. It can:

• misunderstand what you asked
• miss important details
• get facts wrong, even when it sounds sure

You’re still responsible for your customer messages, money decisions, legal claims and anything you publish.

Copilot drafts. You decide. Before you use anything Copilot writes, ask:

Do you need the paid version yet?

Ask yourself these four questions:

1. Do I need Copilot to search my work files, emails and meetings for me?
2. Do I use several Microsoft 365 apps, like Word, Excel and Teams, every day?
3. Do I need the advanced helpers or first-in-line access?
4. Would the time it saves be worth about CAD $28.50 per person each month?

If you said no to most of these, the included version is a good place to start. You can always upgrade later.

A simple first step

Try Copilot today with one small, low-risk task.

1. Sign in with your work account at m365copilot.com, or open the Microsoft Copilot app.
2. Check your Copilot label at the bottom of your Microsoft 365 home page.
3. Try one routine task, using information that isn’t private. You can copy the example below.
4. Read the result and fix it until it sounds like you.
5. Follow your business’s privacy rules. Keep private customer and money details out until you know your settings.

Write a short, friendly email telling customers we're closed on Thanksgiving Monday.

Start small. One task is enough to see how it fits your business.