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Microsoft adds Autopilot agent to Copilot, shifts to usage-based billing

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Microsoft adds Autopilot agent to Copilot, shifts to usage-based billing

Microsoft is reworking Copilot again, this time by reorganizing the app into three sections, Home, Code and Autopilot, and introducing a new proactive agent called Autopilot, formerly known internally as "Scout." Built on OpenClaw, Autopilot acts as an always-on assistant for businesses: each instance gets its own cloud computer, workspace, storage and identity, letting it monitor Teams channels, coordinate supplier evaluations, or handle recurring tasks without a human in the loop. Users can trigger it with an @mention in Teams, Outlook or documents, and it keeps running in the cloud even after they go offline. According to Microsoft's head of AI marketing, Jared Spataro, the agent uses what the company calls Microsoft IQ to understand how an organization actually operates, and it comes with permissions, auditing and governance controls. The Code section lets even non-developers build apps, dashboards and automations using natural language; it runs on the same technology as GitHub Copilot, inside a secure environment called the Copilot Managed Runtime. Home combines chat and collaboration and will get an upcoming "Today" feature that surfaces email, calendar, Teams messages and tasks in one dashboard, entering private preview in October; Word, Excel and PowerPoint are now embedded directly inside Copilot. Alongside the redesign, Microsoft is shifting Autopilot, Code and Cowork from flat-rate pricing to usage-based billing, similar to how ChatGPT Enterprise works once a quota is exceeded. The standard Copilot license will now cover only chat and Office app integrations, continuing a pullback from subsidizing AI usage through flat-rate plans that Microsoft had already announced. An auto-router will handle model selection for Office integrations, picking a model for each request based on accuracy, speed and cost; IT admins can control which model families are available to specific user groups. Microsoft says usage-based billing will also tap frontier models from other providers, naming OpenAI's Astra and Anthropic's Fable, alongside new FinOps-for-AI tools meant to help companies track their AI spending. Looking ahead, CEO Satya Nadella said he plans to eventually bring Autopilot to consumers too, pointing to more than 100 million consumer subscribers across the Microsoft ecosystem; he said he sees the enterprise agent market as much bigger than the cloud market, while for consumers agents could replace existing middlemen. Home and Code will roll out over the coming weeks through Microsoft's Frontier program, Autopilot launches in late September as a private preview, and Code is expected to reach general availability later this year for Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers.

Key facts

  • Copilot's app is being split into three sections: Home, Code and Autopilot.
  • Autopilot, built on OpenClaw and formerly called "Scout," gives each instance its own cloud computer, workspace, storage and identity to run tasks like monitoring Teams channels without human input.
  • Microsoft is moving Autopilot, Code and Cowork from flat-rate pricing to usage-based billing, while the standard Copilot license now covers only chat and Office integrations.
  • An auto-router will pick models for Office integrations based on accuracy, speed and cost, and usage-based billing will also draw on outside frontier models, named as OpenAI's Astra and Anthropic's Fable.
  • Nadella said he wants to eventually bring Autopilot to consumers, citing more than 100 million consumer subscribers across the Microsoft ecosystem.

Why it matters

This is Microsoft's latest restructuring of Copilot, moving it from a single chatbot toward a set of distinct products: a chat and productivity hub (Home), a natural-language app builder (Code), and a persistent, proactive business agent (Autopilot). The pricing shift away from flat-rate plans toward usage-based billing also signals that Microsoft is no longer willing to subsidize heavy AI usage at a fixed price, a pattern already seen with ChatGPT Enterprise.

Who it affects

Business customers using Copilot licenses are the most directly affected, since Autopilot, Code and Cowork will move to usage-based billing while the standard license shrinks to just chat and Office app integrations. IT admins gain new controls over which model families are available to which user groups. Consumers are not yet affected, though Nadella has said he wants to bring Autopilot to them eventually.

How to use it

Autopilot can be triggered with an @mention inside Teams, Outlook or documents and then keeps running in the cloud independently. It launches in late September as a private preview. Home and Code will roll out over the coming weeks through Microsoft's Frontier program, with Code expected to reach general availability later this year for Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers; the Home dashboard feature called "Today" enters private preview in October.

How solid is it

The account comes from Microsoft's own announcement and public statements by Jared Spataro and Satya Nadella, so the features and rollout plans are as the company describes them; no independent pricing figures for the new usage-based billing have been disclosed yet.

Risks and caveats

Microsoft's own auto-router will likely favor Microsoft's models, which the article notes are optimized for efficiency but do not match the quality of frontier models, meaning users may get a lower-quality default unless they or their IT admins opt into other model families. No specific usage-based pricing or rates have been published, and no timeline beyond Nadella's stated intent has been given for the consumer rollout of Autopilot.