From answering to doing
In the Microsoft 365 Copilot app you can switch between Chat (asking for answers) and Cowork (asking it to complete a task). Cowork uses Microsoft’s context engine to ground the work in your real business information, so what it produces reflects your actual documents, emails and data — not a generic guess. Used well, it can take whole chunks of routine, multi-step work off your team’s plate.
Why the bill works differently
Here’s the shift. A Copilot licence is a fixed, predictable monthly cost per user. Cowork is billed by usage, using a metered unit called a Copilot Credit, on a pay-as-you-go basis and separately from your licences. The cost of any given task depends on how much work it involves — the model used, how much of your data it reads, how many tools it calls, and how long it runs. In other words: the more Cowork does, the more it costs, and that usage isn’t fixed.
The runaway-cost risk
How to keep it under control
- Set budgets and spending limits, and monitor usage in the Microsoft 365 admin Cost Management Dashboard.
- Choose sensible default effort levels so everyday tasks don’t use premium settings.
- Decide who gets Cowork — not everyone needs the agentic features.
- Review usage regularly, so cost tracks value rather than drifting.
Governance matters more, not less
An agent that takes actions across your data raises the stakes on permissions and security, not lowers them. Everything in our guide on getting your data governance right before switching Copilot on applies doubly to Cowork — because now the AI isn’t just reading, it’s doing.
