Summary
Table of Contents
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork is moving to general availability worldwide, while Frontier remains the early-access channel for new capabilities.
- Frontier Cowork is changing to usage-based billing, with a grace period for existing users and required billing setup to keep access after the grace period ends.
- Admins need to configure pay-as-you-go billing and review spending controls in the Microsoft 365 admin center to avoid user access loss.
- The Cowork experience is changing from an agent-based model to a toggle-based entry point, and Frontier users will continue to receive early access innovations.
- Existing chat history and artifacts are retained if access is interrupted and later restored.
Primary Service: M365 Copilot
Admin Impact: High
User Impact: Medium
Release Start: 16 Jun 2026
Release End: 16 Jun 2026
Services: Admin, M365 Copilot
Category: Plan for change
Tags: Admin Action
History
6/16/2026 Item Added to Message Center
Microsoft Message
What and Why
Starting June 16, 2026, Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork will move to general availability (GA) worldwide (Tier 1 languages), while Frontier remains the early access channel for new capabilities.
This post is specific to managing the experience for Frontier users of Cowork.
Frontier-specific updates for June 16, 2026: This update introduces usage-based billing, enabling organizations to scale responsibly and align costs with actual usage, while maintaining enterprise-grade controls and governance. Frontier users will continue to receive early access innovations, including a new model (OpenAI GPT 5.5).
Rollout Schedule
- June 16, 2026 – GA begins; usage-based billing becomes available
- June 16–June 30, 2026 – Grace period for existing Cowork users in Frontier
- July 1, 2026 – Usage-based billing required for continued access for Cowork users in Frontier
Impact on Your Organization
Who is affected:
- Admins managing Copilot and billing configurations
- Existing Frontier Cowork users
- New Frontier users accessing Cowork after June 16
Platforms/Services:
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Cowork (Frontier and GA experiences)
- Microsoft 365 Admin Center (billing and contriols)
What will happen:
Grace period (June 16–June 30):
- Existing Cowork users (installed before June 16):
- Continue to use Cowork through June 30 (no billing setup required)
- Receive end-user in-app notifications (June 23–June 30) notifying the expiration date
- Admins:
- Can onboard additional Frontier users to Cowork at no cost during the grace period (tenant must already have at least one active user)
- Notifications in the M365 Admin Center to configure billing
Experience changes starting June 16, 2026:
- Cowork experience shifts from an “agent” model to a toggle-based entry point
- Frontier continues to provide early access to new capabilities, including updated model access
After July 1, 2026:
- If usage-based billing is enabled: Users continue without interruption
- If usage-based billing is not enabled:
- End users will lose access starting 7/1
- Existing chat history and artifacts are retained and accessible when access is restored
Action Required / Recommendations
Configure usage-based billing: Set Up and Manage Pay-as-you-go Billing
Determine visibility strategy:
- Enable usage-based billing in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center by 6/30
Recommended
- Enable spending policies early to establish visibility on credit consumption and ensure a seamless transition
- No charges will apply in June – no matter when you set up your spending policies, billing will only begin from July 1
- Review cost management and monitoring tools:
- Usage-based billing overview
- Plan for your Spending Policy: To do this, we have provided you with two tools below. The current usage dashboard will help you identify current usage patterns and specific user behavior. The estimator will allow you to model
- your credit consumption going forward.
- Cowork Usage Dashboard
- Customer Cowork Cost Estimator
Additional resources
- Cowork GA blog
- Cowork documentation
- Copilot Credit Licensing guide
- Usage-based Billing and Cost Management for Copilot Credits | MS Learn
- Managing AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing | MS Learn
- Discovery setting for AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing | MS Learn
Compliance considerations
Compliance area: Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed?
Explanation: Cowork continues to process organizational data within Microsoft 365 using updated models and service capabilities, which may affect how data is accessed and analyzed within Copilot experiences.
Compliance area: Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI/ML or agent capabilities that interact with customer data?
Explanation: This update introduces expanded AI capabilities, including access to an updated model (OpenAI GPT 5.5), which interacts with organizational data within Copilot experiences.
Compliance area: Does the change provide end users any new way of interacting with generative AI?
Explanation: The experience changes from an agent-based interaction model to a toggle-based entry point, modifying how users engage with generative AI in Cowork.
Compliance area: Does the change include an admin control and can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership?
Explanation: Admins can control access via usage-based billing configuration and a discoverability toggle. Integration with Entra ID group-based targeting may be used depending on tenant configuration.
Compliance area: Does the change allow a user to enable and disable the feature themselves?
Explanation: Users may request access when discoverability is enabled, introducing a user-driven access flow in environments where billing is not configured.