Not everyone needs the paid helper. Give it to people who spend lots of time digging through work emails and files, and check after a while that they really use it.
Start from the work. People who often need answers buried in their own emails, meetings and files gain the most. People who mostly write from scratch or use the web may be fine on Copilot Chat. Then use Microsoft's usage report to check, and move licences if needed.
Segment by grounding need, frequency and agent use: licence those whose decisions depend on cross-source Graph retrieval or heavy tenant-grounded agent use; keep web-and-upload users on Copilot Chat. Validate with the Copilot usage report (7/28/90/180-day active users) and the Copilot Chat usage report, and review the licence position on a set cadence.
The question underneath
"Who needs a Copilot licence?" usually gets answered by job title or seniority. I think a better question is: whose decisions depend on finding things in their own work content? That's the job the paid licence does best, as described in What the paid Copilot licence adds.
Three questions per person
I'd ask three things about each role or person.
- How often do they need answers that are spread across their emails, meetings, chats and files? Daily, weekly, or rarely?
- Would they use agents grounded in shared tenant data, such as a SharePoint policy agent? For someone with Copilot Chat only, Microsoft meters those in Copilot Credits, while licensed users aren't charged for employee-facing use under their own identity.
- Could Copilot Chat do most of their work? Drafting from scratch, summarising a document they upload and researching the web all work well there.
A "daily" to the first question is a strong case for the licence. A "rarely" to the first and a "yes" to the third points to Copilot Chat.
Using the data you already have
Microsoft's Copilot usage report in the Microsoft 365 admin center shows how many people have a Copilot licence, how many are active, and the active users rate, across 7, 28, 90 or 180 days. Microsoft counts someone as active if they've intentionally used a Copilot feature in at least one app. There's a separate report for Copilot Chat usage by people without a licence. Names are concealed by default, so you may need your privacy settings reviewed before you can see them per person.
These reports show who used Copilot. They don't show whether that use mattered. I'd read them as a way to find the conversations worth having, as in Reading the Copilot usage report for licence decisions.
A worked example
This team and its numbers are illustrative.
A finance team of 12 has six licences today. The team lead fills in the three questions and checks 90 days of usage.
| Group | People | Search own content | Tenant-grounded agents | Active on Copilot (90 days) | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts payable leads | 3 | Daily | Yes | 3 of 3 | Keep licences |
| Analysts | 3 | Weekly | Sometimes | 1 of 3 | Talk to the two inactive people |
| Clerks | 6 | Rarely | Rarely | Not licensed; 5 of 6 use Copilot Chat | Stay on Copilot Chat |
Before moving any licence, the team lead asks the two inactive analysts why. One was on leave. The other says Copilot didn't help with their main task, so that licence goes to a clerk who's been uploading the same supplier files to Copilot Chat every week.
Moving licences
How and when you can reassign or reduce licences depends on your agreement with Microsoft or your partner, so I'd check that before planning any changes. Licence decisions also have a human side. Taking a tool away from someone feels personal, so I'd explain the rule first and apply it to everyone the same way.
What I'm still checking
I haven't found a Microsoft report that shows how much of someone's Copilot use touched their organisational content compared with the web. That would answer my first question directly. Until I find one, I ask people.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn, Microsoft 365 Copilot usage report, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Copilot overview, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Billing rates and management, Copilot Studio, accessed 11 October 2026.