Microsoft backtracks on Copilot Chat access in M365 apps

“Starting April 15, 2026, Copilot will no longer be available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Copilot Chat users,” Microsoft said via a message sent to those large customers in the Microsoft 365 admin message center, according to a copy of the message archived on a third-party mirror. This access will instead require a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Access to Copilot Chat will remain in Outlook for these customers, however.

The situation is different for customers with fewer than 2,000 users. Here, Microsoft will restrict rather than remove access to Copilot features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Copilot Chat users. This means Copilot Chat will users will have “standard access” to features, with reduced quality and performance at certain points during the day, subject to service capacity. Copilot Chat users may also see “in-product notifications” for the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license, Microsoft said in a separate message to admins at…