Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat: Set budget limits for "Pay-as-you-go billing" in Microsoft 365 admin center

What and Why

To help organizations better manage and monitor their Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat pay-as-you-go spending, we’re introducing budget controls in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This new capability allows global and billing admins to set budget thresholds, receive alerts, and view historical spending data—supporting financial oversight and proactive cost management.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 497417

Rollout Schedule

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins mid-July 2025 and is expected to complete by early August 2025.

Impact on Your Organization

• Who is affected:
  • Global and billing administrators managing Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat pay-as-you-go billing policies.
• What will happen:
  • A new budget setting will be available in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for Copilot Chat billing policies.

    

    

  • Admins can:
    • Set a dollar-based budget limit per billing policy.
    • Configure email alerts at customizable thresholds (e.g., 50%, 80%, 90%, 100% of budget).
    • View up to 6 months of historical pay-as-you-go spending data.
  • Alerts will initially be sent from Azure and transition to Microsoft 365 Admin Center in a future update.
  • Budgets can only be created and edited in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
  • Billing will not automatically stop when the budget is reached; admins must manually disconnect the payment method or service if needed.

Action Required / Recommendations

• No action is required to prepare.
• Once available, you may:
  • Set budget limits for Copilot Chat billing policies in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
  • Configure alert thresholds to notify mail-enabled security groups.
  • Monitor historical spending data to inform future budgeting decisions.

Compliance Considerations

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.