Category Archives: Uncategorized

GitHub Copilot moves to usage-based billing

Advanced tasks in GitHub Copilot have historically been covered by Premium Requests, with each GitHub Copilot plan being allocated a set number of Premium Requests, and more available to be purchased on a Pay-As-You-Go basis as required.

In April 2026 Microsoft announced that Premium Requests would be replaced by GitHub AI Credits from June 1, 2026. Again, each plan includes a set number of GitHub AI Credits, but the consumption of these units is now linked more closely to the actual usage with longer, more advanced tasks and use of higher-capability AI models consuming more units. 1 AI Credit = $0.01, in common with other AI consumption units, such as Copilot Credits.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/4weo0Tz.

GA of High Volume Email

Microsoft announce that High Volume Email (HVE) is now generally available in Exchange Online.

It’s a way for applications and devices to send large volumes of internal email reliably and securely without impacting user mailboxes or Exchange Online service health. Usage will be metered from June 1, 2026 with pricing set at $42 per one million recipients.

Find the announcement with some common usage scenarios listed here: https://bit.ly/4eC2hyh, and the (useful) Learn documentation detailing how to set up HVE accounts here: https://bit.ly/3QndatS.

Teams Events Attendee Capacity Packs

The new Teams Events Attendee Capacity Packs were introduced to support the April 1, 2026 Teams licensing changes, and mean that Teams Enterprise licensed users can run Town Hall events with more than the default 3,000 attendee limit.

Interestingly, these Capacity Pack licences are not assigned to a tenant, as you might expect, but to a meeting organiser. This does mean that if you inadvertently reassign a licence you might impact an upcoming event. To that end, there are new licence management capabilities added to the Teams Admin Center to hep admins discover, assign, and manage these licences.

Find the announcement via a Message Center update here: https://bit.ly/4cXeQmt.

Agent 365 FAQs

Microsoft’s Agent 365 FAQs are updated again, to coincide with the launch on 1 May, 2026.

As far as changes go, a couple of smaller questions are deleted, along with all references to “OBO agents”, and there are 3 new questions about Windows 365 for Agents added.

Find this updated document here: https://bit.ly/4eF2nWb or, if you’re a subscriber, get the document and the associated “What’s New” and “Cautionary Notes” details in our Licensing Guides Gallery: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery.

Retirement of Windows Hybrid Benefit

The May 1, 2026 Product Terms sees the retirement of the Windows Hybrid Benefit.

This benefit was available to Windows 365 Business licensed users who were the Primary User of a device licensed with Windows 10/11 Pro, and entitled them to discounted pricing. This change coincides with the overall 20% reduction in pricing of Windows 365 Business that starts on May 1 too.

See the changes in the Product Terms here: https://bit.ly/4eU5DwD.

Agent 365 FAQs

Microsoft’s Agent 365 FAQs are updated again, prior to the launch on 1 May, 2026.

The emphasis is very much that Agent 365 is licensed per human user as those users interact with, or own, sponsor, or manage Agents. There’s confirmation added that there are no consumption-based costs for Agent 365 (yet) and a useful section at the end (key principles for understanding Agent 365 licensing) is worth a read.

Find this updated document here: https://bit.ly/486k5xG or, if you’re a subscriber, get the document and the associated “What’s New” notes in our Licensing Guides Gallery: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery.

Microsoft Azure AI Foundry Pricing Guide – April 2026

There’s an updated (April 2026) version of Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry Pricing Guide.

This is a useful document for understanding how you pay for the different Microsoft Foundry services via Pay-As-You-Go, Batch deployment, or Provisioned Throughput Units.

Everyone can find this document here: https://bit.ly/3Ovg52W, and subscribers can additionally find the detail of what’s new and what’s not quite right by grabbing the guide from our Licensing Guides Gallery: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery.

Extended period for ESUs for Exchange and SfB

Microsoft announce a “Period 2” 6-month extension for the special Extended Security Updates for Exchange Server 2016/2019 and Skype for Business Server 2015/2019.

Customers who want ESUs in the new May 2026 – October 2026 period should note that Period 2 isn’t an extension to the first period of ESUs, it’s a further purchase.

Find the announcement for Exchange Server here: https://bit.ly/4sNf1pi and Skype for Business Server here: https://bit.ly/4dWfgdY.

Windows 365 Business price decrease

Microsoft announce a 20% price drop for Windows 365 Business, affecting new customers from 1 May 2026 and existing customers at their next renewal.

This SMB flavour for up to 300 users will benefit from a lower list price, enabled by an updated Cloud PC reconnection experience that optimises resource usage.

Don’t forget to keep track of all Microsoft price changes using our intuitive, filterable Product Price Plotter, exclusive to subscribers: https://bit.ly/ProductPricePlotter.

Find the Windows 365 announcement details here: https://bit.ly/4mJUmAX.

Power Platform licensing resources

The Power Platform licensing resources are updated (twice!) for April 2026: initially, they were almost completely unchanged compared to March, but a second version arrived shortly after.

The (confusingly repetitive) summary of the different licenses at the start of the Licensing Guide has been removed, leaving information about one license type in just one section each. AI in apps capabilities are added to the Summary of Power Apps table, showing that extra AI capabilities are available when you have a Power Apps Premium license (as opposed to using the Pay-As-You-Go meter) with, as you might expect, some features also requiring a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. That change is also made in the Licensing Deck.

The one-click “Power Platform” filter in our Licensing Guides Gallery gives subscribers quick access to all versions of the licensing resources: https://bit.ly/GuidesGallery. You’ll also find details of all the changes to be aware (and wary) of with our “What’s New” and “Cautionary Notes” features. Non-subscribers can find the latest Licensing Guide here: https://bit.ly/4dTI7zw, and the Licensing Deck here: https://bit.ly/42hIooI.