If you've been following what's new with Microsoft 365, you might have heard the chatter about Microsoft 365 Premium, a new personal subscription model that brings the full power of Copilot into Microsoft Office, making it a comprehensive AI and productivity plan for up to six people.
Sounds perfect for smaller businesses right? Maybe. Let's break it down.
What is Microsoft 365 Premium?
With everyday users wanting the convenience of Microsoft Office and AI in one place, Microsoft 365 Premium is being introduced as the newest plan that builds on both the Family Plan and Copilot Pro plans. For £18.99 per month, subscribers get six accounts with the full suite of Microsoft Office apps and premium Copilot AI tools.
The features of Microsoft 365 Premium include:
- Desktop apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook; all of which have Copilot built in
- Access to Researcher and Analyst: powerful agents designed specifically for deep research and sophisticated data analysis
- Highest usage limits for select features such as 4o image generation, podcasts, Deep Research, Vision and Actions in the Copilot app
- Access to Microsoft's new Photos agent
- 1TB of secure could storage per person
- Microsoft Defender advanced security
What will happen to Copilot Pro?
With the release of Microsoft 365 Premium, the Copilot Pro licence is no more. By essentially building Copilot into Microsoft 365, there's no further need for it as a separate subscription. Copilot Pro and Microsoft 365 Premium are priced the same.
If you're looking for the convenience of having tooling packed into one neat subscription model then you're likely to have your interest peaked by Microsoft 365 Premium.
But does this mean that all of the capabilities of Copilot Pro are now in Microsoft 365 Premium? Unfortunately, no. One of the main advantages of the Copilot Pro licence was that you benefitted from unlimited AI credits to use across the M365 suite; with Microsoft 365 premium, the credits have been done away with, but the information on the higher usage is vague at best. While these limits are 'extensive beyond standard credit limits', if you're expecting unlimited usage like you get with Copilot Pro, you're likely to be disappointed. Microsoft’s page on AI credits and limits for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium break down the details on this further.
Another restriction to note is that similar to the family plan (priced at £10.49 per month) only the account owner gets access to the Copilot features, and this cannot be shared with the other users in the subscription. This means that the only real difference between the Premium and Family plan is higher limits of AI usage.
Who is this subscription aimed at?
→ Individuals who want access to AI features on a personal plan
→ Small business teams who want AI without the headaches of separate subscriptions
If their of these options sound relatable to you, then Microsoft 365 Premium could be worth checking out.
The bottom line
Microsoft 365 Premium isn't just another subscription, it's Microsoft's way of making AI accessible to all types of users. While Copilot Pro isn't going away, it will no longer be available to purchase. This new subscription model could transform individual users' or small team's working practices, but the limits on the AI usage are still worth noting for those not wanting to move over to a business or enterprise-level subscription type.
