AI has long been a game-changer for large enterprises, but small and medium businesses (SMBs) often couldn’t access it due to high costs and complex tools. On 1st December Microsoft released a new Copilot for business, offering it as an add on to the Office suite. You can get everything included for £16 per user per month. This announcement is one of the most significant Microsoft 365 updates for SMBs in years, and it signals a broader shift in how AI will be adopted across the global business landscape. In this blog, we cover what’s new, what’s included, how to activate it, and answer the top FAQs everyone’s asking.
What’s changing?
For years, AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot felt out of reach for smaller businesses, with enterprise pricing at £23 per user per month putting them just beyond reach for leaner teams. Now, Microsoft is changing the game with Copilot for Business, introducing a new, more accessible price point: £16 per user per month, with a limited-time introductory offer of £14 per user per month.
About Microsoft 365 Copilot Business
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business brings all the same AI-powered tools as the regular Copilot but at a lower price, designed for small and medium businesses. Imagine starting your day with an assistant that knows exactly what you need, even before you ask. That’s what Microsoft 365 Copilot Business brings to small and medium-sized businesses. Unlike traditional tools that only help you work faster; Copilot Business works with you inside the Microsoft 365 apps you already rely on.
It can draft emails in seconds, summarise meetings so you never miss a key point, and automate the repetitive tasks that eat up your day. The result? Your team spends less time on busy work and more time on the projects that drive growth. Behind the scenes, Copilot Business keeps your data secure, giving you peace of mind while helping your business collaborate smarter and more efficiently.
Simplifying AI for Small Businesses, New Microsoft 365 Bundles
For many small and medium-sized businesses, adopting AI can feel like juggling multiple tools, subscriptions, and vendors. Microsoft is making that easier with three new all-in-one bundles designed to bring Copilot Business and the power of AI directly into your workflow.
Whether you choose Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium, each bundle now comes with Copilot Business built in. That means productivity apps, security tools, and AI assistance are all available in a single, streamlined package, no complicated setup, no multiple vendors, just everything your team needs to work smarter.
To make the transition even smoother, Microsoft is offering a special promotional price for the Purview Suite add-on with Business Premium, cutting its cost by roughly half. This helps businesses strengthen data protection while embracing AI, ensuring security keeps pace with innovation.
Benefits of Copilot Business
1. Enterprise-Grade Security & Compliance
- Built on Microsoft 365 security standards, ensuring data privacy and compliance.
- Uses Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) for identity and access management.
- Data is not used to train the model, so your business information stays secure.
2. Centralised Admin Controls
- IT admins can manage Copilot settings across the organisation.
- Ability to assign licenses, configure data access policies, and monitor usage.
- Integration with Microsoft 365 Admin Centre for streamlined management.
3. Business Data Integration
- Works seamlessly with Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
- Can access SharePoint and OneDrive content securely for contextual responses.
- Helps employees leverage internal documents and knowledge without exposing data externally.
4. Improved Productivity
- Automates repetitive tasks like drafting emails, summarising meetings, and creating reports.
- Provides context-aware assistance based on your organisation’s data.
- Improves decision-making with data-driven insights.
5. Scalability & Licensing
- Designed for organisations of all sizes.
- Offers Copilot for Microsoft 365 licensing options for businesses.
- Includes Copilot Studio for customising and extending Copilot with your own data and workflows.
Why Copilot Business Matters for SMBs?
1. AI is no longer reserved for enterprises
For years, AI was priced and packaged in a way that made it accessible primarily to large organisations. Copilot Business changes, bringing high-impact AI to smaller teams at a reasonable cost.
2. It fits naturally into existing work
No new tools. No new systems. No new learning curve.
Copilot Business lives inside the applications employees already use, speeding up adoption and delivering immediate value.
3. It simplifies the tech ecosystem
SMBs can reduce the need for:
- Additional AI tools
- Third-party writing assistants
- Point solutions for summarisation, analysis, or drafting
Everything becomes centralised in Microsoft 365.
4. Security and compliance stay intact
Copilot Business respects your existing privacy, security, and governance settings, including Microsoft Purview policies. For SMBs in regulated industries, this matters. You get AI capability without compromising data protection obligations.
5. It supports lean teams
SMBs often operate with limited staff. Copilot Business helps teams:
- Draft faster
- Respond faster
- Analyse faster
- Collaborate faster
It improves productivity without requiring additional hiring or complex workflows.
How SMBs Should Prepare for Copilot Business: A Practical Readiness Checklist
1. Review your current Microsoft 365 setup
Take a close look at the licenses your business currently uses and map them against your team’s needs. Determine whether upgrading to a Copilot Business bundle could simplify your setup, reduce costs, or consolidate multiple tools. Make a list of which apps and features are essential to your team so you can choose the bundle that aligns best.
2. Identify high-value use cases
Pinpoint the tasks where Copilot Business can make the biggest difference right away. Look for repetitive or time-consuming activities such as email management, proposal writing, customer communications, meeting summarisations, or extracting insights from data. Create a priority list and start planning how Copilot can streamline these specific workflows.
3. Start with a pilot group
Choose a small, representative team to test Copilot Business before rolling it out company wide. Track how it improves productivity, how easily the team adopts the tools, and any workflow adjustments required. Gather feedback on pain points and successes so you can refine training and support before expanding to the rest of the organisation.
4. Establish governance early
Define clear policies on acceptable use and data access from the outset. Decide which teams or individuals can leverage Copilot for sensitive information, and ensure your governance plan aligns with existing privacy, security, and compliance standards. Setting these rules early prevents misuse and ensures a smooth, controlled rollout.
Practical use cases for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business
1. Email and Communication Management
- Drafting emails: Automatically generate professional email drafts based on key points or brief instructions.
- Reply suggestions: Get AI-suggested responses to speed up client or team communication.
- Summarising threads: Condense long email threads into actionable summaries.
2. Meeting Efficiency
- Meeting summaries: Convert meeting notes or transcripts into clear action items.
- Agenda creation: Automatically generate structured agendas based on previous meetings or emails.
- Follow-up reminders: Suggest and track follow-up actions for team members.
3. Document Creation & Editing
- Proposals and reports: Draft documents based on prompts or data inputs, then refine with AI suggestions.
- Content rewriting: Improve clarity, tone, or formatting of documents in seconds.
- Templates & automation: Turn recurring document types into AI-assisted templates for faster creation.
4. Data Analysis and Insights
- Excel analysis: Generate insights, summaries, or visualisations from spreadsheets automatically.
- Trends and patterns: Identify key metrics or anomalies in business data without manual analysis.
- Forecasting: Use AI to project outcomes based on historical data.
5. Team Collaboration
- Shared document editing: Summarise contributions and suggest next steps in collaborative files.
- Task prioritisation: Identify urgent tasks or recommend task allocation based on workload.
- Knowledge sharing: Pull relevant information from across Microsoft 365 apps to answer questions quickly.
6. Customer-Facing Applications
- CRM support: Draft customer communications, proposals, or updates directly from CRM data.
- Marketing content: Generate newsletters, social media posts, or ad copy in minutes.
- Client reporting: Summarise client data into easy-to-read insights and reports.
7. Administrative Efficiency
- Policy and procedure drafting: Automate repetitive administrative documents.
- Internal communications: Generate announcements, updates, or newsletters for teams.
- Workflow automation: Reduce repetitive tasks like summarising reports, updating logs, or generating recurring emails.
Conclusion
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is a game-changer for SMBs, bringing enterprise-level AI to small teams with simple licensing, accessible pricing, and seamless integration.
For organisations ready to automate work, streamline collaboration, and modernise productivity, Copilot Business provides a clear path forward. If you’d like to learn more about Microsoft Copilot and how it works across use cases, our Microsoft Copilot guide provides a detailed overview of features, benefits, and real-world applications.
Next Step: Evaluate your current Microsoft 365 setup, choose the right bundle, and start planning your AI adoption roadmap today. Our consulting team can guide you from pilot to full rollout, maximising value from day one.
