Copilot in SharePoint
Copilot in SharePoint is Microsoft's AI assistant built into SharePoint in Microsoft 365. It answers questions about site content, drafts and edits pages, creates lists and libraries, automates simple workflows and can plan whole sites. Everyday work is included with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license; advanced work, such as creating entire sites, is billed separately in Copilot Credits. It became generally available on 30 September 2026.
Part of the SharePoint reference · Facts verified against Microsoft documentation · Last reviewed 19 October 2026
Is Copilot in SharePoint generally available? Yes, since 30 September 2026, for tenants with Microsoft 365 Copilot. One part is still in preview: creating whole sites with AI. What changes next.
What Copilot in SharePoint does
- Answers questions about site content. Ask about the pages, files and lists on a site and get a summary grounded in what you have permission to see.
- Drafts and edits pages. Creates pages from a prompt using SharePoint's native web parts and the site's existing theme.
- Creates lists and libraries. Sets up structure for tracking and documents without starting from a blank template.
- Creates files. Produces HTML, Word, Excel or PowerPoint files from site content.
- Automates simple work. Builds rules, approvals and simple workflows, and fills in metadata with Autofill.
- Plans whole sites. Proposes and builds a site with navigation, lists, libraries and pages with sample content (preview, billed in credits).
Common uses
- Summarising a policy or project site for a new joiner
- Drafting a first version of a team or department page
- Setting up a tracker list or document library in minutes
- Tagging a large library with consistent metadata
- Scaffolding a project site before the team fills it in
What changes on 1 November 2026
During the preview, admins controlled where Copilot in SharePoint appeared using PowerShell settings. Those settings stop being honoured on 1 November 2026. From then on, availability is managed with Site AI settings and Restricted Content Discovery.
Nothing changes for users who already have Copilot. What changes is which sites it appears on, if your tenant relied on the preview settings to limit it.
Worth checking if you limited Copilot during the preview. Tenants that excluded or included specific sites with PowerShell should recreate that setup in Site AI settings, or use Restricted Content Discovery for sites Copilot should not surface. Read the admin checklist.
How Copilot in SharePoint fits into Microsoft 365
Copilot in SharePoint is one surface of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Knowing what sits around it explains most of what it can and cannot do.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot licenseThe per-user license that unlocks it. Without it, the Copilot button does not appear at all.
- Copilot CreditsThe usage-based meter for advanced work, pooled across the tenant and governed by spending policies in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- SharePoint web partsWhat Copilot builds pages with. If a layout needs something the native web parts can’t do, Copilot can’t do it either.
- Brand Center and site themesCopilot applies the site’s existing theme. It follows your branding settings rather than creating new ones.
- Microsoft TeamsCopilot does not appear on SharePoint sites opened inside Teams.
- Viva ConnectionsCopilot does not appear in Viva Connections or on the SharePoint Home page.
- Power AutomateWhere Copilot’s automation stops. Complex flows are not supported in AI site creation and are built in Power Automate.
- Restricted Content DiscoveryThe admin control that keeps Copilot away from sites it should not surface.
Included with the license vs. billed in credits
Microsoft splits Copilot in SharePoint into everyday work, included with the license, and “advanced work”, billed in Copilot Credits once an admin enables usage-based billing.
| Included with the license | Billed in Copilot Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions and summaries | Ask about site content, find content, catch up | Large content sets |
| Files | Create HTML, Word, Excel or PowerPoint files | Create and edit files at scale |
| Pages, lists, libraries | Create and edit them | Create and edit them at scale |
| Sites | — | Create entire sites and solutions |
| Automation | Simple rules, approvals and workflows | Multistep AI workflows and scheduled automations |
| Metadata | Autofill | Real-time Autofill and large-scale document review |
| Images and analytics | — | Generate or edit images; site, page and news analytics |
Limits and availability
Two kinds of constraint appear below. Access limits decide who sees Copilot and where. Cost limits decide what each task costs once it runs.
| Access — who can use it and where | |
| License required | Microsoft 365 Copilot |
|---|---|
| Appears on SharePoint Home, Viva Connections, sites in Teams | No |
| Available in GCC, GCC High, DoD, air-gapped, 21Vianet | No |
| Available on SharePoint Server | No |
| AI site creation status | Preview |
| Cost — what it costs to run | |
| License, enterprise (per user, per month, paid yearly) | $30 |
| License, Copilot Business (up to 300 users) | $21 |
| Copilot Credit, pay-as-you-go | $0.01 |
| Pre-Purchase Plan discount | 5–20% |
| Published cost per advanced task | None (varies) |
Sources: Microsoft Learn, Get started with Copilot in SharePoint and Create sites with AI; Microsoft Support, Copilot in SharePoint: An overview; Microsoft, Copilot Credits licensing guidance and Copilot pricing pages. Figures verified on 7 October 2026.
What the limits mean in practice
- License everyone who will edit with AI. Without a license the Copilot button doesn't appear, so page owners without one won't know it exists.
- Set a spending policy before anyone needs site creation. Advanced work stops until an admin enables usage-based billing in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Budget credits by monitoring, not by task. Microsoft publishes no per-task price, so watch consumption in the admin center for the first weeks.
- Plan the finishing work. AI site creation skips advanced web parts, third-party integrations, column formatting and permissions; someone completes those by hand.
- Check your environment first. Government clouds and SharePoint Server are out of scope, so hybrid estates get Copilot only on the Microsoft 365 side.
Key takeaways
- GA 30 Sep 2026 Generally available, but site creation is still preview Pages, lists and Q&A are fully released. Building whole sites with AI is not.
- $30 per user No license, no button Copilot in SharePoint is invisible to anyone without Microsoft 365 Copilot, including page owners.
- $0.01 per credit Advanced work is metered on top of the license Site creation, work at scale, images and analytics consume Copilot Credits, with no published price per task.
- 1 Nov 2026 Preview admin controls retire Site AI settings and Restricted Content Discovery replace the PowerShell settings used during the preview.
- Native web parts Copilot builds structure, not design Pages use SharePoint's own web parts and site theme, so what it builds looks like standard SharePoint.
- 0 gov clouds Not in GCC, GCC High, DoD or SharePoint Server Regulated and on-premises environments are outside Copilot in SharePoint for now.
Turning Copilot's pages into a designed intranet
For team sites, project sites and document hubs, what Copilot builds is often enough: a working structure, filled with sample content, in minutes. Its constraint is presentation. Pages use SharePoint's native web parts and the site theme, so they look like SharePoint rather than like an intranet designed for your organisation, with limited control over layout, typography or interactive components.
When the structure is right but the design isn't
ShortPoint works alongside Copilot. Copilot handles the content; ShortPoint designs the page people actually see, inside the same SharePoint sites and permissions.
- AI Designer turns a prompt into an on-brand page, with no Microsoft 365 Copilot license needed
- 250+ templates and 80+ design elements, including search, filters, tabs and directories
- Theme Builder brands every site at once, with custom fonts and mobile themes
- Runs where Copilot doesn't: inside Microsoft Teams and on SharePoint Subscription Edition and 2019
Used on 350,000+ SharePoint sites by 12M+ people · Microsoft Solutions Partner · No credit card required
Common questions about Copilot in SharePoint
Copilot in SharePoint is Microsoft's AI assistant built into SharePoint in Microsoft 365. It answers questions about site content, drafts and edits pages, creates lists and libraries, automates simple workflows and can plan whole sites. Everyday work is included with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license; advanced work, such as creating entire sites, is billed separately in Copilot Credits. It became generally available on 30 September 2026.
No. Each user needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot license: $30 per user per month paid yearly for enterprise plans, or $21 per user per month for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, which covers up to 300 users. Everyday tasks are included in that license. Advanced work, such as creating entire sites or working with content at scale, is billed separately in Copilot Credits.
Microsoft's pay-as-you-go rate is $0.01 per Copilot Credit, with 5 to 20% discounts through its one-year Pre-Purchase Plan. Credits are pooled across the tenant and managed in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Microsoft does not publish a fixed credit cost per SharePoint task, because consumption depends on the type and complexity of the work and the volume of content involved.
The floating Copilot button only appears for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and only on sites where Copilot in SharePoint is active. It does not appear on the SharePoint Home page, in Viva Connections or on SharePoint sites inside Microsoft Teams. Restricted Content Discovery also removes it from a site.
Yes, with limits. Copilot can plan a site and set up its navigation, lists, libraries and pages with sample content. Creating entire sites uses Copilot Credits, and AI site creation is still labelled preview. Microsoft lists advanced web parts, third-party integrations, column formatting, permission setup and complex Power Automate flows as not supported, so those are finished by hand.
No. Microsoft states that GCC, GCC High, DoD, air-gapped and 21Vianet environments do not currently support Copilot in SharePoint. It is a SharePoint in Microsoft 365 feature, so it is not available on SharePoint Server, including Subscription Edition and 2019.
The preview PowerShell controls stop being honoured on 1 November 2026. After that date, admins manage where Copilot is available through Site AI settings and Restricted Content Discovery. Tenants that excluded or limited sites during the preview should move that configuration across before then.
Copilot builds pages with SharePoint's native web parts and applies the site's existing theme and Brand Center settings. It does not create custom layouts, interactive components or a designed intranet experience. Teams that need a branded, designed intranet usually pair Copilot with a design layer such as ShortPoint, using Copilot for content and the design tool for the page.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn — Get started with Copilot in SharePoint
- Microsoft Learn — Create sites with AI
- Microsoft Support — Copilot in SharePoint: An overview
- Microsoft Learn — Usage-based billing for Copilot Credits
- Microsoft — Copilot Credits licensing guidance
- Microsoft — Copilot pricing: Enterprise
- Microsoft — Copilot pricing: Business