October 2026 Microsoft 365 Updates: Copilot Billing, Home & More

Microsoft has split Copilot into two billing tracks and rebuilt the app around a new Home screen, Code, and an always-on agent called Autopilot, so admins now have spending policies and access defaults to decide on before users see any of it. Add pay-as-you-go OneDrive storage and meeting ownership transfer in Outlook, and a clear pattern emerges: settings that used to be fixed are becoming things admins actively manage.

Worth remembering: the items below are a hand-picked shortlist. Microsoft 365 changes every week, and most of those changes never make it into a monthly roundup.

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Top 5 Microsoft 365 Message Center Items - September 2026

These five items mix changes rolling out with impact this month alongside newer announcements. All of them need action or awareness now.

MC1479276 – Evolving the Copilot Pricing Model and New FinOps Capabilities for AI

Microsoft is splitting Copilot into two billing tracks:

1. a flat per-user licence for "everyday AI"

2. usage-based billing via Copilot Credits for frontier models and advanced AI, and none of it activates in your tenant until an admin creates a spending policy

None of this activates in your tenant until an admin creates a spending policy.

What's changing:

Deployment details:

Recommended actions:

• Configure spending policies now under Microsoft 365 admin center → Copilot → Cost management, before users start hitting UBB prompts

MC1479277 – Microsoft Copilot: New Ways to Work Across Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365

Copilot's app is being rebuilt around a unified Home screen plus two new destinations: Code and Autopilot, while Copilot in SharePoint and OneDrive reach general availability, and most of the new capability sits behind the same spending-policy gate as MC1479276 above.

What's changing:

• A new Home screen merges Chat and Cowork; "Plugins" replaces the standalone Agents entry point, and Automations moves into Home
• Chat gains long-running, multi-step work (drafting, meetings, Teams, Office files) with a Tasks view to track it; sensitive actions still need approval
• Two new destinations join the app: Code (natural-language trackers, dashboards, apps) and Autopilot, an always-on personal agent (both billed through UBB)
• Copilot in SharePoint and OneDrive reach general availability: everyday capabilities stay on the standard licence, new agentic/at-scale work moves to UBB
• Copilot Managed Runtime and Work IQ grounding in Dynamics 365/Power Platform data both start rolling out to public preview
  
  

Deployment details:

• Home, Office-in-Copilot, Notebooks, Managed Runtime and Work IQ: rolling out to Frontier from late September 2026
• Copilot in SharePoint/OneDrive GA: rolling out from late September 2026, tenant availability phasing in afterwards
• New "Request access / Learn more" admin setting: standard customers October 2026, deferred customers November 2026
  
  

Recommended actions:

• Decide your default under Microsoft 365 admin center → Copilot → Cost management before the October/November setting rollout
• Confirm your cost management policies extend to the newly-UBB SharePoint, OneDrive, and (from October) Copilot Studio agent capabilities
• Existing PowerShell opt-outs for the SharePoint Copilot preview are honoured only until 1 November 2026 — after that, manage via SharePoint site AI settings
• Give users a heads-up about the new Home/Chat/Cowork layout and where "Agents" has moved to ("Plugins")

MC1477185 – New Pay-As-You-Go Storage Billing Option (OneDrive)

A new consumption-based billing option lets selected OneDrive accounts exceed their licensed storage quota automatically. Public preview is live now, general availability begins November 2026, and nothing changes unless an admin opts in.

What's changing:

• Admins can choose specific OneDrive accounts that are allowed to consume storage beyond their licensed quota
• Storage used beyond the quota is billed automatically on a metered, usage-based basis
• No action is required unless you want to enable it for your organisation
  
  

Deployment details:

Recommended actions:

• Identify OneDrive accounts approaching or exceeding their licensed storage quota

• Decide whether pay-as-you-go storage fits your organisation's cost policy before opting in

• Loop in finance or procurement - this is metered billing, similar in shape to existing SharePoint and OneDrive storage overage billing

• Review admin controls for which accounts can consume additional storage before enabling anything

MC1472028 – Change the Organiser of Meetings (Outlook)

Outlook is rolling out organiser transfer for eligible meetings from late September, letting users hand off ownership to a colleague without losing meeting history, but Phase 1 only covers non-online meetings, and external attendees will get a fresh invite they have to accept.

What's changing:

• New "Change organizer" capability lets users hand off ownership of eligible Outlook meetings and recurring series to a colleague, who must accept the request before it takes effect
• Internal Exchange Online attendees get a silent update; external and on-premises attendees receive a cancellation and a new invitation requiring a response
• Enabled by default with no tenant configuration needed — but Phase 1 covers only non-online meetings; Teams/online meeting support comes in a later, unannounced phase
  
  

Deployment details:

Recommended actions:

• Update meeting-ownership and offboarding documentation to reflect the new transfer flow
• Brief the help desk that Phase 1 only supports non-online meetings
• Tell users the previous organiser is not automatically kept as an attendee, and that external attendees must re-accept a replacement invite
• Confirm the new organiser can access any linked OneDrive attachments before relying on the transfer
• Flag that classic Outlook for Windows is not supported for this feature

MC1479503 – Permission Changes for Select App Governance Entra Roles (Defender for Cloud Apps)

Microsoft is realigning App Governance permissions in Defender for Cloud Apps with Defender XDR Unified RBAC. Cloud App Security Administrators gain App Governance access, while Compliance Administrators and Compliance Data Administrators lose it, from mid-October 2026.

What's changing:

• Cloud App Security Administrator gains permission to view and manage App Governance policies
• Compliance Administrator and Compliance Data Administrator lose the ability to manage App Governance policies or toggle App Governance in Settings
• Custom Defender XDR Unified RBAC roles scoped to Defender for Cloud Apps also gain App Governance access

Deployment details:

• General availability (Worldwide): rolling out mid-October 2026, expected complete by late October 2026

Recommended actions:

Top 5 Microsoft 365 Roadmap Items - October 2026

Here are the key Roadmap updates announced in the last month. As Microsoft adjusts timelines, keep an eye on your tenant's rollout messages and update internal comms accordingly.

569474 – Copilot Studio: App- and Intent-First Agent Creation Experience

Copilot Studio is changing the order in which makers build agents: instead of starting from a blank agent and attaching capabilities, makers will start by choosing the application their agent will work with, then configure capabilities for that job.

Rolling out:

• October 2026 (Worldwide standard multi-tenant, Web)

Recommended actions:

• Treat this as an authoring-flow change, not a new integration boundary — Microsoft hasn't confirmed a new harness, licensing model, or connector framework alongside it

• Review who can create agents and publish them to Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, or other channels before creation volume potentially increases

• Document the intended application, audience, data sources, and approval steps for agents currently in design, so they map cleanly onto the new flow

• Avoid rebuilding working production agents purely to anticipate the new interface

570962 – Microsoft Teams: Multi-Line Call History Tabs in the Calls App

Multi-line users get a redesigned call history experience that organises activity by phone line, with history, voicemails, and recordings appearing under dedicated tabs for each line.

Rolling out:

• November 2026 (Desktop, Mac, Web - Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD)

Recommended actions:

• Update training materials for staff who manage more than one assigned phone number
• No admin configuration is required - this is a client-side UX change for existing multi-line users
• Flag the change to frontline reception and call-centre staff who rely on call history most
  
  

571387 – Microsoft Teams: Pop Out Sign Language Interpreter Meeting Video

Meeting attendees will be able to pop out a sign language interpreter's video — or any participant's video — into a separate, resizable window that stays visible across monitors and apps, even while multitasking or sharing content.

Rolling out:

• Targeted for December 2026 (Desktop, Mac - Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD)

Recommended actions:

• Share this with accessibility and DEI teams supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing staff ahead of rollout
• Update accessibility guidance and meeting facilitation training once the feature reaches your tenant
• No admin configuration is required; this is an end-user meeting control
  
  
  

571195 – Microsoft Copilot Studio: Cost Visibility in Agent Evaluations

Makers get a clear breakdown of consumption costs tied to their agent evaluations, covering eval generation, test runs, and model grading, visible as they test, iterate, and review conversations.

Rolling out:

• General availability September 2026 (Worldwide standard multi-tenant, Web); still landing in tenants through October
  
  

Recommended actions:

• Point Copilot Studio makers to the new cost breakdown before they run large evaluation batches
• Combine with the FinOps for AI capabilities in MC1479276 above for a fuller view of Copilot Studio spend
• No admin configuration required. this is visible directly to makers inside evaluations

80239 – Microsoft Teams: Two Presenters Can Share Screens Simultaneously in Meetings

Two presenters will be able to share a screen or window at the same time in a Teams meeting, with participants seeing both content streams simultaneously - useful for comparing or discussing content from different presenters side by side.

Rolling out:

• Targeted for November 2026 (Teams Desktop and Web, Worldwide)
  
  

Recommended actions:

• Let power users and trainers who run comparison-style presentations know this is coming
• No admin configuration is required; this is an end-user meeting capability
• Consider updating internal presentation guidance once available to highlight the new dual-share layout