Microsoft
Copilot Cowork is Microsoft's agentic system for complex, long-running, multi-tool work inside Microsoft 365. Microsoft Partner Center says it became generally available on June 16, 2026, alongside Microsoft Scout, and that Cowork uses organizational context across Microsoft 365 and connected systems while operating within existing Microsoft 365 security, compliance and governance controls. At GA it adds multiple model choices matched to work, new security and compliance capabilities, and partner and Dynamics 365 plugins. It requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license plus usage-based billing through Copilot Credits. Axios separately reports that Microsoft is weighing a Microsoft-hosted DeepSeek option for Copilot Cowork as a lower-cost model route; that remains a media-reported consideration, not a confirmed public model choice.
Editorial verdict
Microsoft 365 enterprises that want governed long-running agents across mail, calendar, files, Teams, Dynamics and connected tools.
Avoid rolling it out broadly without Copilot Credit budgets, group policies, usage alerts and clear task-level governance.
Copilot Cowork is a useful benchmark for comparing Chinese agent subscriptions because it makes enterprise autonomous-work usage explicitly metered.
Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot license plus usage-based billing with Copilot Credits
Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, Copilot Credits, Microsoft 365 admin center billing
Commercial use should follow the current product, API, model license and billing terms.
Review prompt, file, media upload, retention and training-use terms before sensitive workloads.
Use Cowork when tasks need context from Microsoft 365 and connected systems over a longer run.
Use admin controls to manage access, budgets and usage before scaling teams.
Compare Copilot Credits with Token Plan, Coding Plan and pay-as-you-go agent billing from other vendors.
Checked after GA on June 23, 2026. Recheck Copilot Credit rates, model choices, admin controls and any DeepSeek-related routing before advising customers.
minimax-agent
kimi-code
qwen-code
qoder
official · en · verified 2026-08-04
Confirms June 16, 2026 GA, Copilot Credits usage-based billing, Microsoft 365 Copilot license requirement, admin controls, multiple models, security and compliance updates, plugins and Frontier billing setup deadline.
media · en · verified 2026-06-23
Reports Microsoft is considering a Microsoft-hosted DeepSeek option and moving Cowork economics toward usage-based pricing; the page returned 403 in automated browsing, so this is treated as a media-reported signal rather than official confirmation.
official · en · verified 2026-06-23
Documents the June 16 GA plan for Work IQ APIs, Copilot Credits consumption, Microsoft 365 context and token-saving runtime design for agents.
Last checked: 2026-08-04