Microsoft is extending more Copilot features to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers, offering expanded AI tools across Word, Excel, Outlook, and more. While users now gain access to enhanced drafting, summarizing, image generation, and voice features, the long-standing cap of 60 AI credits per month still applies. Compared to the unlimited use in the new Microsoft 365 Premium plan, these improvements are welcome—but come with clear limits that consumers need to understand before relying on Copilot as a daily productivity companion.
Microsoft promotes these changes as “higher usage limits” but that’s only compared to the very minor allowance for free Microsoft accounts.
Unfortunately, the main limit of 60 AI Credits per month remains unchanged for the most common Copilot actions including making images and text editing in Word.
The better news is more Copilot features for the consumer plans, albeit with some limitations.
With one exception (Audio Overview and Podcasts) the same Copilot limits apply to both Microsoft 365 Personal and the owner of a Family plan.
Copilot in Microsoft 365: 60 credits per month including Draft, Rewrite, Summarize, Analyze data in Excel, and Image generation and editing in Designer, Create, Paint, Photos, and Microsoft 365 web, mobile, and desktop apps):
Deep Research: 15 uses per month in Copilot app.
Chat: “Extensive use”
Pages: “Extensive use”
Vision: 10 minutes per day in Copilot app.
Voice: no limit in the Copilot app, 30 minutes per day in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook.
Audio Overview in Notebooks (Copilot app) and Podcasts
- Personal: 6 uses per day
- Family: “Extensive use”
Not Available on either Personal or Family plan
- Actions
- Agents
- Researcher
- Analyst (coming soon)
- Photos Agent (coming soon)
Compare that with the much higher limits available in the new Microsoft 365 Premium plan. For example the AI credits count is lifted entirely, to “Extensive Use”.
Copilot “Priority access” means that AI requests should be processed more quickly. However that might not mean much because “Priority access” applies to all the Microsoft 365 Consumer plans
What does “Extensive Use” mean?
Copilot limits sometimes just say “Extensive Use” without specifics and Microsoft doesn’t explain.
Nearest we can tell, “Extensive Use” means that Microsoft reserves the right to limit Copilot access if the company thinks it’s excessive. Somewhat like the “Reasonable use” fine print in some unlimited Internet plans.
Microsoft 365 Premium: Copilot AI, new Features & Pricing Explained
