Microsoft adds usage-based billing for advanced AI features
What happened
Between the Oct 19, 2026 and Oct 26, 2026 captures of Microsoft's pricing page, Pulse recorded 2 changes: Plans now note usage-based billing for select advanced AI features; page says everyday AI is included in the license while hand-off advanced AI is billed as used. List prices unchanged; Premium card AI bullets rewritten with LLM choice, pre-built agents and Cowork/Autopilot access added; 1 TB cloud storage and anytime phone/web support bullets removed. In detail: Premium and Standard card AI bullets rewritten with LLM choice, pre-built agents and Cowork/Autopilot access added; 1 TB cloud storage and anytime phone/web support bullets removed from both cards (OneDrive storage row remains in the comparison table). Pulse files it as a packaging change (package change, feature change) with a neutral direction. The current page lists Microsoft 365 Personal at $8.33, Microsoft 365 Family at $10.83, Microsoft 365 Premium at $16.67, Microsoft 365 Copilot Business at $18 and Microsoft 365 Copilot at $30.
It lands 7 days after Microsoft's previous change, "Microsoft Microsoft365copilot 365 Copilot: Business plan relabeled as add-on" (Oct 19, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Microsoft Microsoft365copilot 365 Copilot: free trial added to Premium, Standard & add-on plans" (Aug 10, 2026). Microsoft has been tracked since 2024-11-16.
In the same window Salesforce and Google also changed their Business Operations pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- List · PackagingPackage change
Plans now note usage-based billing for select advanced AI features; page says everyday AI is included in the license while hand-off advanced AI is billed as used. List prices unchanged.
- — · FeatureRemoved
Before1 TB cloud storage and anytime phone/web support bullets
AfterNot listed
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List | Packaging | Plans now note usage-based billing for select advanced AI features; page says everyday AI is included in the license while hand-off advanced AI is billed as used. List prices unchanged. | Package change | |
| — | Feature | 1 TB cloud storage and anytime phone/web support bullets | Not listed | Removed |
Values as written on Microsoft's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Microsoft's pricing page (microsoft.com) from Oct 19, 2026 and Oct 26, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where the TB cloud storage and anytime phone/web support bullets no longer appears.
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
Microsoft, the last 90 days
Full history- Oct 26, 2026improvedMicrosoft adds usage-based billing for advanced AI features · this change
- Oct 19, 2026packagingMicrosoft Microsoft365copilot 365 Copilot: Business plan relabeled as add-on
- Aug 10, 2026packagingMicrosoft Microsoft365copilot 365 Copilot: free trial added to Premium, Standard & add-on plans
Across Business Operations in the same window
All Business Operations changes- SalesforceOct 26Salesforce Platform bundles Premier Success Plan free with Core, Advanced, Max
- GoogleOct 12Google Workspace swaps Gems for AI skills, rewords Gemini on Starter plan
- SalesforceOct 26Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement bundles Premier Success into lice...
- SalesforceOct 19Salesforce Agentforce renames Max Editions card to Max Edition, keeps $550 price
- SalesforceOct 12Salesforce Government Cloud renames FedRAMP levels, drops CRM Analytics Plus tile
Questions about this change
Did Microsoft raise prices in October 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Oct 19, 2026 and Oct 26, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a packaging change: package change, feature change.
What changed on Microsoft's pricing page between Oct 19, 2026 and Oct 26, 2026?
Plans now note usage-based billing for select advanced AI features; page says everyday AI is included in the license while hand-off advanced AI is billed as used. List prices unchanged; feature: 1 TB cloud storage and anytime phone/web support bullets → Not listed, removed. Pulse compared the captures it took on Oct 19, 2026 and Oct 26, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Microsoft change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 2 other pricing-page changes for Microsoft in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Microsoft Microsoft365copilot 365 Copilot: Business plan relabeled as add-on" on Oct 19, 2026; Microsoft has been tracked since 2024-11-16.