Microsoft adds Home, Code and Autopilot to the Copilot app, with agent work on usage billing

What Microsoft announced

Microsoft said on 25 September 2026 that the Copilot app now has three new capabilities: Home, Code and Autopilot. The post, by Jared Spataro, describes Home as the new starting point of Microsoft Copilot, where Chat and Cowork come together. It shows recent activity and suggestions and lets people pick up work where they left off. Microsoft says auto-routing, which will pick Chat, Cowork or Code from the request, is coming soon.

Code lets a user describe an app, tracker, dashboard, automation or workflow in natural language and have Copilot build it, from desktop widgets to cloud-hosted internal apps. Microsoft says Code is powered by the same underlying technology as GitHub Copilot, runs in a sandboxed environment and can be hosted within the customer's tenant through Microsoft Copilot Managed Runtime, which is in preview. Autopilot, previously called Scout, is a cloud-hosted agent with its own identity, memory, computer and workspace that watches channels, follows up on threads and runs recurring work without a prompt.

When it arrives and for whom

Home and Code start rolling out in Microsoft's Frontier early access program. Microsoft says Code reaches Frontier at the end of the month, with broad availability in the following weeks, and that Code will be in preview for Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers later in 2026. Autopilot expands to private preview at the end of the month. The same post lists Today, a command centre across mail, calendar and Teams, for private preview in October, and @Copilot in Teams channels and meetings for private preview by the end of September. Platforms are not stated in the announcement.

What it costs

A companion post, Evolution of the Copilot pricing model, splits Copilot into two parts. Everyday AI, meaning Chat and Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, stays on the user subscription license (USL), priced per user per month. Microsoft says GPT-5.6 and Sonnet 5 are included in the USL and new models such as Opus 5 will be included with limits. Heavy users who hit a limit can switch to Auto at no extra cost or move to credits.

Advanced AI, which Microsoft defines as Cowork, Code, Autopilot, new experiences in apps such as SharePoint and frontier models such as Fable and Astra, runs on usage-based billing (UBB) with Copilot Credits. UBB requires the USL. For enterprise customers, UBB stays off until an admin creates a spending policy, with budgets at tenant, group and user level. Neither post gives a dollar price for the USL or for a Copilot Credit.

What changed and what to watch

Before this announcement, the Copilot app centred on Chat and Cowork, which became generally available in June 2026. The change adds app building and a background agent, and it makes the cost split explicit: chat on a flat licence, agent work on a meter. Two weeks earlier Microsoft added natural language app building to Copilot Studio and Copilot Cowork. The next checkpoints are broad availability of Code, credit prices, and Microsoft Ignite on 17 to 20 November. More app updates are listed under AI Tools.

Questions people ask

What is Code in Microsoft Copilot?

Code builds apps, trackers, dashboards, automations and workflows from a natural language description. Microsoft says it uses the same technology as GitHub Copilot, runs in a sandbox and can be hosted in the customer's tenant.

How much does Copilot Autopilot cost?

Microsoft says Autopilot runs on usage-based billing with Copilot Credits, which requires the per-user Copilot licence. The price of a credit is not stated in the announcement.

When will Copilot Code be available?

Microsoft said Code reaches the Frontier program at the end of September 2026, with broad availability in the following weeks, and a preview for Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers later in 2026.

Sources

1. Introducing the new Copilot with Home, Code and Autopilot (Official Microsoft Blog, 25 Sep 2026)
2. Evolution of the Copilot pricing model (Microsoft Tech Community, Microsoft Copilot Blog, 25 Sep 2026)