Microsoft 365 plans to share Copilot access with five family members
Microsoft plans to let Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers share Copilot and other AI benefits with up to five people on their plan. The change gives more family members access to paid AI features, while allowing account holders to manage access for younger members.
Microsoft will replace individual AI feature limits with a shared usage allowance that can be directed towards advanced features, with extra usage available to buy. OneDrive storage will also shift from 1 TB per person to 2 TB shared across the plan, taking effect after each subscriber’s first renewal after 2 May 2027. Microsoft says this gives families more flexibility, though some users may have less storage than before or pay more for AI usage.
- Copilot access will extend to other people on Family and Premium plans.
- AI usage will draw from a shared allowance, with more available to buy.
- OneDrive storage becomes 2 TB shared after renewal from May 2027.
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Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that gives users access to office tools like Word and Excel, cloud storage, and increasingly, artificial intelligence features. Copilot is Microsoft's AI tool that helps with tasks like writing, analysis and image creation, previously available mainly to individual subscribers who paid extra.
Under the new plan, families with a Microsoft 365 Family or Premium subscription can now share access to Copilot and other AI benefits with up to five additional household members. Rather than each person getting their own separate AI usage limit, the family will have one shared pool of AI credits that they can allocate however they wish, with the account holder able to set restrictions for younger members.
The change also affects cloud storage, shifting from 1 TB allocated to each person to 2 TB shared across the entire household plan. This means some families will have more storage overall, whilst others may find they have less than before, and anyone using more AI features may face additional costs if they exceed their shared allowance.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Microsoft's change enables families to share expensive AI features more equitably, reducing the cost per person for premium capabilities and providing valuable flexibility for households with diverse needs. The ability to manage access for younger members and direct shared usage allowances where they're most useful reflects a reasonable accommodation of modern family dynamics and varying consumption patterns.
The case against
The shift from 1 TB per person to 2 TB shared storage represents a substantial reduction in total capacity for larger families and those with multiple heavy storage users—a family of six previously had 6 TB but will now have only 2 TB. The change risks leaving users with less storage than before whilst paying similar prices, and the shared AI allowance may prove inadequate if multiple family members use Copilot concurrently, effectively penalising heavier users to subsidise lighter ones.
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Originally published by The Verge as “Microsoft 365 Family subscribers will finally be able to share AI benefits”.