# What’s new in Microsoft Copilot – September 2026: plugin registry, new models and pricing > What’s new in Microsoft Copilot for September 2026: plugin registry, new models, usage-based billing and Copilot in SharePoint now generally available. - URL: https://benjamintestart.fr/en/whats-new-microsoft-copilot-september-2026/ - Author: Benjamin Testart (Devices Practice Leader & Microsoft Intune consultant) - Published: 2026-10-10 - Updated: 2026-10-10 - Category: AI - Language: en - Tags: Microsoft Copilot, What's new in Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Plugins, AI governance, Copilot in SharePoint, Copilot Credits - Version française: https://benjamintestart.fr/fr/nouveautes-microsoft-copilot-septembre-2026/ ## TL;DR In September 2026, Microsoft launches the plugin registry to govern skills, connectors and agents from the Microsoft 365 admin center, adds GPT-6 Astra, Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6 Sol, GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Grok (Frontier preview) to model choice, and evolves pricing toward a mix of per-user licensing and Copilot Credits. Copilot in SharePoint and Copilot in OneDrive become generally available. Microsoft Copilot’s September 2026 updates come down to three words: **plugins, models and costs**. Microsoft launches the **plugin registry**, a single catalog to govern skills, connectors and agents, adds several **AI models** to Copilot’s model choice (including Grok in preview) and evolves its **pricing** toward a mix of per-user licensing and usage-based billing. On the app side, **Copilot in SharePoint** and **Copilot in OneDrive** become generally available, PowerPoint gains **Skills** and **connectors**, Word shows its **citations** and Teams Phone gets a call-answering agent. Admins can finally manage **authoritative sources** for Copilot Search. Here is what to remember, and above all what to control. ## September’s updates at a glance | Feature | Where | Status | | --- | --- | --- | | New Copilot design | Teams, Outlook | Rolled out in September | | New Copilot new tab page | Edge | Rolling out in October | | Agents and skills called in the prompt | Copilot Chat | Rolled out in September | | Copilot in Word, PowerPoint and Excel | Android | Rolled out in September | | Plugin registry | Copilot experiences, Microsoft 365 admin center | Rolled out in September | | SharePoint Framework components and SharePoint tools in Work IQ | Copilot Chat | Frontier | | Record | Microsoft Copilot mobile app | Rolled out in September | | Teams Phone Agent | Teams Phone | Rolled out in September | | Citations, images and shapes | Word | Rolled out in September | | Skills and connectors | PowerPoint | September (some features in October) | | Copilot in SharePoint and Copilot in OneDrive | SharePoint, OneDrive | Generally available | | Copilot Search as default | SharePoint, OneDrive | Frontier | | Authoritative sources | Microsoft 365 admin center | Rolled out in September | | Targeted Pulse surveys | Copilot Dashboard | Rolled out in September | ## Copilot Chat: new design and agents in prompts The Copilot experience in **Teams and Outlook** adopts the Copilot app design, both full screen and in the side pane. Navigation is simplified and new ways to organize work appear. This design rolled out in September. Other changes: - **agents and skills directly in the prompt**: users type “/” to call an agent or “@” for a skill, without breaking the flow of their request (rolled out in September); - better **matching of search results from scanned PDFs** (rolled out in September); - the **new Copilot new tab page in Edge**, which brings search, chat and web exploration together in a single search box (rolling out in October); - **Copilot in Word, PowerPoint and Excel on Android**, after iOS earlier this year (rolled out in September). The interface change is visible: give your help desk and champions a heads-up before users discover it on their own. ## Plugin registry: one catalog for skills, connectors and agents This is the most structural announcement of the month for admins. A **plugin** bundles **skills** (reusable instructions), **connectors** (approved access to services and data) and **agents**. For users, a **Plugins** page replaces and expands the existing Agents page in Home (Chat and Cowork), Code, Autopilot, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint. The **Microsoft plugin registry** centralizes governance. From the **Agent 365** experience in the Microsoft 365 admin center, under **Agents > Tools**, you review Microsoft, partner and custom-built plugins, enable or disable them, and block or assign them to users or groups. Basic registry capabilities are included with qualifying Microsoft cloud subscriptions. More than **100 plugins** are already available (HubSpot, Atlassian, Asana, Notion, Canva…), including many industry connectors added this month. Some are still rolling out. To get started: [manage plugins, skills and MCP servers](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/manage/manage-plugins-skills-mcp-servers?view=o365-worldwide). Two related features are rolling out to **Frontier** only: **interactive SharePoint Framework UI** displayed directly in Copilot Chat, and **SharePoint content and action tools in Work IQ**. Finally, **Record**, in the Microsoft Copilot mobile app, captures in-person conversations and voice notes, then provides a **transcript and summary** in Copilot Chat (rolled out in September). Remind users of your internal rules on recording conversations before promoting it. ## Teams Phone Agent: an AI-powered calling receptionist The **Teams Phone Agent** targets customer-facing departments that use **Teams Phone** (bank branches, IT help desks…). In more than **60 languages**, it answers common questions, handles appointments and routes callers to the right person with an AI-generated **conversation summary**. It rolled out in September. ## Word and PowerPoint: citations, Skills and connectors In **Word**, Copilot responses now show **citations** to the web and work content used, and Copilot can **arrange and modify images and shapes** in the document. Both features rolled out in September. **PowerPoint** gets the most updates: - **Skills** turn multi-step workflows into reusable capabilities, with **prebuilt Skills** such as **Explain this presentation** or **Sharpen slide titles** (rolled out in September); - admins can **publish approved Skills** to specific users, groups or the entire organization (rolled out in September); - **connectors** bring information from your connected sources into slides (rolled out in September); - brand managers can add Skills to the **Brand Kit** (rolling out in October); - Copilot keeps working on **long-running tasks** even if the user leaves PowerPoint, switches devices or goes offline, and notifies them when done (rolling out in October). According to the dedicated post, Brand Kit and Skills in PowerPoint are **generally available with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license**. For distribution, see [Deploy organization skills for Copilot in PowerPoint](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/copilot/deploy-organization-skills-for-copilot-in-powerpoint). ## SharePoint and OneDrive: Copilot generally available **Copilot in SharePoint** has been **generally available** since September: creating and organizing content, questions grounded in SharePoint, **AI-generated metadata** with near real-time autofill, image generation and editing, site analytics reports and reusable skills. **Copilot in OneDrive** has been rebuilt on the same foundation and follows the **same licensing approach**. **Copilot Search** becomes the default search experience in SharePoint and OneDrive, starting with **Frontier**. Answers are based on supported content the user is authorized to access: now is the right time to track down overly broad permissions. ## Administration: authoritative sources and targeted surveys In the Microsoft 365 admin center, you can now **designate up to 100 SharePoint sites as authoritative sources** for Copilot Search and Chat, to signal verified, official content. You can view, add, remove, and bulk import or export them (rolled out in September). In the **Copilot Dashboard**, leaders can launch **targeted Pulse surveys** using dynamic lists built from Copilot adoption data. Results stay aggregated, with no individual user visibility (rolled out in September). ## Also announced this month - **New models**: **GPT-6 Astra** in Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio (September 4), **Claude Opus 5.5** and **GPT-6 Sol** in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Chat, Cowork and Copilot Studio (September 22), then **GPT-6.1 Sol** and **Claude Sonnet 5.5** (September 30). The latter two arrive first with usage-based billing in Cowork and Copilot Studio, then in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Chat with the license, subject to limits. Availability varies by license, access and region. - **Grok** (SpaceXAI) arrives in **preview** through the **Frontier Program** in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. SpaceXAI joins the [subprocessor list](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/copilot-subprocessor-overview) and access goes through an admin setting that is **disabled by default**. Grok is **not available in the EU, EFTA and the United Kingdom** during the preview. - **Pricing evolution**: the user subscription license (USL) covers “everyday AI”, with usage limits, while “advanced AI” (Cowork, Code, Autopilot, some models) moves to [usage-based billing (UBB) with Copilot Credits](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/user-subscription-license-usage-based-billing). For enterprises, nothing is billed until an admin creates a **spending policy** in the Microsoft 365 admin center. It sets budgets, caps and alerts. - **Measuring Cowork value**: the Consumption Dashboard in Insights shows **Cowork assisted hours**, an intentionally conservative estimate. - **Agent Builder**: Microsoft publishes change management best practices and recommends tracking the **Users by creator type** metric in the Microsoft 365 Copilot agents usage report. ## What I recommend doing this month 1. **Open Agents > Tools** in the Microsoft 365 admin center: review the available plugins, block what hasn’t been validated and assign the rest to pilot groups. 2. **Make an informed decision on the spending policy**: without one, usage-based features stay off. If you create it, set per-group budgets and alerts. 3. **Settle your position on the new models**, especially Grok: review the subprocessor list with your DPO, even though the model is not offered in Europe during the preview. 4. **Designate your authoritative sources** (intranet, internal policies, procedures) and audit SharePoint permissions before Copilot Search becomes the default. 5. **Prepare your organization Skills for PowerPoint** with your communications team: a Brand Kit and two or three approved Skills quickly deliver visible results. ## Key takeaways - The plugin registry brings skills, connectors and agents together: admins enable, block or assign them from Agent 365, under Agents > Tools, in the Microsoft 365 admin center. - Advanced AI capabilities (Cowork, Code, Autopilot, some models) move to usage-based billing with Copilot Credits, which stays off until a spending policy is created. - Grok arrives in Frontier preview in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, behind a setting that is off by default, and is not available in the EU, EFTA and the United Kingdom. - Copilot in SharePoint and Copilot in OneDrive are generally available; Copilot Search becomes the default search for Frontier. - Admins can designate up to 100 SharePoint sites as authoritative sources for Copilot Search and Chat. - PowerPoint gains Skills, including organization Skills published by admins, and connectors. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the Microsoft Copilot plugin registry? A single catalog of Microsoft, partner and custom-built plugins. A plugin bundles skills, connectors and agents. Admins review, enable, block or assign them to users and groups from the Agent 365 experience in the Microsoft 365 admin center, under Agents > Tools. ### Can Copilot usage-based billing start without any admin action? No. For enterprise customers, usage-based services stay off until an admin creates a spending policy in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and nothing is billed before that. ### Can Grok be used in Copilot in Europe? Not during the preview: Grok is offered through the Frontier Program in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but it is not available in the European Union, EFTA and the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, access goes through an admin setting that is disabled by default. ### How many authoritative sources can be defined for Copilot Search? Up to 100 SharePoint sites, from the Microsoft 365 admin center, with add, remove and bulk import and export. ### Which license is required for Brand Kit and Skills in PowerPoint? According to Microsoft, Brand Kit and Skills in PowerPoint are generally available with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. ## Sources and documentation - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: What’s New in Microsoft Copilot | September 2026](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/what-s-new-in-microsoft-copilot-september-2026/ba-p/4559107) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Available today: OpenAI GPT-6 Astra in Microsoft Copilot](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/available-today-openai-gpt-6-astra-in-microsoft-copilot/ba-p/4552808) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Brand Kit and Skills in Copilot in PowerPoint](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/brand-kit-and-skills-in-copilot-in-powerpoint/ba-p/4554932) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Expanding model choice in Copilot with Grok](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/expanding-model-choice-in-copilot-with-grok/ba-p/4555749) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: More Models, One Copilot](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/more-models-one-copilot/ba-p/4559035) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Measuring the value of Cowork: From AI interactions to completed work](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/measuring-the-value-of-cowork-from-ai-interactions-to-completed/ba-p/4554464) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Change Management Best Practices to Drive Value with Agent Builder](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/change-management-best-practices-to-drive-value-with-agent/ba-p/4559753) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Evolution of the Copilot pricing model](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/evolution-of-the-copilot-pricing-model/ba-p/4559416) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Introducing the plugin registry - one place to discover and govern plugins for Microsoft Copilot](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/introducing-the-plugin-registry-one-place-to-discover-and-govern/ba-p/4559682) - [Microsoft Copilot Blog: Available today: OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5.5 in Microsoft Copilot](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-copilot-blog/available-today-openai-s-gpt-6-1-sol-and-claude-sonnet-5-5-in/ba-p/4560801) - [Microsoft Learn: Manage plugins, skills and MCP servers](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/manage/manage-plugins-skills-mcp-servers?view=o365-worldwide) - [Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 Copilot subprocessors](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/copilot-subprocessor-overview) - [Microsoft Learn: User subscription license and usage-based billing](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/user-subscription-license-usage-based-billing)