It’s not every day that Microsoft drops a change that makes seasoned admins like me sit up and say, “Well, that’s going to shake things up.” At Ignite 2025, Microsoft confirmed that Security Copilot will be automatically included with M365 E5 licenses. For those of us who’ve been juggling subscriptions and budget approvals, this feels like a long-overdue simplification.
Why This Matters
I remember back when Security Copilot first launched—18 months ago, give or take. I tested it in a dev tenant, mostly to see if its phishing triage agent could save me from the endless flood of “urgent invoice” emails. It worked, but the licensing costs made me hesitate to recommend it to clients. Now, with Copilot bundled into E5, that hesitation is gone.
Step-by-Step Reality Check
- Immediate rollout: If you already have both E5 and Copilot, you’re covered.
- Staged rollout: For pure E5 customers, it’ll trickle in over the coming months.
- Limits: Microsoft is allotting 400 Security Compute Units (SCUs) per 1,000 users, capped at 10,000 SCUs per month. Translation: you’ll need to keep an eye on usage if you’re running a large shop.
Unexpected Twist
Most guides I’ve seen talk about Copilot as a “nice-to-have.” But here’s the contradiction: once you start leaning on it for threat detection or compliance checks, it quickly becomes a “must-have.” I learned that the hard way when I tried to triage phishing manually during a client engagement—it was like going back to stone tools after tasting automation.
Workarounds & Lessons Learned
- Agent overload: Microsoft also announced 12 new agents across Defender, Entra, Intune, and Purview. That’s exciting, but it raises a governance headache. I’ve seen admins drown in agent sprawl—too many moving parts, not enough visibility.
- Agent 365: Microsoft’s new control plane for managing agents looks promising. If it delivers on central visibility, it might save us from the chaos of “agent soup.”
Final Thoughts
Not gonna lie, I used to avoid recommending E5 because clients balked at the price. But with Security Copilot bundled in, the value proposition feels different. It’s like getting a high-end firewall baked into your OS—suddenly the premium tier makes sense.
