GitHub Enterprise Cloud customers working with a GitHub or Microsoft account team can now get Copilot included for every licensed user. Seat counts stop being the main control: AI usage is metered from the first request against the enterprise budget. Before moving, decide budgets per team, because Chat, code review and cloud work stop when the budget runs out.
What GitHub announced
The change was announced by GitHub on 28 October 2026 in the GitHub changelog. Enterprises on GitHub Enterprise Cloud that buy through an account team can now have Copilot included with GitHub Enterprise for every user who holds a GitHub Enterprise licence.
Until now an enterprise managed two things: how many Copilot seats it paid for, and how much AI usage those users consumed. With Copilot part of the platform, GitHub says usage against the enterprise budget becomes the primary thing to manage.
What changed in how Copilot is paid for
- Metered from the first request. Usage is charged against the enterprise budget from the first request, using the policies, alerts and attribution an enterprise already has. There is no included usage allowance to track or top up.
- No per-seat credits. Copilot through GitHub Enterprise has the same features and models as Copilot Enterprise, but no monthly AI credits per seat.
- Users without a GitHub Enterprise licence in the same enterprise account can get the same Copilot access through Copilot Standalone, which GitHub prices per user per month.
- Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise remain available to buy for new and existing enterprises.
What keeps working when the budget runs out
This is the detail team leads should read twice. According to the announcement:
- Code completion and next edit suggestions keep working even with no budget available.
- Copilot Chat, Copilot code review and Copilot in the cloud need available budget.
- An exhausted budget never removes access. The seat stays, and so do the features that do not need budget.
So the failure mode is not a locked-out developer. It is a pull request that gets no Copilot review, or a cloud task that does not start, partway through a sprint.
Who can get it now
- Account team customers: available now for GitHub Enterprise Cloud. New enterprise accounts can be set up on this model, and existing accounts can be moved, through the sales team.
- Self-serve customers: not available yet. GitHub says it will open this in stages and share dates later. Current self-serve subscriptions are unaffected.
GitHub points to updated documentation on Copilot billing for enterprises and on what is changing for GitHub Enterprise and Copilot, linked from the announcement.
What this means for teams building with Copilot
Set budgets by team before you move. With no included allowance, the first request is billed. Map which teams rely on Copilot code review or cloud tasks in their delivery flow and give them budgets and alerts sized to that work, rather than one enterprise-wide figure that a single heavy team can use up. If you already track AI agent running costs, add Copilot usage as its own line.
Decide who absorbs a budget stop. Because review and cloud work pause while completions continue, write down what happens when a team's budget runs out: who can raise it, how quickly, and whether a required Copilot review check should block a merge or be skipped. This is the same question we raised for Copilot code review billing, now applied to the whole enterprise.
Use attribution to find your real cost drivers. Usage now runs through the attribution and alerts you already have. Before the switch, check that usage can be traced to organisations and cost centres, so finance sees which teams and which features drive spend, not just a single total.
Count the users without an Enterprise licence. Contractors or partner staff in the enterprise account who do not hold a GitHub Enterprise licence need Copilot Standalone for the same access. Add them to the comparison, or they drop out of Copilot on the move.
When not to switch yet: if you manage your own subscription, you cannot yet. If your developers use most of the per-seat AI credits that Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise gives today, metering from the first request may cost more; compare a recent usage report against the new model before you move. And if finance needs a fixed per-seat figure for the next budget cycle, staying on your current plan is still supported.
Frequently asked questions
Is Copilot now free with GitHub Enterprise?
Not in the sense of unlimited use. Copilot access is included for every user with a GitHub Enterprise licence, for enterprises on GitHub Enterprise Cloud that work with a GitHub or Microsoft account team. AI usage is metered from the first request against the enterprise budget, and there is no included usage allowance or monthly AI credit per seat to draw on first.
What happens when the enterprise Copilot budget runs out?
Access is never removed. Code completion and next edit suggestions keep working with no budget available. Copilot Chat, Copilot code review and Copilot in the cloud need available budget, so they stop until budget is added. Plan who can raise a budget and how required Copilot review checks behave when review is unavailable, so delivery work is not held up.
Can self-serve GitHub Enterprise customers use this yet?
No. At announcement it is available only to GitHub Enterprise Cloud customers working with a GitHub or Microsoft account team. GitHub says it will open the model to self-serve customers in stages and share dates later, and that current self-serve subscriptions are unaffected. Self-serve customers can keep using Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise in the meantime.
Should we move from Copilot Business to the included model?
Compare your current usage first. The included model has the same features and models as Copilot Enterprise but meters all usage against the enterprise budget, with no per-seat AI credits. Teams that use few credits may gain, while heavy users of Chat, code review and cloud tasks may pay more. Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise remain available, so there is no forced move.
How do users without a GitHub Enterprise licence get Copilot?
Users in the enterprise account who do not hold a GitHub Enterprise licence can get the same Copilot access through Copilot Standalone, which GitHub prices per user per month. It has the same features and models as Copilot Enterprise and, like the included access, does not come with monthly AI credits per seat. Count these users when you compare costs.
