Copilot Notebooks were originally a paid-only feature. As of June 2026, they are rolling out to Copilot Chat (Basic) users as well, giving unlicensed users a shared workspace including mind maps and study-guide tools; timelines for Basic access were updated on July 2, 2026. The M365 Copilot paid add-on is still required for grounding on your own SharePoint and OneDrive content at full scale, and for premium features such as the persistent workspace preview. Verify your tier under Billing → Licences in the M365 admin centre. For a clear map of which Copilot features cost extra, see the cost model reference.
Copilot Cowork is now generally available and billed on usage (Copilot Credits, $0.01/credit pay-as-you-go), and the Work IQ APIs reached GA. Notebooks themselves remain included in your Copilot licence — but if you build custom agents that ground in your M365 data via Work IQ, that usage is metered in Copilot Credits. See the licensing/comparison guide for the full cost picture.
July 2026 additions: Notebooks now accept web links as references (GA, Roadmap 516040), reversing the previous limitation of no internet retrieval. Notebooks can also generate structured Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, and PowerPoint decks from curated notebook content on Windows and Web (GA, Roadmap IDs 559480, 558934, 558938), plus mind maps in OneNote and the Copilot app (GA, Roadmap 559029). Copilot Notebooks in OneNote are now available on the web (onenote.cloud.microsoft) and on iPhone and iPad. A new multimodal capture option on iPhone transcribes audio, captures images, and typed notes into one structured Page. Notebooks now accept Outlook emails as references too, and a Preview Suggested Artifacts feature proposes documents to generate based on notebook content (GA targeted August 2026).
| Use case | What you pin | For |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-document analysis | Reports, specs, contracts across a project | PM · Delivery Lead · Commercial |
| Standards reference | Regulatory docs, internal policies, compliance frameworks | Legal · Compliance · HSE |
| Document comparison | Multiple versions of a deliverable or proposal | Technical Lead · Bid Manager |
| Meeting prep pack | Agenda, pre-reads, background briefings | Manager · Executive · EA |
| Team knowledge base | Procedures, org charts, onboarding docs | HR · Team Lead · New joiners |
| Portfolio tracking | Initiative briefs, status reports, decision logs across a programme | Programme Director · PMO · Department Head |
Copilot Notebooks is becoming a persistent, lightweight workspace — it brings your chats, generated content, and reference materials together so you stay in context across conversations, not just within a single one. Your existing Notebooks, their name, and their entry point all stay exactly where they are; this adds to them.
| What's changing | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Two-way OneNote sync | Notebooks sync between the M365 Copilot app and OneNote — open and continue in either without losing context. Your OneNote notebooks themselves are unchanged. |
| Persistent cross-conversation workspace | Chats, generated content, and references stay together in the Notebook across conversations — you return to where you left off instead of starting cold each time. |
| Office objects stay associated | Word docs, PowerPoint, Excel, and Copilot Pages you create from a Notebook stay tied to that Notebook — the workspace keeps its outputs together. |
| Tool | Best for | Data source | Persists? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notebooks | Querying across specific documents repeatedly over time | Files you pin (OneDrive, SharePoint, local uploads) | Yes — named workspace, returns to where you left off |
| Chat | Quick one-off queries against live email, calendar, Teams | Your live M365 data (email, calendar, Teams) | History saved, but no persistent reference set |
| Pages | Sharing a Copilot output as a collaborative editable document | Created from a chat — not independently grounded | Yes — stored and shareable like a document |
Copilot Notebooks answer only from the references you pin. They do not query your inbox, your calendar, or Teams messages — that is Copilot Chat's domain. As of June 2026, they can now retrieve information from web links you explicitly add as references; content is not otherwise pulled from the internet.
The answer does not mention a document you pinned. If the file contains scanned images rather than searchable text, Copilot cannot read it. Convert to a text-based PDF before pinning. Alternatively, the document may not have been within the 300-file limit for folder-based references — pin it directly.
The answer draws on general knowledge instead of your files. This means the referenced documents do not contain the information requested. Copilot states this when it happens — take it at face value and check whether the right document is pinned.
Shared notebook members see different results. Each user's answer is grounded in the references they have permission to access. If a team member cannot see a pinned SharePoint file, it will not be included in their query results. Verify file permissions before sharing the notebook.
Stale answers after a document is updated. When you update a pinned file in OneDrive or SharePoint, the notebook reflects the new version on the next query. If you replace a file rather than edit it, re-pin the new version.
A pinned file is deleted or moved in SharePoint. The notebook does not display an error — the reference silently breaks. Copilot will either answer from the remaining references or note that the document is unavailable. Check your pinned references list periodically in shared notebooks, especially if team members manage the underlying files.