How do I switch on Copilot Cowork for my organisation?

The question

Hey there - LOVE your site - it is so practical and helps me so much! Now having set that, I am finding it challenging to switch on Co-work for our organisation. Credits are purchased, and I can see a request, and yet the ‘on’ button to make it visible eludes. Thank you for your insight, Judith

The answer

Hi Judith — thank you, that’s really kind and I’m so glad the site helps. 🙏

The “on” switch is in a slightly different place than you’d expect. At general availability, Cowork sits behind two gates — having the credits is only half of it:

1. Turn on visibility. Microsoft 365 admin center → Copilot → Settings → switch on “AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing.” It’s off by default, and it’s the setting that actually makes Cowork appear for users.

2. Add people to a spending policy. Copilot → Cost Management → create a spending policy that includes the users you want on Cowork. This is what lets them actually use it — and adding someone to a policy also makes Cowork show up for them even if the first toggle is still off.

That “request” you can see is almost certainly a user asking for access from inside Cowork — once they’re covered by a spending policy, that’s what grants it.

One tip: after flipping these on, give it a little time to propagate before worrying — tenant changes aren’t always instant.

I’ve written up the full enablement + troubleshooting path here, including a section called “Why a user can’t see Cowork” that runs through the five usual causes: → Copilot Cowork admin & governance guide — “Why a user can’t see Cowork”

And Microsoft’s own doc on that exact setting: → Manage the AI experiences setting (Microsoft Learn)

If it still hides after that, reply here and I’ll help you dig further.

— Sush