Copilot in Business Central: what it can do, what it costs and where its limits are

Key takeaways

• Copilot in Business Central includes a central chat, marketing texts, bank reconciliation, analysis assist and error message explanations.
• The Unified Copilot Chat (from v29) combines Business Central data, web search and general knowledge in one interface.
• Usage is based on Copilot credits included in the BC licence. Extended features require an additional Microsoft Copilot licence.
• Copilot works well for routine queries and text generation — less so for complex business-critical decisions.
• Result quality strongly depends on master data quality and how questions are phrased.

What Copilot in Business Central can do today

Copilot in Business Central is not a single feature but a collection of AI-powered functions distributed across different areas. The most important at a glance:

• Unified Copilot Chat (from v29): a central chat interface answering questions about customers, items, orders and finances — extended with web search and general knowledge.
• Marketing texts: automatic generation of product descriptions based on item attributes — useful for web shops and catalogues.
• Bank reconciliation: Copilot suggests mappings for open bank entries and recognises patterns in recurring transactions.
• Analysis assist: Copilot can analyse data tables on list pages and suggest columns, filters or pivots.
• Error message explanations: for cryptic BC error messages, Copilot provides an understandable explanation and possible solution steps.
• Line suggestions in sales orders: Copilot suggests items and quantities based on the customer's order history.

The Unified Copilot Chat: more than a search field

With Wave 2 Copilot gets a completely redesigned chat interface modelled on the Microsoft 365 Copilot design. Access is via a new icon in the app bar — no longer scattered across individual pages.

What makes the chat special: it combines three data sources in one response. Business Central data (revenue, inventory, open items), web search (market trends, industry news) and general knowledge (explanations, best practices). A question like 'Show me the top 5 customers by revenue and explain how 2/10 net 30 payment terms work' is answered by Copilot in one go.

Users with a Microsoft Copilot licence additionally gain access to Work IQ: the ability to link BC data with information from SharePoint documents, Teams messages and Outlook emails. This is particularly interesting for sales teams wanting to consolidate customer history from multiple sources.

What Copilot costs

The basic Copilot features are included in the Business Central licence. Usage is billed via so-called Copilot credits managed in the Admin Centre. The BC licence includes a base allowance of credits.

Those exceeding the base allowance can purchase additional credits. The exact costs depend on usage volume and are regularly adjusted by Microsoft.

For extended features — particularly Work IQ and integration with Microsoft 365 data — a separate Microsoft Copilot licence is required, billed per user per month.

Where Copilot helps — and where it doesn't

Copilot is strong at routine queries: 'Which invoices are overdue?', 'What did customer XY last order?', 'Explain this error message to me'. For this type of question it genuinely saves time because the user doesn't need to navigate through multiple pages.

Text generation also works well: product descriptions generated from item attributes are a solid starting point — though editorial refinement is almost always necessary.

Copilot is less convincing for complex analytical questions requiring context knowledge. 'Should I grant this customer 60-day payment terms?' can be supported with numbers by Copilot, but the business assessment remains with the specialist team. And with poorly maintained master data, Copilot reliably delivers wrong or incomplete answers — it can only be as good as the data it works with.

A common misconception: Copilot is not a substitute for training. Employees who don't know Business Central won't suddenly become productive through Copilot. Copilot accelerates experienced users — it doesn't replace foundational understanding.

Requirements for deployment

Copilot requires Business Central Online (cloud) — on-premises installations cannot use Copilot. You need to activate Copilot billing in the Admin Centre and consent to the use of the Azure OpenAI Service.

On the data side: Copilot accesses the data the logged-in user is permitted to see. There is no special pathway — Business Central's permission model applies unchanged. Regarding data protection, data residency must be considered: depending on the hosting region, data may be transferred to other Azure regions.

Frequently asked questions

Is Copilot available in Business Central on-premises?

No. Copilot features are exclusively available in Business Central Online (cloud). On-premises installations cannot use Copilot.

What does Copilot in Business Central cost?

The basic features are included in the BC licence and use Copilot credits. For extended features like Work IQ an additional Microsoft Copilot licence per user per month is required.

Can Copilot be used in German?

Yes. Copilot uses the Azure OpenAI Service and understands common business languages, including German and English. The tenant's configuration language is automatically used as the default.

Can Copilot make business decisions?

No. Copilot provides data, analysis and text suggestions — the business assessment and decision remains with the specialist team. Copilot is a tool for experienced users, not a substitute for expertise.

What is the difference between Copilot and the AI agents?

Copilot responds to user input — it answers questions and makes suggestions. AI agents (Sales Order Agent, Payables Agent), on the other hand, work autonomously in the background: they monitor mailboxes, create drafts and only request human approval when needed.