How to Remove Microsoft 365 Copilot From a Departing User

When an employee leaves your organization, their Microsoft 365 license is typically removed. But the Copilot add-on license tied to that user must be removed separately to avoid billing overcharges. Many IT admins assume revoking the base Microsoft 365 license automatically strips Copilot, but that is not the case. This article explains the exact steps to deprovision Copilot from a departing user, including license removal in the admin center, handling of shared data, and verification of the deactivation.

Why You Must Remove Copilot Separately From the Base License

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on subscription, not a feature included in the base license. When you assign a base license like Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 to a user, Copilot is a separate line item in your billing. Removing the base license does not cancel the Copilot add-on. The Copilot license remains active and continues to incur charges until you explicitly unassign it.

This behavior is by design. Add-on licenses in Microsoft 365 are independent from the base license. The system treats them as separate products that must be managed individually. If you delete the user account without first removing the Copilot license, the license goes into an unassigned state but the billing cycle does not stop until the next renewal date. To avoid paying for an unused license, you must deassign it during the offboarding process.

Another reason to remove Copilot separately is data ownership. Copilot generates grounded responses based on the user’s Microsoft Graph data. When the user leaves, you may need to retain or transfer their files and emails. Removing Copilot does not delete the underlying data; it only stops the AI from accessing it. You control data retention through Microsoft Purview or your standard retention policies.

Steps to Remove Copilot From a Departing User

Follow these steps in the Microsoft 365 admin center. You need Global Admin or Billing Admin privileges to perform license changes.

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center
   Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with an account that has Global Admin or Billing Admin role.
2. Navigate to Billing > Licenses
   In the left navigation pane, select Billing, then Licenses. This page shows all your active subscriptions including Copilot.
3. Select the Copilot subscription
   Click Microsoft 365 Copilot in the list. You see a count of assigned and available licenses.
4. Click the Users tab
   This tab lists all users currently assigned a Copilot license.
5. Find the departing user
   Use the search box to locate the user by name or email address.
6. Unassign the Copilot license
   Select the user by checking the box next to their name. Click Unassign licenses at the top of the list. Confirm the action in the dialog box. The license is now available for reassignment to another user.
7. Remove the base license (if the user is leaving)
   Go to Users > Active users, select the same user, click the Licenses and apps tab, uncheck all base licenses, and click Save changes. This step is separate from the Copilot removal.

If you want to keep the user account active but only revoke Copilot access, skip step 7. The user retains their base Microsoft 365 services but loses Copilot functionality immediately.

Using PowerShell to Remove Copilot Licenses in Bulk

For organizations that offboard multiple users at once, PowerShell is faster than the admin center. You need the Microsoft Graph PowerShell module installed.

1. Open PowerShell as an administrator
   Right-click the Start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin).
2. Install the Microsoft Graph module if not present
   Run: Install-Module Microsoft.Graph -Scope CurrentUser. Type Y to confirm.
3. Connect to Microsoft Graph
   Run: Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.ReadWrite.All", "Organization.Read.All". Sign in with your Global Admin credentials.
4. Get the Copilot SKU ID
   Run: Get-MgSubscribedSku | Where-Object {$_.SkuPartNumber -eq "COPILOT"}. Note the Id value. This is the SKU ID for Copilot.
5. Unassign the Copilot license from a user
   Run: Set-MgUserLicense -UserId "user@domain.com" -AddLicenses @() -RemoveLicenses @("SKU_ID"). Replace SKU_ID with the ID from step 4.
6. Repeat for each user
   Create a CSV file with user email addresses and loop through them with the same cmdlet.

After running the cmdlet, the Copilot license is removed from the user immediately. The license returns to your pool of available licenses.

What Happens to Copilot Data After License Removal

When you remove the Copilot license, the user can no longer access Copilot features in any Microsoft 365 app. However, the underlying data that Copilot used remains intact. This includes:

• Emails in Exchange Online
• Files in OneDrive and SharePoint
• Chats and messages in Teams
• Documents in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Copilot does not store a separate copy of this data. It accesses the data through Microsoft Graph in real time. After license removal, Copilot cannot read or respond to that data anymore. The data itself is governed by your existing retention policies in Microsoft Purview or third-party archiving tools.

If the user is completely leaving the organization, you should also transfer their OneDrive files to another user or archive their mailbox. These steps are outside the Copilot removal process but are part of standard offboarding.

Common Issues When Removing Copilot From a Departing User

Copilot License Still Shows as Assigned After Removal

This usually happens because the admin center takes a few minutes to refresh. Wait 15 minutes and reload the Licenses page. If the license still shows as assigned, use PowerShell to verify: run Get-MgUserLicenseDetail -UserId "user@domain.com". If the Copilot SKU is not listed, the removal succeeded.

User Cannot Access Microsoft 365 After License Removal

If you removed both the base license and the Copilot license, the user account is disabled. The user cannot sign in to any Microsoft 365 service. This is expected behavior for a departing user. If you need the account to remain active for a transition period, do not remove the base license. Remove only the Copilot add-on.

Billing Continues for the Copilot License the Next Month

Microsoft bills add-on licenses in advance. If you remove the license mid-cycle, the charge for the current month is not refunded. The license is removed for the next billing period. To avoid this, plan license removal before the renewal date. Check your billing cycle in Billing > Subscriptions > Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Copilot License Removal vs User Account Deletion: Key Differences

Item	Remove Copilot License Only	Delete User Account
Effect on Copilot	Immediately stops Copilot access	Stops Copilot access and removes all licenses
Effect on base services	User keeps email, files, Teams	User loses all access immediately
License billing	Copilot license freed up for reuse	Both base and add-on licenses freed
Data retention	Data remains in place	Data deleted after 30 days

Choose the option that matches your offboarding policy. If the user is moving to a different role without Copilot, remove only the Copilot license. If the user is leaving the organization entirely, delete the account after transferring data.

Conclusion

You can now remove the Microsoft 365 Copilot license from a departing user using the admin center or PowerShell. Always unassign the Copilot add-on before or at the same time as the base license to avoid billing issues. For bulk operations, use the Set-MgUserLicense cmdlet with the Copilot SKU ID. After removal, verify the license count in Billing > Licenses and set a calendar reminder for the next billing cycle to confirm no unexpected charges appear.