MICROSOFT TIGHTENS GITHUB COPILOT ACCESS AND USAGE

Microsoft is restricting GitHub Copilot availability as part of cost management efforts. The company has halted new signups for Pro, Pro+, and Student subscription tiers and introduced tighter usage constraints across all plans. Model access has been realigned by tier. Opus models are being removed from the Pro plan entirely, while Opus 4.7 will be limited exclusively to Pro+ subscribers. These changes represent a significant shift in what features users receive at each pricing level. Internal documents indicate Microsoft's underlying concern: Copilot's operational costs have nearly doubled since January, driven by week-over-week expense increases. To address this trajectory, the company plans to transition from request-based to token-based billing for GitHub Copilot. This shift would charge users based on actual token consumption rather than API calls, providing more granular cost tracking. The pause on new signups suggests Microsoft is managing demand while restructuring its pricing model. Current subscribers retain access to their existing plans, but new users cannot enroll in the affected tiers during the suspension. These moves align with broader industry trends as AI services scale. Companies offering generative AI features face mounting infrastructure costs, prompting shifts toward usage-based pricing models that better reflect consumption patterns. The changes take effect immediately, according to the GitHub Blog announcement. Microsoft has not provided a timeline for resuming new signups or indicated whether the pauses are temporary or permanent.