Let’s Talk About Copilot for Intune: What You Need to Know Before You Deploy

When Microsoft introduced Copilot for Intune at Ignite 2024, its initial feature set was relatively limited. Over the past year, however, Microsoft has significantly expanded its capabilities. Today, Intune Copilot supports a wide range of functions, including policy and settings management, device management, security, compliance, and more, making it a powerful tool for streamlining endpoint administration.

Copilot in Intune Features

• Data exploration using natural language

• Policy and setting management

• Device details and troubleshooting

• Analyzing Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) requests

• Troubleshooting Microsoft Surface devices

• Gaining insights about Windows 365 Cloud PCs

For more information on these features, check out the Microsoft Learn article for Intune for Copilot here Security Copilot in Intune features overview - Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn

Licensing and Security Compute Units (SCUs)

There’s an important caveat: Intune Copilot is not a standalone product. To use it, organizations must have an active Azure subscription and purchase Security Compute Units (SCUs).

A Security Compute Unit (SCU) is a resource metric used by Microsoft Security Copilot to measure and allocate the computational capacity required for its operations. Essentially, SCUs represent the amount of compute power needed to run AI-driven security tasks such as:

• Threat analysis and incident response

• Log processing and summarization

• Automated workflows and playbooks

For organizations already invested in Microsoft’s broader security ecosystem and Azure services, this requirement may not be a major concern. But for those not currently using Azure or other Microsoft security products, the added complexity of setting up Azure and managing SCU licensing may not be worthwhile.

What About Future Licensing Changes?

During a recent Microsoft Technical Takeoff AMA focused on Copilot in Intune, I asked whether there are plans to make Intune Copilot available independently of Security Copilot.

Joe Lurie and Lavanya Lakshman from the Microsoft team responded that this is something they’re actively working on, with hopes that a more flexible licensing model will be available soon.

While this isn’t a definitive commitment, it’s encouraging to know that Microsoft is considering changes. Ideally, Intune Copilot would be included as part of the Intune Suite bundle, eliminating the need for separate licensing or additional Azure dependencies.

My Recommendation

Given how new this product is, I recommend holding off if your organization isn’t already using the full Microsoft security suite. It may be worth waiting to see if Microsoft introduces a more streamlined licensing option that includes Copilot as part of the Intune Suite bundle, or as an additonal addon.

What If You Don’t Want to Wait?

If you’d prefer not to wait for Microsoft to potentially decouple Intune Copilot from Security Copilot, you’ll need to:

• Set up an Azure subscription

• Configure your Security Copilot settings

• Decide whether to provision your own SCUs or use overage SCUs

Pricing can be a bit complex, so I recommend speaking with your Microsoft sales representative or partner and reviewing the official Microsoft documentation and Learn articles linked below.

Microsoft Security Copilot – Pricing | Microsoft Security
Security Copilot in Intune features overview - Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn
What is Microsoft Security Copilot? | Microsoft Learn

Sources: AMA: All things Copilot with Microsoft Intune - October 6, 2025 - Microsoft Event
Security Copilot in Intune features overview - Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn