Why am I getting "EnforcementUsageCredits" error in Copilot Studio when I have M365 Copilot Premium?

vinay G 0 Reputation points
2026-09-29T17:09:03.4333333+00:00

I have a Microsoft 365 Copilot Premium license. I built a simple agent in Copilot Studio with a workflow using the "When an agent calls the flow" trigger. I understand that M365 Copilot licensed users can use Copilot Studio for free in interactive scenarios.

However, I keep getting this error:

"You need credits to continue. This environment is out of credits. Error code: EnforcementUsageCredits."

My questions:

  1. If M365 Copilot licensed users are supposed to get free usage, why is my environment out of credits?
  2. Is the free policy per-user or per-environment?
  3. How do I configure my agent/workflow so it uses the free entitlement instead of consuming credits?

What I have already checked:

· Trigger is set to "When an agent calls the flow"

· User has M365 Copilot license

· Agent is deployed to Teams/Copilot Chat

Any official documentation links or configuration steps would be appreciated.

Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft 365 Copilot | Development
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-29T17:09:26.1733333+00:00

    EnforcementUsageCredits means the environment has exhausted available Copilot Credits or is under overage enforcement. The free entitlement from a Microsoft 365 Copilot license does not make the whole Copilot Studio environment unlimited.

    1. Why this happens even with Microsoft 365 Copilot
      • Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users get zero-rated usage only for specific agent interactions in Microsoft 365 surfaces: classic answers, generative answers, or Microsoft Graph tenant grounding when used in Copilot Chat, Teams, or SharePoint.
      • The flow scenario described uses an agent flow with the trigger “When an agent calls the flow.” Agent flow enforcement is separate from general agent usage enforcement.
      • When prepaid Copilot Studio capacity is fully consumed, new agent flow runs are blocked. The parent agent can still work for non-flow interactions, but flow execution is rejected.
      • That is why an agent can appear eligible for Microsoft 365 Copilot included usage, yet still fail with EnforcementUsageCredits when the interaction invokes a flow.
    2. Per-user or per-environment
      • The enforcement and capacity model is primarily per environment.
      • Rate limits and quotas for generative AI also apply per Dataverse environment.
      • Overages are evaluated against environment allocation and then tenant capacity. If capacity is exhausted, enforcement is applied.
      • For agent flows specifically, enforcement blocks new flow runs in that environment when prepaid Copilot Studio capacity is fully consumed.
    3. How to make it use the free entitlement
      • There is no documented configuration switch to force an agent flow to “use free entitlement instead of credits.”
      • The documented free entitlement applies to non-flow interactions for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users: classic answers, generative answers, and Microsoft Graph tenant grounding in Microsoft 365 Copilot, Teams, or SharePoint.
      • For agent flow actions, the documented exemption is narrower: agent flow actions invoked by users licensed with Microsoft 365 Copilot are included at no charge and don’t consume Copilot Credits.
      • If EnforcementUsageCredits still occurs, the practical checks are:
        1. Confirm the interaction is actually running as a Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed user.
        2. Confirm the agent is being used in a supported surface such as Copilot Chat, Teams, or SharePoint.
        3. In the Power Platform admin center, review environment consumption under Licensing > Copilot Studio > Environments and inspect Copilot credit consumption details, especially Agent flow actions.
        4. If the environment has exhausted prepaid capacity, resolve it by either:
          • Reallocating existing capacity from other environments
          • Purchasing more Copilot Credits
          • Enabling pay-as-you-go billing by linking an Azure subscription billing plan to the environment
    4. Important behavior to expect
      • If enforcement is active for agent flows:
        • New flow runs cannot start
        • In-progress flow runs complete normally
        • The agent remains available for non-flow interactions
      • Test runs in the flow designer or the agent’s test chat do not consume capacity for agent flow actions and are not blocked by enforcement.

    In short: the error is caused by environment-level Copilot Credit enforcement, and the presence of a Microsoft 365 Copilot license does not remove environment enforcement for all Copilot Studio scenarios. The included entitlement clearly covers supported interactive agent experiences, while flow execution is governed by the environment’s Copilot Studio capacity and agent flow enforcement rules.


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