November 2025 – Microsoft announced that all Microsoft 365 E5 subscribers will receive included Security Compute Units (SCUs) as part of their subscription. This means every E5 customer gets a monthly allowance of SCUs (at a rate of 400 SCUs per 1,000 E5 user licenses) to power Microsoft’s Security Copilot AI security features, with no extra cost. The rollout began in November 2025, and each eligible customer is notified 30 days in advance before the SCU benefit becomes active.
What are Security Compute Units (SCUs)?
Security Compute Units (SCUs) are units of cloud computing power that Microsoft Security Copilot uses to perform AI-driven security tasks. An SCU represents the computing capacity needed to run Security Copilot’s features. The more you use Security Copilot’s AI capabilities, the more SCUs are consumed. By including SCUs with Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft ensures that E5 customers can leverage Security Copilot’s advanced security assistance without needing a separate license or add-on. This integrated approach allows security teams to use Security Copilot across Microsoft 365 (in tools like Defender, Entra, Intune, and Purview) using the SCU allowance that comes with their E5 subscription.
Key Features
The inclusion of SCUs with Microsoft 365 E5 comes with several important details and benefits:
- Included Monthly SCUs: Each organization gets 400 SCUs per 1,000 Microsoft 365 E5 user licenses every month (equivalent to 1 SCU per 2.5 users). This scales proportionally even for smaller E5 deployments. For example, a company with 400 E5 licenses receives 160 SCUs each month.
- Automatic Provisioning: The SCU allowance is automatically provided to all E5 customers. No action is required to activate this benefit apart from having an E5 subscription.
- Monthly Allowance (No Rollover): The included SCUs reset every month. Unused SCUs do not carry over to the next month – each month you start with a fresh allocation based on your license count.
- Supports Security Copilot: The provided SCUs cover typical usage of Security Copilot’s AI features across your Microsoft 365 environment. The allowance is designed to let security teams run daily Security Copilot tasks (in threat protection, identity management, data security, device management, etc.) under normal conditions without extra cost.
Licensing
The new SCU inclusion is part of the standard Microsoft 365 E5 licensing. If your organization has a Microsoft 365 E5 subscription, you automatically have Security Copilot access with an SCU pool available each month. There is no separate license purchase needed to utilize Security Copilot up to the included SCU limit – it’s built into your E5 plan.
For organizations that anticipate needing more capacity beyond the included SCUs or have questions about optimizing their Microsoft licensing, it’s wise to seek expert guidance. SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT offers expert licensing advice to help you understand and plan your usage of Security Copilot and SCUs.
You can contact SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT for personalized recommendations on how to make the most of this benefit and ensure your licensing strategy fits your security needs.
More Information
For further details, you can refer to the official Microsoft sources:
- Microsoft Security Blog Announcement (November 18, 2025): “Agents built into your workflow: Get Security Copilot with Microsoft 365 E5” – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/11/18/agents-built-into-your-workflow-get-security-copilot-with-microsoft-365-e5/
- Microsoft Learn Documentation on SCU Inclusion: “Learn about Security Copilot inclusion in Microsoft 365 E5 subscription” – https://bit.ly/3MiDNOl
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