Microsoft Will Let Families Share Copilot — Then Cuts Their OneDrive Storage From 1TB Each to 2TB Total

Microsoft is giving families something they have asked for since AI landed in Microsoft 365 — and taking something away to pay for it. In emails sent to Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers, the company says Copilot and AI benefits, which until now could only be used by the primary account holder, will be shared with up to five other members of the plan. At the same time, the OneDrive storage bundled with those plans is being cut from 1TB per person to a single 2TB pool for the entire subscription.

The AI change has three parts. First, every member of a plan can use the shared Copilot benefits and AI usage, and account holders can manage AI access for younger family members. Second, the separate per-feature AI limits are being replaced by one flexible AI usage allowance that each member can spend on the advanced features they actually use, with the option to buy more. Third — the controversial part — cloud storage moves from 1TB per member to 2TB shared across the whole plan, with each person\'s account and files remaining private.

Microsoft\'s support documentation frames the timing two ways: new Family and Premium subscribers get 2TB of shared storage from 7 October 2026, while existing subscribers transition at their subscription renewal, which the customer email pegs to the first renewal after 2 May 2027. Eligible existing subscribers may qualify for transitional bonus storage, and all subscription tiers can be extended up to 10TB for households that need more.

Subscribers did the arithmetic immediately. A Family plan that previously offered up to 6TB across six members will offer 2TB in total — a two-thirds cut for a six-person household — at the same $129.99 per year, with Premium at $199.99 per year. Microsoft argues the shared pool is more flexible, since one heavy user can exceed 1TB without hitting a wall, and notes that members cannot see each other\'s files. Reddit was not persuaded: "Time to say goodbye and move the family to the NAS," wrote one user, while another called it "a \'flexible experience\' for MS itself" — a nudge toward paid OneDrive add-ons for anyone parking a photo library in the cloud.

The context matters. Microsoft bundled Copilot-powered Office features into Personal and Family subscriptions last year, and its own support page still says AI benefits "cannot be shared with others" — the email announcing the change effectively retracts that. It also lands almost exactly a year after Microsoft 365 Premium launched at $19.99 a month, combining Copilot Pro with Family-style benefits, making the shared AI allowance the next step in converting household subscriptions into per-seat AI revenue.

The strategic logic is easy to see. Sharing AI across a household drives engagement with the features Microsoft most wants adopted, while the storage cut monetises the one resource AI has not made cheaper. Rīga TV, summarising The Verge\'s reporting, noted the more flexible AI usage model could mean some subscribers end up paying more for AI depending on how they use Copilot — which is the point of a metered allowance.

For subscribers, the practical timeline is generous but non-negotiable: nothing changes until the first renewal after 2 May 2027, Microsoft will email again before each change takes effect, and households with large OneDrive archives have until then to decide whether 2TB shared is enough — or whether their family plan just became a two-product subscription: Office and AI, plus storage sold separately.