Copilot Tasks Is Becoming Copilot Cowork: Who Keeps It and Who Has to Pay

Microsoft's AI helper that does jobs for you, Copilot Tasks, is being folded into a new tool called Copilot Cowork, and only the two most expensive Microsoft 365 home plans get it. Microsoft's Copilot app updates page, updated September 16, 2026, says Tasks users with a personal account "will begin to be migrated to Copilot Cowork over the next few weeks," and that "Cowork is a Premium or Pro feature in Preview. If you have a Personal or Family subscription, you will lose access to Cowork." Your old tasks stay readable. Running them again, or starting new ones, means upgrading.

Key Takeaways

• Tasks becomes Cowork. Microsoft is moving Copilot Tasks users on personal accounts to Cowork "over the next few weeks," per its September 16, 2026 support page.
• Premium or Pro only. Microsoft: "Cowork is a Premium or Pro feature in Preview." Premium is $19.99 a month; Pro is $99.99 a month.
• Personal and Family lose the ability to run tasks. You "will still be able to open and view your previous Tasks conversations and content," but new or repeat runs need an upgrade.
• Some things do not come across. Memories saved by Tasks, shared links, and texting or emailing Tasks do not carry over.
• Scheduled tasks arrive switched off. You have to turn them back on in Cowork.
• It is still a Preview for personal accounts, and Microsoft warns it "may be substantially modified before it's released."

What Copilot Tasks Was, and What Cowork Is

Copilot Tasks is the part of Copilot that does things rather than answers questions. Microsoft launched it on February 26, 2026 as a research preview for "a small group of users," with a waitlist, describing it as "a to-do list that does itself" that works "with its own computer and browser." Its examples included surfacing urgent emails with draft replies every evening, watching used car listings, and cancelling subscriptions you do not use.

Cowork is Microsoft's name for the same idea across both home and work accounts. Its getting-started page says you "describe what you need in natural language, and Cowork does the work," and lists what it can do:

It runs in your browser at m365.cloud.microsoft, in the Microsoft Copilot desktop app, and in a Cowork mobile app, according to the same page.

Who Gets Cowork and What It Costs

Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers get it; Personal and Family subscribers do not. For personal accounts Microsoft says you need "a personal Microsoft account that has an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription," and its update page names Premium and Pro as those plans. US prices on Microsoft's plans page, read September 19, 2026:

Microsoft's page does not say what happens to someone who used Tasks on the free Copilot app with no Microsoft 365 subscription. Since Cowork needs an eligible subscription, expect to need Premium or Pro to keep running tasks.

What Moves Across and What Does Not

Your conversations and files move; your saved memories, shared links and text or email access do not. Microsoft's list for the move from Tasks to Cowork:

That last row matters for privacy. Tasks worked in a browser on Microsoft's computers. Microsoft says the remote browser "is coming soon. For now, you can use the local browser in Microsoft Edge," which "uses Microsoft Edge and the sites you're already signed in to." So Cowork acts as you, on your own logged-in accounts, and asks your approval for sensitive steps.

What to Do Before Your Account Moves

Microsoft says the move is automatic, so there is nothing to sign up for. A few minutes now saves trouble later:

1. Write down your scheduled tasks. They arrive switched off, and some "additional setup may be required."
2. Save anything you share through a Tasks link. Those links stop working.
3. Note anything Tasks remembered about you. Memories do not carry over.
4. If you are on Personal or Family, decide whether the $19.99 Premium plan is worth it. If you only ran the odd task, probably not: you keep read access to your old work either way.

Is This Part of the Bigger Copilot App Change?

Yes. The same Microsoft page covers the merger of Microsoft's home and work Copilot apps into one "updated Copilot app." It also lists features already retired from consumer Copilot: Podcasts and Group Chat "after August 18, 2026," and Deep Research "starting August 18, 2026." The free tier stays: Microsoft says you "can continue to chat with Copilot, create images, upload files and more for free, subject to available capacity and limits."

Should You Upgrade to Keep It?

Upgrade to Premium if Tasks was doing real weekly work for you, such as a morning briefing or inbox triage, and you already pay for Personal or Family. The step is $10 a month over Personal and $7 over Family at US monthly prices. Skip it if you only tried Tasks a few times: your old results stay viewable, and Cowork for home users is still a Preview that Microsoft says may change substantially. If what you want is a general AI helper rather than one tied to Office, compare the free options first in our best free AI chatbot guide.