Getting Started with the Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan
Thomas Maurer talks with Kyle Ikeda about the Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan and how Agent Commit Units (ACUs) can be used across Azure AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, Fabric, and GitHub to make AI agent spend more predictable, with guidance on purchasing, tracking consumption, and budgeting responsibly.
Overview
In this Azure Essentials Show pricing episode, the presenters explain how the Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan works and how it helps organizations budget for AI agents across multiple Microsoft platforms.
What the Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan is
- A commitment-based plan intended to simplify budgeting for AI agent usage.
- Uses a single pool of Agent Commit Units (ACUs) that can be applied across supported services.
How ACUs work across platforms
The episode describes using one ACU pool across:
- Azure AI Foundry
- Copilot Studio
- Microsoft Fabric
- GitHub
Pricing and savings model
- Explains how tiered commitments can improve cost predictability.
- Compares the approach to pay-as-you-go pricing and highlights that higher commitment tiers can unlock additional savings.
Purchasing and tracking consumption
- Covers where to purchase the plan.
- Walks through tracking consumption and monitoring spend.
- Calls out using Azure Cost Management and cost allocation tags to track and optimize usage over time.
Suggested next steps
- Review Microsoft Learn documentation for eligibility and plan details.
- Estimate expected usage across agent platforms to choose an appropriate commitment tier.
- Set up ongoing monitoring with Azure Cost Management and tagging.
Resources
- Optimize Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Microsoft Fabric, and GitHub costs with Microsoft Agent prepurchase plan
- Introducing Microsoft Agent Factory
- Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan: One Unified Path to Scale AI Agents
- More Azure Essentials resources
Related episodes
People
- Thomas Maurer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasmaurer2
- Kyle Ikeda: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-ikeda-49ab7a30/