What's New in Dynamics 365 Licensing: December 2025 Update

A comprehensive guide to the latest changes in Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide, with special focus on Business Central

Microsoft has released the December 2025 update to the Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide, and it brings some significant changes—particularly for Business Central users. 

I've asked AI to do a detailed comparison with the July 2025 version to identify what's changed, and the results are quite interesting. Let's dive in.

Want to continue the AI conversation yourself? 

Here is the link https://claude.ai/share/785cdc19-aa42-46a3-82c3-c5a8d319fedf

The Big Picture: AI Agents Take Center Stage

The most transformative change in this update is the introduction of Dynamics 365 Agents—prebuilt AI-powered automation services that integrate directly into your Dynamics 365 applications. Think of these as your digital workforce, handling routine tasks while your team focuses on higher-value activities.

Microsoft has introduced a new framework called Copilot Credits, which serves as the common currency for executing these AI agents across the platform. If you're using Premium licenses (Sales Premium, Customer Service Premium, Finance Premium, or Supply Chain Management Premium), you'll get 1,000 Copilot Credits per user per month included.

Business Central: Two New Game-Changing Agents

For Business Central customers, this update is particularly exciting. Microsoft has introduced two new prebuilt agents designed to automate critical business processes:

1. Sales Order Agent

The Sales Order Agent is like having a dedicated assistant monitoring your customer emails 24/7. Here's what it does:

• Analyzes customer requests received via email to capture sales orders automatically
• Engages in multi-turn email conversations to clarify missing details or present options
• Checks item availability in real-time
• Follows up with sales quotes when appropriate

This agent essentially eliminates the manual data entry bottleneck in your sales process, ensuring no customer request slips through the cracks.

2. Payables Agent

The Payables Agent tackles one of accounting's most tedious tasks—invoice processing. Its capabilities include:

• Capturing and validating invoices automatically
• Matching invoices against purchase orders and receipts to reduce errors
• Routing invoices to the right approvers based on configurable rules
• Providing dashboards for outstanding payables tracking
• Enabling better cash flow management and vendor relationship monitoring

Think of it as your accounts payable department running on autopilot, with built-in accuracy checks and compliance tracking.

What You Need to Know

To use these Business Central agents, you'll need:

• An active Dynamics 365 Business Central license
• Copilot Credits (which can be managed through the new framework)

The good news? The core Business Central licensing structure remains unchanged—Essentials, Premium, Team Members, and Device licenses all continue as before. These agents are enhancements to the existing platform, not replacements.

Agents Across the Platform

Business Central isn't the only product getting AI superpowers. The December update introduces agents across multiple Dynamics 365 applications:

Customer Service & Contact Center

• Case Management Agent - Streamlines case creation, updates, and follow-ups
• Customer Intent Agent - Uses generative AI to discover customer intents automatically
• Customer Knowledge Management Agent - Helps scale your knowledge base with minimal manual effort
• Quality Evaluation Agent - Assesses cases and conversations to improve service quality

Sales

• Sales Qualification Agent - Automates pipeline qualification by researching leads, sending personalized emails, and identifying buying intent

Understanding Copilot Credits

The new Copilot Credits system is worth understanding if you're planning to leverage these agents:

What are Copilot Credits?

• A consumption-based currency for AI agent operations
• The number of credits used depends on task complexity
• Credits are pooled at the tenant level

Who gets credits included?

• Sales Premium: 1,000 credits/user/month
• Customer Service Premium: 1,000 credits/user/month
• Finance Premium: 1,000 credits/user/month
• Supply Chain Management Premium: 1,000 credits/user/month

Pro tip: Microsoft recommends allocating credits to specific environments to prevent agents in one workload (like Finance) from consuming credits meant for another (like Sales).

Additional credits needed?

You can purchase additional capacity through:

• Copilot Studio pay-as-you-go meter
• Copilot Studio Copilot Credit pack subscription
• Copilot Credit Pre-Purchase Plan

What's Been Removed

In streamlining the guide, Microsoft removed several sections that were in the July version:

• Dynamics 365 Guides (standalone product section)
• Dynamics 365 Remote Assist (standalone product section)
• Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales section
• Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service section
• Appendix G: Copilot Studio Offers in Paid Public Preview

These products haven't disappeared—they're likely being repositioned or consolidated into other documentation. If you're using Guides or Remote Assist, don't worry; they're still supported.

Other Notable Changes

Dataverse Capacity Updates

The December guide notes "Dataverse and Operations capacity increases and consolidation," suggesting improved capacity entitlements, though specific details would require deeper analysis.

Improved Administrator Guidance

The guide now more clearly states that users with Power Platform Administrator or Dynamics 365 Administrator roles in Entra don't require a license to configure and administer applications—a clarification that could save organizations licensing costs.

Terminology Refinements

Microsoft has tightened up language around Microsoft 365 licensing prerequisites, changing "Microsoft 365 Business, Enterprise" to the more specific "Microsoft 365 Business Enterprise" for Business Central read-only access via Teams.

What This Means for Business Central Users

If you're running Business Central, here's your action plan:

Immediate:

1. Review your current licensing to understand if you have access to Copilot Credits
2. Evaluate the new agents against your current manual processes
3. Identify bottlenecks where Sales Order Agent or Payables Agent could deliver quick wins

Short-term:

1. Pilot the agents in a controlled environment with your sales or AP team
2. Monitor credit consumption to understand your actual usage patterns
3. Document efficiency gains to justify potential Premium license upgrades if needed

Long-term:

1. Build an AI roadmap for how agents can transform your business processes
2. Train your team on working alongside AI agents effectively
3. Consider Premium editions if the included Copilot Credits and advanced features align with your automation goals

The Bottom Line

The December 2025 Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide update represents Microsoft's clear commitment to infusing AI throughout its business applications platform. For Business Central users, the introduction of Sales Order Agent and Payables Agent is particularly significant—these aren't just features, they're transformative tools that can fundamentally change how your business operates.

The core licensing structure remains stable, which is good news for budget planning. But the new agent capabilities mean there's never been a better time to evaluate whether Premium editions might deliver ROI through automation and efficiency gains.

The message is clear: Microsoft is betting big on AI agents as the future of business software. The question for Business Central users is simple: Are you ready to put these agents to work?

Resources:

• Download the December 2025 Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide
• Learn more about Dynamics 365 Agents
• Business Central documentation