Ep 45 - Harnesses, budgets and yet another rename - The Copilot Connection

The first episode after a quiet summer, and the thread running through all of it is cost and renames. Kevin opens with a confession: he spun up Cowork to write these very show notes, it ran out of budget overnight, and once he topped the budget up it burned through 2,381 credits, which
he puts at twenty to thirty quid for maybe a fifth of what he wanted. That story turns out to be the episode in miniature, because Copilot Studio GitHub Harness has gone generally available in August based on a usage-based credit model, and this time the meter runs while you are
still building.
Around that we have another rename and a flattened logo, Microsoft's FY26 Q4 results with over thirty million paid Copilot seats, a leaked memo saying the AI app group has to earn the right to exist, a proper argument about whether 43 minutes a day is still how we talk
about value, and a long run through the autumn events season. Plus AI slop, blue rings, and a festival planning app nobody asked for but made all the difference.

Links:

https://www.howmanyblueringsshouldihave.com/

https://amireallyadualawardmvp.com/

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/copilot-studio-blog/more-powerful-agents-and-workflows-for-autonomous-business-processes-introducing/4542969

https://microsoft.github.io/mcscatblog/posts/copilot-harness-cost-governance/

https://futurework.blog/2026/08/14/microsoft-copilot-app-one-app-new-name-new-icon-new-url/

https://robquickenden.blog/2026/08/copilot-unified-app/

https://office365itpros.com/2026/07/30/fy26-q4-microsoft-results/

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7490143154260701184-rlGF

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maryleenemeric_microsoft-microsoft365-copilotstudio-activity-7485892013830266880-rUJI

Events: