Directions EMEA 2026: What It Means for Business Central Customers

Summary

This post covers the Microsoft announcements from Directions EMEA 2026 that affect Business Central customers, rather than partners. It explains what is changing, when each change arrives and what you should do before January 2027.

Key Takeaways

• Microsoft will sell Business Central Essentials and Premium bundled with Microsoft 365 Copilot Business from 1 January 2027, at US list prices of $95 and $125 per user.
• Copilot in Business Central is due to reach general availability in January 2027, under a single “One Copilot” experience.
• Edit with Copilot lets users change Business Central data through plain instructions, and it only acts within each user’s existing permissions.
• The Expense Agent builds and checks expense reports using AI, with general availability planned for December 2026.
• Microsoft plans to use Copilot to speed up Business Central implementations, which matters most if you still run NAV or GP.
• Several features remain in partner preview only, so treat their customer release dates as unconfirmed.

What Happened at Directions EMEA 2026

Directions EMEA 2026 ran from 27 to 29 October at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. It is the largest annual event for the Business Central partner community, so Microsoft uses it to set out the year ahead. Most sessions target partners and developers, but several announcements change what you will pay for and use from January 2027.

This year, almost every major update centred on Copilot. Microsoft wants Copilot to move beyond answering questions and start doing work inside Business Central. For example, it showed Copilot editing records, following company rules and processing expense claims.

We followed the keynotes and the published coverage from across the event. Below, you will find the changes that matter to UK SMEs, without the partner jargon. If you read our Directions EMEA 2025 round-up, you will see how quickly the AI roadmap has moved in twelve months.

New Copilot and Business Central Licence Bundles

The biggest commercial news came on day two. Microsoft announced bundles that combine Business Central licences with Microsoft 365 Copilot Business. Microsoft positioned them as a simpler package, priced at a discount.

Microsoft quoted these prices in US dollars. UK sterling pricing has not been published yet, so wait for the December price list before you budget.

The bundle matters because Copilot in Business Central and Microsoft 365 Copilot are different products. Copilot in Business Central works inside your ERP. Microsoft 365 Copilot works across Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel. Our guide to Copilot vs ChatGPT for business explains where each one fits.

Should You Switch to a Bundle?

The answer depends on how many of your Business Central users also need Microsoft 365 Copilot. If only your finance team wants it, separate licences may still cost less. However, a bundle could simplify renewals if most users want both. Check the sterling prices in December, then compare them with your current licence costs on our Business Central pricing page.

Copilot in Business Central Reaches General Availability

Microsoft plans to make Copilot in Business Central generally available in January 2027. At the same time, a public preview of Business Central in Cowork will start, according to MSDynamicsWorld.

Microsoft calls the new approach “One Copilot in Business Central”. Instead of separate Copilot buttons on different pages, you get one assistant that understands where you are and what you are doing. In one keynote demo, a user asked whether to raise a customer’s credit limit based on recent sales orders. Copilot reviewed the orders and gave a recommendation.

Another demo showed Copilot responding to a shipping disruption. It produced a written answer and a PowerPoint deck explaining the options for management. For a distribution business, this could turn hours of preparation into minutes.

What This Means for Your Users

General availability means Microsoft fully supports the feature in production. Many Copilot features are already in Business Central today, as our post on what Business Central’s built-in AI actually does explains. The January release brings them together. Your team will still need training, because tools only pay off when people use them properly. Our article on why most teams aren’t using Copilot properly covers the common gaps.

Copilot Moves From Answers to Actions

Three announcements show Copilot starting to change data, not just read it. All three are in partner preview or heading there soon, so customer release dates are not yet confirmed.

Edit with Copilot

Edit with Copilot lets you update Business Central records by typing an instruction. In the keynote, a user took a screenshot of products on a supplier’s website. Copilot then created those items in Business Central, filling in the attributes it could find.

Security is the first question most finance directors ask. Edit with Copilot inherits each user’s permissions, so it can only change what that user could already change. Your approval workflows and posting controls still apply. Our guide to Business Central security explains how those permissions work.

Business Skills

Business Skills are plain-language rules that tell Copilot how your company works. For example, a skill could tell Copilot to add a free catalogue to sales orders above a certain value. Microsoft also showed skills being created from existing policy documents, such as an expenses policy.

This matters because generic AI follows generic rules. With Business Skills, Copilot can follow your credit terms, your pricing rules and your approval limits. Partner early access starts within weeks.

Customize with Copilot

Microsoft also demonstrated Customize with Copilot, which adds or changes fields through natural language. In the demo, Copilot built an extension that added a new field to vendor records. Today, a small field change often needs a developer. If this feature works as shown, you could make simple changes yourself. Larger customisations will still need a partner, especially when they touch posting or integrations.

The Expense Agent Arrives in December

The Expense Agent is the nearest release of the week. It gathers receipts, categorises spend, builds the expense report and checks it against your rules. Unlike older tools, it uses AI rather than OCR to read receipts. The agent is in preview worldwide, with general availability planned for December 2026.

Microsoft’s roadmap adds two more features later:

• Credit card integration, so card transactions feed straight into expense reports.
• Shared expense splitting, which divides costs such as a team lunch between employees based on meeting attendance.

For a manufacturer with engineers on site visits, expenses often drag out month-end. Late claims and miscoded receipts hold up the close. Our guide on how to speed up month-end close in Business Central shows where else you can save time.

Agents work differently from Copilot chat. Copilot answers when you ask, but an agent runs a process with minimal input. Our post on agentic AI in Business Central explains the difference in more detail.

Faster Implementations for NAV and GP Customers

Microsoft also wants Copilot to help deploy Business Central itself. It expects a large wave of NAV and GP customers to move to the cloud over the next decade. However, it believes there are not enough Business Central consultants to handle that demand. Its answer is a Copilot-led model, using agents and Business Skills to cut implementation time and cost.

This is a direction of travel, not a product you can buy today. Even so, it tells you two things if you still run NAV or GP.

• Partner capacity will tighten. As more legacy customers move, experienced consultants will book up further ahead. Planning early secures better start dates.
• Implementation costs should fall over time. Setup tasks such as configuration and data mapping are the likeliest to speed up first. Process design and data cleansing will still need people who understand your business.

So waiting for AI-led implementations is not a reason to delay. Support deadlines will not move to match Microsoft’s roadmap. Our guides to Dynamics NAV end of support and Dynamics GP end of life set out the dates that apply to you.

If cost is your main concern, read our article on how to reduce ERP implementation cost. It covers savings you can make now, without waiting for new tools.

What This Means for Your Business

Most of these changes land between December 2026 and early 2027. You can prepare now with four steps.

1. Review your licences before January. Count how many users need both Business Central and Microsoft 365 Copilot, then compare bundle pricing once sterling figures appear.
2. Tidy up your permissions. Edit with Copilot follows user permissions, so loose access becomes a bigger risk when AI can act on it.
3. Write down your business rules. Credit limits, pricing rules and expense policies will become Business Skills, and clear documents make that step quicker.
4. Plan training. Copilot only saves time when your team knows what to ask it.

Industry matters too. A manufacturing and engineering business might gain most from the Expense Agent and Edit with Copilot for item setup. Meanwhile, a distribution and wholesale business could use Copilot to handle supply disruptions faster.

Talk to Tecvia About Your Copilot Roadmap

Tecvia is a Manchester-based Microsoft Solutions Partner for AI Business Solutions. We help UK SMEs plan, license and roll out Business Central and Copilot.

Whether you want to check bundle pricing or plan a move from NAV or GP, we can help you work out the right next step. Explore our Business Central features and implementation approach, or contact our team for a conversation.