The provided information does not describe any change in licensing or admin controls that would explain why standard Copilot users can no longer upload files in Agent Builder, nor does it document any roadmap or announcement about such a change.
From the available context, the following points are supported:
- Agent Builder basics and who can build agents
- Users with a Copilot license or subscription can create declarative agents in Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot, and can configure agents via the Configure tab, including adding knowledge sources such as files and SharePoint content.
- The documentation does not distinguish, within Agent Builder, between “standard Copilot chat users” and “Microsoft 365 Copilot” licensed users for file upload behavior.
- Known limitations for agents and knowledge sources
- There are documented limitations around knowledge sources (for example, auto‑sharing of SharePoint files only working with specific security groups, and web content being blocked if the tenant disables web search), but nothing in the context indicates a change that would remove file‑upload capability specifically for a subset of Copilot users.
- No documented feature removal or roadmap note
- The release notes excerpt for Microsoft 365 Copilot (December 23, 2025) explicitly highlights expanded support for larger embedded file content for agents, not a restriction. It describes the ability to drag and drop large documents into an agent project and use them as knowledge.
- There is no mention in the provided material of a feature removal, licensing split, or new admin toggle that would prevent “standard Copilot users” from uploading files in Agent Builder while allowing others to do so.
Because of this, the specific questions cannot be answered from the context:
- Why standard users can no longer upload files, and whether this is a feature change or admin setting – not documented here.
- Whether there is a supported way for standard users to use files with Agent Builder without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license – not documented here beyond the general statement that creating declarative agents requires a Copilot license or subscription.
- Whether there are official announcements or roadmaps explaining such a change – no such announcement or roadmap is present in the provided material.
References:
- Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes
- Get started with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Build agents by using Agent Builder in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Agents FAQ for Microsoft 365
- Standard versus priority access to features in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat