Microsoft will leverage its Cloud Solution Providers to offer customers free 30-day Copilot trials for up to 25 users starting Aug. 1. The introductory 365 SKU was first extended to businesses with fewer than 300 employees through direct licensing in June and through partners as Copilot in 30 earlier this month. Nicole Dezen, Microsoft chief partner officer and CVP of global channel partner sales, stated the tool is for distributors and resellers to serve SMB customers, with the trial converting to a paid motion after 30 days. The SMB bundle is part of a channel-focused push including investments in skilling, credentials and co-selling resources for the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. Earlier this month, Microsoft committed $2.5 billion to a new business unit that will send 6,000 technicians to help customers with AI adoption. Microsoft Frontier Company will initially embed forward-deployed engineers with partners including Accenture, Capgemini, EY, KPMG and PwC, per a July 2 announcement. Moving forward, Microsoft will direct 30% of co-op investments to partners focused on Copilot growth. On Wednesday, the company introduced a Frontier Transformation Engineer credential for AI deployment architects and a Frontier Partner specialization for partners with expertise across multiple AI and security domains.