Document organization budgets for AI Credits (#61642)

Co-authored-by: Ben Ahmady <32935794+subatoi@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: jc-clark

content/copilot/concepts/billing/budgets-for-usage-based-billing.md

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 ---
 title: Budgets for usage-based billing
 shortTitle: Budgets
-intro: 'Under usage-based billing, budget controls at the user, cost center, and enterprise levels determine how {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage is served, metered, or blocked.'
+intro: 'Under usage-based billing, budget controls at the user, organization, cost center, and enterprise levels determine how {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage is served, metered, or blocked.'
 versions:
   feature: copilot
-permissions: 'Enterprise owners and billing managers can set all budget controls. Organization owners can set organization-level and cost center budgets.'
+permissions: 'Enterprise owners and billing managers can set all budget controls. Organization owners can set organization-level budgets.'
 product: '{% data variables.copilot.copilot_enterprise_short %} or {% data variables.copilot.copilot_business_short %}'
 contentType: concepts
 category:
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ category:
 
 Every {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} license includes {% data variables.product.prodname_ai_credits_short %} that are pooled across your enterprise. Budget controls let you govern how individual users draw from that pool, and cap any additional spending once it's exhausted. This article explains what each budget control does, how the system evaluates them, and what happens when a limit is reached.
 
-## Understanding the four budget controls
+## Understanding budget controls
 
-You have four budget controls, each serving a different purpose. They work together, not as alternatives.
+You have budget controls at the user, organization, cost center, and enterprise levels, each serving a different purpose. They work together, not as alternatives.
 
 ### User-level budget
 
@@ -38,6 +38,14 @@ A cost center budget caps metered charges for a defined group of users or an org
 
 When a cost center's budget is exhausted, only users in that cost center are blocked. Other users and cost centers are unaffected.
 
+### Organization budget
+
+An organization budget caps metered charges for users who receive their {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} license through that organization. Like cost center budgets, it is only active after the shared pool is exhausted.
+
+Organization budgets are the only budget option available to organization owners. They can only further restrict usage below any budget set by an enterprise admin, and they cannot override a higher-level budget.
+
+If a user receives {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} licenses from multiple organizations, {% data variables.product.github %} picks one organization at random each billing cycle to bill the seat. This means the user's spend could count against a different organization's budget from month to month, making enforcement unpredictable. To avoid this, ensure each user has a single license through one organization, or use cost center budgets with direct user assignment.
+
 ### Enterprise budget
 
 The enterprise budget caps total metered charges across your entire enterprise. Like cost center budgets, it is only active after the shared pool is exhausted.
@@ -52,6 +60,7 @@ The enterprise budget caps total metered charges across your entire enterprise.
 | Universal user-level budget | Each user's total {% data variables.product.prodname_ai_credit_singular %} consumption | Always (pool + metered) | Per user | Always |
 | Individual user-level budget | A specific user's total consumption (overrides universal) | Always (pool + metered) | Per user | Always |
 | Cost center budget | A team's metered charges after pool exhaustion | Metered phase only | Per cost center | Only if "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is enabled |
+| Organization budget | An organization's metered charges after pool exhaustion | Metered phase only | Per organization | Only if "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is enabled |
 | Enterprise budget | Total enterprise metered charges after pool exhaustion | Metered phase only | Enterprise-wide | Only if "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is enabled |
 
 Any budget set to $0 USD stops usage immediately for the users it applies to.
@@ -67,15 +76,16 @@ Each request for an {% data variables.product.prodname_ai_credit_singular %}-con
 
 1. **User-level budget check.** The system first checks whether the user has exceeded their user-level budget. If yes, the request is blocked immediately—user-level budgets are always a hard stop. If no (or no ULB is set), the request continues.
 1. **Shared pool check.** Next, the system checks whether the shared pool has {% data variables.product.prodname_ai_credits_short %} remaining. If yes, the request is served from the pool at no extra cost. If the pool is empty, the request moves to metered usage at {% data variables.product.prodname_ai_credits_value %} per {% data variables.product.prodname_ai_credit_singular %}.
-1. **Cost center or enterprise check.** For metered usage, the system checks whether the user is assigned to a cost center.
+1. **Cost center, organization, or enterprise check.** For metered usage, the system checks budgets in the following order:
 
    * **If the user is in a cost center:** The cost center's budget is checked. If budget remains, the cost center pays. If the budget is exhausted, the system checks whether "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is enabled.
-   * **If the user is not in a cost center:** The enterprise spending limit is checked. If the limit has not been reached, the enterprise pays. If the limit has been reached, the system checks whether "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is enabled.
+   * **If the user is not in a cost center but their license is billed to an organization with a budget:** The organization's budget is checked. If budget remains, the organization pays. If the budget is exhausted, the system checks whether "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is enabled.
+   * **If no cost center or organization budget applies:** The enterprise spending limit is checked. If the limit has not been reached, the enterprise pays. If the limit has been reached, the system checks whether "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is enabled.
 
-   In both cases, if "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is on, the user is blocked. If it is off, charges continue to accrue without a cap.
+   In all cases, if "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is on, the user is blocked. If it is off, charges continue to accrue without a cap.
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" applies to enterprise spending limits and cost center budgets only, and is off by default. Without it, charges continue to accrue past the limit. Always enable it when creating a spending limit. User-level budgets always enforce a hard stop and do not have this setting.
+> "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" applies to enterprise spending limits, cost center budgets, and organization budgets only, and is off by default. Without it, charges continue to accrue past the limit. Always enable it when creating a budget. User-level budgets always enforce a hard stop and do not have this setting.
 
 ## How user-level budgets and spending limits interact
 

content/copilot/concepts/billing/usage-based-billing-for-organizations-and-enterprises.md

@@ -68,12 +68,12 @@ Additional usage budgets are set in US dollars, and usage is shown in {% data va
 
 ## How can I control costs with budgets?
 
-Budget controls let you govern how individual users draw from the shared pool and cap any additional spending once it's exhausted. You can set budgets at four levels:
+Budget controls let you govern how individual users draw from the shared pool and cap any additional spending once it's exhausted. You can set budgets at multiple levels:
 
 * **User-level budgets** cap how much an individual user can consume per billing cycle, from both the shared pool and additional usage. A $0 USD user-level budget blocks the user immediately.
 * **Cost-center budgets** cap metered charges for a defined group of users after the pool is exhausted.
 * **Enterprise spending limits** cap total metered charges across your entire enterprise after the pool is exhausted.
-* **Organization-level budgets** track spending for all repositories in the organization.
+* **Organization-level budgets** cap metered charges for users whose {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} seats are billed to the organization, after the pool is exhausted.
 
 For a full explanation of how these controls work together and when usage gets blocked, see [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/concepts/billing/budgets-for-usage-based-billing).
 

content/copilot/tutorials/budgets/optimizing-your-budget-configuration.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ category:
   - Manage Copilot for a team
 ---
 
-Before optimizing your budget configuration, make sure you understand how the four budget controls work and how the system evaluates them. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/concepts/billing/budgets-for-usage-based-billing).
+Before optimizing your budget configuration, make sure you understand how budget controls work and how the system evaluates them. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/concepts/billing/budgets-for-usage-based-billing).
 
 If you haven't set up budgets yet, start with [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/tutorials/budgets/getting-started-with-budget-controls) to get the basics in place, then come back to this guide to optimize your configuration.
 
@@ -37,9 +37,29 @@ If you also use cost center budgets, the sum of your cost center budgets and you
 > [!TIP]
 > Whenever you raise user-level budgets, re-check this calculation. Raising ULBs without raising the enterprise budget can cause the enterprise budget to block users before they reach their individual budgets.
 
+## Choosing a scope
+
+For most enterprises, we recommend **cost center budgets with users directly assigned**. When users are assigned directly to a cost center, charges always follow the user, so enforcement is predictable regardless of how licenses are structured.
+
+| Scope | Use when | Who can set it |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Cost center budget | You want predictable organization-level spending control as an enterprise admin. | Enterprise owners, billing managers |
+| Organization budget | Organization owners need to set their own spending limits without enterprise admin involvement. | Organization owners |
+| Enterprise budget | You need a failsafe that caps total metered charges for all users not covered by a narrower budget. | Enterprise owners, billing managers |
+
+If users in your enterprise have {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} licenses from multiple organizations, both organization budgets and cost centers that only contain organizations (not users) will enforce unpredictably. The billing organization is chosen at random each cycle, so spend may count against a different budget from month to month. Assigning users directly to cost centers avoids this problem.
+
+### Migrating from organization budgets to cost centers
+
+If your enterprise already has organization budgets, they will continue to work. However, if you have users with {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} licenses assigned through multiple organizations, migrating to cost centers with direct user assignment gives more predictable enforcement.
+
+1. Create cost centers and assign users directly (not just organizations).
+1. Set cost center budgets matching your desired spending caps.
+1. Remove the organization budgets once cost center budgets are in place.
+
 ## Common scenarios
 
-The following scenarios show common budget configurations for different enterprise structures. Each one builds on the previous, adding more controls. Start with the simplest configuration that matches your needs. You can layer on additional controls later as your usage patterns become clearer.
+The following scenarios show common budget configurations for different enterprise structures.
 
 ### Manage shared usage responsibly
 
@@ -84,6 +104,20 @@ Consider enabling **cost center exclusion** if you want business units to operat
 
 This is the most granular configuration. It combines per-user controls (who can consume how much), per-team controls (how much metered spend each business unit can generate), and an enterprise-wide safety net. Use this when you have a mix of usage patterns across teams and need fine-grained governance.
 
+### Delegating control to organization owners
+
+**Situation:** Organization owners need to set their own spending guardrails without involving an enterprise admin.
+
+**Configuration:**
+
+* Each organization owner sets an **organization budget** for their organization.
+* The enterprise admin sets an **enterprise budget** as a safety net.
+* Enable **"Stop usage when budget limit is reached"** on all budgets.
+
+Organization budgets are the only budget option available to organization owners. An organization budget can only further restrict usage below any budget set by an enterprise admin. It cannot override a higher-level budget.
+
+If users in your enterprise have {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} licenses assigned through multiple organizations, organization budgets may not enforce predictably for those users. In this case, {% data variables.product.github %} picks one organization at random each billing cycle to bill the seat. This means the user's spend could count against a different organization's budget from month to month, making enforcement unpredictable. To avoid this, ensure each user has a single license through one organization, or use cost center budgets with direct user assignment.
+
 ## Using historical data to size budgets
 
 Your AI usage dashboard and the usage export CSV are the best tools for sizing budgets. Look at: