No, in practice you usually cannot.
What Microsoft means when they say “individual”:
An individual with a work or school Microsoft account, not a consumer Microsoft account.
This distinction is the source of almost all confusion. Microsoft’s own documentation acknowledges that personal email addresses are commonly rejected during sign‑up.
What does work
Create a free Microsoft 365 Developer tenant
This is the official, supported, zero‑cost way for consultants and learners.
What you get
A free Microsoft 365 sandbox tenant
A onmicrosoft.com work account
Entra ID, Power Platform, Dataverse
Works with Copilot Studio trials
Steps
Go to the Microsoft 365 Developer Program
Sign in with any Microsoft account (personal is fine here)
Create a sandbox tenant
You’ll get an email like:
yourname@yourtenant.onmicrosoft.com
Use that account to sign up for Copilot Studio
This is the cleanest and safest route for independent consultants.
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