Microsoft Expands Access to AI Assistant Copilot for Consumers and Small Businesses
Microsoft is making its artificial intelligence assistant, Copilot, available to a wider audience in an effort to attract more paying customers. The tech giant is now offering a $20-a-month consumer version of Copilot, giving users access to OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT technology and image-creation features. Consumers who have a cloud subscription to Office will be able to utilize Copilot to help answer questions, summarize data, and create content in Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Previously, Microsoft had only sold a similar product to large businesses for a monthly fee of $30 per user, with a minimum subscription requirement of 300 users. However, the company has now eliminated this minimum requirement for its enterprise service, allowing small businesses to also take advantage of Copilot. Microsoft has received significant demand from small and medium-sized businesses who were eager to try Copilot and felt excluded by the previous subscription limitations.
Executives at Microsoft have stated that demand for AI assistance in their Office products is exceptionally high. Azure chief Scott Guthrie compared it to the long lines seen outside stores when Windows 95 was released nearly three decades ago. Microsoft has been testing Copilot for Microsoft 365, previously known as the Office-based copilot, since March and began selling it widely in November. With the removal of the subscription minimum, more companies can now benefit from these AI capabilities.
The new offering, Copilot Pro, is Microsoft’s consumer service that provides similar features to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus, but with the added integration with Office, making it stand out from the competition. Microsoft also plans to introduce a builder tool, similar to OpenAI’s, which will allow individuals to create custom Copilots for specific topics. This tool is already available to enterprise customers.
There are some differences between the privacy rules for the consumer and business versions of Copilot. While Microsoft retains a portion of prompts and responses from the consumer model to enhance the product, the data from corporate customers is handled differently.
This move by Microsoft to expand the availability of Copilot ahead of CEO Satya Nadella’s appearance at the World Economic Forum shows the company’s commitment to harnessing the power of AI and making it accessible to a wider audience. With its AI-based tools and integration with Office, Microsoft is striving to empower consumers and small businesses with enhanced productivity and content creation capabilities.
In conclusion, Microsoft’s decision to open up its AI assistant Copilot to consumers and smaller enterprises is aimed at expanding access to AI tools and attracting more paying customers. With its consumer version and the elimination of the subscription minimum for the enterprise service, Microsoft is making AI assistance more accessible and versatile, particularly within its Office products. This move signifies Microsoft’s dedication to incorporating AI capabilities into its products and meeting the growing demand for such technologies.
