Microsoft Bundles Copilot AI with 365 Subscriptions, Raising Prices in Select Regions

Microsoft 365 Prices Said to Rise as Copilot AI Gets Bundled In

Microsoft is reportedly making changes to its Microsoft 365 subscription in some regions to bring Copilot to more users. As per the report, the Redmond-based tech giant has started bundling the Copilot AI assistant, which is available across multiple apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, with the subscription. This new addition is not free of cost as the company is said to have increased the price of its cloud-based service in those regions. It is unclear whether Microsoft plans to introduce the same strategy in other countries as well. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the tech giant has started rolling out a new feature with its standard Microsoft 365 subscription in Australia and multiple Southeast Asian countries. This change reportedly does not require any action from the user's end, and there is no way to exclude the AI chatbot from this service. In normal circumstances, the addition of a new feature would have been a positive change, however, the company has reportedly also hiked the price of the subscription in these regions, likely to offset the cost of Copilot. This means unlike the US, India, and other countries, these regions do not have an option to choose whether they want the AI features or not. Citing the example of Alistair Fleming, an Australian YouTuber, the report claimed that Microsoft is also pushing aggressively to make users try out the AI features. Fleming, who writes his video scripts on Word, is reportedly getting reminder notifications from Copilot after every line. The AI assistant's logo is said to pop up with a message that says it can help with the user's writing. "It was very keen to be used, and this was irritating to me as a user," Fleming told the publication. Additionally, he also claimed that his Microsoft 365 subscription increased from AUD 11 (roughly Rs. 585) to AUD 16 (roughly Rs. 852). It is unclear whether the company sent out emails informing users about this change and price hike. This is likely an experimental rollout, but there is no clarity if this will be expanded to other regions. In India, the standard Microsoft 365 subscription does not come with Copilot features. To use the AI assistant, users can choose to pay an additional Rs. 2,495 a month for the Copilot 365 add-on. The same add-on strategy is also followed by the company's rival Google.

Microsoft's Copilot AI Assistant Is Pushing Up Prices for Some 365 Users

The price of the Microsoft 365 service is going up in some parts of the world due to the inclusion of the Copilot AI assistant. Microsoft's efforts to monetize its huge investments in generative AI are now catching up with consumers. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the price of the company's 365 service is going up in regions including Australia and parts of Asia due to the inclusion of the company's Copilot AI assistant. Charging for Copilot isn't new; the company already requires enterprises to pay $30 a month per user. But now Copilot is a feature in some editions of Microsoft's 365 service, which includes popular apps such as Word, PowerPoint, Teams and Excel. The AI helper, which features technology from ChatGPT maker OpenAI, in which Microsoft has invested about $14 billion, is getting integrated with these apps. Microsoft is also competing against other companies including Apple, Google and Anthropic that have their own versions of rapidly evolving AI software. Even as it uses technology such as ChatGPT 4, Copilot is viewed by Microsoft as a competitor as well. According to the Wall Street Journal story, the Copilot chatbot is lagging well behind ChatGPT in the number of downloads of its app, at 37 million downloads compared to 433 million from May 2023 to mid-December 2024. Reviews of Copilot as standalone software have been mixed and the company has faced a PR challenge over a Copilot AI feature called Recall, which has raised privacy and security concerns. Recall, however, isn't a 365 feature; it's a Windows 11 Copilot feature that also relies on AI technology. In Australia, the monthly price of 365 is going up from A$11 to A$16, a 45% increase. In the US, Microsoft's enterprise customers can expect a 5% increase for 365 Copilot starting in April. Microsoft did not respond immediately to an email query about the price increases for 365.