In early 2023, Microsoft’s AI demos were incredibly impressive, capturing everyone’s attention. This led Google to make a little mistake while trying to respond. The world’s interest in AI has made Microsoft cool again after not being in the spotlight for a while. They didn’t waste any time making the most of their partnership with OpenAI. They showcased the ChatGPT-powered Copilot features for Microsoft 365 apps, which are almost ready for everyone to use. However, to get these cool features in their Office apps, businesses will need to pay an extra $30 per month for each user.
Office 365 Copilot is like having your own smart assistant inside your documents. Imagine opening a spreadsheet in Excel and asking Copilot to summarize it or spot trends in the data. And if you’re working on a document in Word, Copilot can even generate a draft for you, considering other documents and data connected to your account. It’s like having a helpful AI friend to make your work easier!
Right now, Microsoft is letting hundreds of enterprise partners try out Microsoft 365 Copilot without any charge. Although they haven’t set a specific launch date yet, they’ve revealed the pricing to help businesses prepare for the potential higher expenses if they want to include Copilot in their plans.
Microsoft has set the price for Copilot at $30 per month for each user, which is quite a bit more compared to the base subscription. The exact cost per user depends on the plan, but for the well-liked Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscription, it’s only $12.50 per user, less than half the price of Copilot. Businesses will have to consider whether the added benefits of Copilot justify the increased cost.
Microsoft is likely very optimistic about the prospects of monetizing Copilot. This feature indeed holds the potential to reduce repetitive tasks and boost employee productivity, and given the widespread adoption of Microsoft 365 in the business world, there’s a significant market to tap into.
Moreover, Microsoft’s investment in supporting OpenAI’s research with GPUs and servers was substantial, and they are likely eager to see returns on that investment. By commercializing ChatGPT through Copilot, they can not only recoup some of those costs but also establish themselves as a prominent player in the AI-driven productivity space.
Microsoft is poised to convince numerous businesses deeply embedded in their ecosystem to invest in Copilot, their advanced AI feature. However, the market is not limited to just Microsoft, as other generative AI systems are also available. For those companies where seamless Office integrations are not a top priority, Google Workspace offers a potentially more cost-effective alternative.
Google’s generative AI is continually evolving, and they are actively testing Copilot-like features in their Workspace office apps. While Google has not disclosed any additional fees for AI in Workspace, it’s possible that they may consider such measures to support their server expenses in the future.
