Microsoft is not asking for your permission to integrate its AI assistant Copilot into your life—it’s just doing it. The company recently forced Copilot onto Microsoft 365 users in Australia and parts of Southeast Asia. And as if the decision wasn’t irritating enough, they slapped a price hike on top of it. In these regions, Microsoft 365—known for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—now includes Copilot whether customers want it or not. Users like Alistair Fleming, a YouTuber in Australia, are discovering that their monthly bills have surged. “It went from A$11 to A$16,” Fleming reportedly said, and all he got was a hyperactive AI assistant that wouldn’t leave him alone. “Every time I finished a line, its rainbow logo popped up, offering to ‘help.’ It’s annoying.” A desperate decision to profit from AI This aggressive rollout is all part of Microsoft’s plan to milk its massive investment in AI. Copilot, powered by OpenAI’s tech, is a key piece of CEO Satya Nadella’s strategy to expand the company’s software dominance. Earlier this year, Microsoft launched the premium consumer version of Copilot in the United States at $20 a month, on top of the standard $7 Microsoft 365 subscription. The company claimed it was a game-changing assistant, capable of generating emails, summarizing meetings, and creating entire PowerPoint presentations. But whether it’s worth the extra cash is a hotly debated question. Here’s the thing: people are not exactly lining up to use Copilot. Between May 2023 and mid-December, Copilot’s chatbot app was downloaded 37 million times, according to Sensor Tower. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s ChatGPT raked in a mind-blowing 433 million downloads in the same period. Microsoft might call this a “success,” but let’s not pretend Copilot is winning any popularity contests. For businesses, Copilot comes with an even heftier price tag—$30 per user. Corporate clients are Microsoft’s bread and butter, but the response to Copilot has been lukewarm at best. Many companies have doubts about its accuracy, data security, and whether it actually adds value. A Microsoft spokesperson refused to comment on how happy (or unhappy) corporate customers are, sticking to the usual “we meet global privacy standards” script. Microsoft wants to ditch OpenAI (sort of) While Copilot relies heavily on OpenAI’s technology, Microsoft is already working on alternatives. Reuters recently reported that Microsoft is building its own AI models, like Phi-4, and customizing open-weight models to power Copilot. The goal is to reduce costs and gain more control. This is a noticeable change from Microsoft’s earlier fanfare about its partnership with OpenAI. Back in March 2023, the company proudly announced Copilot’s reliance on OpenAI’s GPT-4. Now, Microsoft seems eager to tone down that reliance. It’s not cutting ties entirely though. OpenAI is negotiating to remove a clause from its agreement with Microsoft that limits the latter’s access to future artificial general intelligence (AGI) models. If this happens, Microsoft could maintain access to cutting-edge OpenAI tech without restrictions, even as it builds its own systems. From Zero to Web3 Pro: Your 90-Day Career Launch Plan
