Microsoft has high hopes for Copilot, the name for its AI technology, and sees it as a source of future revenue. Over forty percent of the Fortune 100 have already participated in the Copilot early access program, according to the company. However, the cost of running GenAI models in the cloud is substantial. As a result, considerable growth is required to turn Copilot into a reliable revenue generator.
To broaden the base of potential paying Copilot customers, Microsoft has launched a consumer-focused paid Copilot plan. In addition, it is loosening the eligibility requirements for enterprise-level Copilot offerings to make current services like Word, Excel, and other apps within the Microsoft 365 family more appealing through AI features.
The new consumer plan, Copilot Pro, is priced at $20 per user per month and offers access to Copilot GenAI features across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote on PC, Mac, and iPad. This service is an add-on to the current lowest-tier Microsoft 365 subscription, which will cost a total of $27 per month.
Copilot Pro subscribers will get access to the same Microsoft 365 capabilities that enterprise customers already have. This includes Copilot writing, editing, summarizing, and generating text in Word and OneNote, and turning natural language commands into designed presentations and data visualizations in Excel and PowerPoint. In Outlook, Copilot also helps draft email responses.
Copilot Pro subscribers will have access to 100 “boosts” per day in Designer, Microsoft’s AI-powered image creation tool. They will also have priority access to the newest GenAI models underpinning Copilot. In the future, they will be able to switch between models and tap Microsoft’s Copilot GPT Builder to create “Copilots” tailored for specific topics.
For business, Copilot is becoming more broadly available. It is now available for organizations subscribed to specific Microsoft 365 or Office 365 plans, without any minimum purchase requirements. This version also includes Copilot in Teams, with features such as real-time summaries and action items.
Free Copilot features include a new mobile app for Android and iOS, GPTs tailored to specific topics, and expanded language support. In addition, the Microsoft 365 mobile app will soon integrate Copilot, allowing users to export content created with Copilot to Word or PDF documents.
