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Microsoft launches AI and productivity software bundle for consumers
Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft, speaks at a company briefing in Redmond, Wash., on May 20, 2024. Microsoft unveiled a new category of PC that features generative artificial intelligence tools built into Windows, the company’s world-leading operating system.
Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images
Microsoft said Wednesday that it will stop promoting a consumer subscription for artificial intelligence services and introduced a bundle blending AI features with traditional productivity apps.
The software company introduced Copilot Pro at $20 per month in early 2024. Microsoft 365 Family, which allows for up to six users and 6 terabytes of cloud storage, goes for $12.99 each month. The new Microsoft 365 Premium tier essentially combines both and will cost $19.99 a month.
“Other AI tools stop at chat — we deliver that plus so much more,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer marketing leader, wrote in a statement provided to CNBC.
Microsoft is not discontinuing Copilot Pro, a spokesperson said.
Technology companies have been trying to capitalize on the broad interest in tapping generative AI models to compose documents and create videos.
Microsoft offers a free version of its Copilot assistant, in line with Anthropic, Google and OpenAI, all of which sell paid subscriptions for consumers.
Microsoft 365 Premium comes with higher usage limits than the free Copilot and productivity software subscriptions targeting consumers.
As was the case with Copilot Pro and with consumer Microsoft 365 subscriptions, the new offering enables conversations with Copilot in Microsoft’s Office apps such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Microsoft is sweetening the new offer with forthcoming access to two AI reasoning agents that so far have only been available to corporate workers with Microsoft 365 Copilot subscriptions.
OpenAI relies on Microsoft’s Azure cloud to run its ChatGPT assistant and its underlying models, and Microsoft incorporates the models into its Copilot. Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI. The companies are partners that also compete.
Microsoft reported 89 million consumer subscribers for Microsoft 365 services in the June quarter, up 8%. Revenue growth from those products has accelerated for three quarters in a row, reaching 20% in the June quarter.
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