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Microsoft's newest Copilot plan for business is pay-as-you-go | TechCrunch

Jan 15, 2025 - techcrunch.com
Microsoft has introduced a new pay-as-you-go plan called Copilot Chat for corporate customers, which bundles several AI-powered productivity features from Microsoft 365. This plan, distinct from Microsoft’s Copilot Business Chat and GitHub Copilot Chat, is based on OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model. It allows users to ask business-related questions, automate workflows, and generate images. Copilot Chat is integrated into the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and offers task automation features through "agents," which can automate basic tasks. However, it lacks many features of the more expensive Microsoft 365 Copilot, such as prebuilt agents and AI capabilities for Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The introduction of Copilot Chat seems to be Microsoft’s strategy to attract customers who are hesitant to commit to the full Microsoft 365 Copilot package by offering metered features. Despite Microsoft’s claim that Copilot is used by nearly 70% of Fortune 500 companies, it has faced criticism for being inefficient, costly, and insecure. A Gartner survey indicated that only 3.3% of IT leaders found significant value in Copilot. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the company's focus on AI model-forward applications for 2025, acknowledging the challenges and opportunities in the AI space.

Key takeaways:

  • Microsoft is launching a pay-as-you-go plan called Copilot Chat for corporate customers, which includes several AI-powered productivity features but not all of those in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
  • Copilot Chat is built on OpenAI's GPT-4o AI model and offers capabilities like business-related queries, workflow automation, and image generation.
  • The plan lacks features such as prebuilt agents and AI-powered capabilities for Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which are available in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
  • Microsoft aims to attract customers with less complex AI needs and encourage them to upgrade to Microsoft 365 Copilot by offering metered agentic features in Copilot Chat.
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