Microsoft has opened up its AI-powered Office features for all businesses. In November, Microsoft introduced Copilot for Microsoft 365, but initially, only big companies with at least 300 users could access it by contacting Microsoft.
This required an extra cost of at least $9,000 for businesses. However, now, Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant is available for all businesses, big or small, without any minimum number of users.
Divya Kumar, the global head of marketing for search and AI at Microsoft, mentioned, “Considering the interest from small and medium-sized businesses, we’re removing the 300 seat minimum. Now, businesses of any size can choose the $30 option and activate Copilot in Microsoft 365.”
Updates, Pricing, and Enhanced Features
Microsoft has made significant changes by eliminating the requirement to purchase a minimum of 300 seats. Additionally, Microsoft is now allowing access to Copilot within Office apps for Office 365 E3 and E5 customers. Subscribers to Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Business Premium can also buy Copilot for Microsoft 365 at $30 per user per month.
Although Copilot for Microsoft 365 still has a high initial cost, it aligns more with the anticipated launch. The November launch seemed more like a pre-order event, limiting access to only the largest enterprise users.
Microsoft is assuring users that Copilot inside Office apps will revolutionize document creation and editing. Powered by GPT-4 from OpenAI, Copilot will function like an assistant alongside Microsoft 365 apps, appearing as a chatbot in a sidebar. Users can also summon it inline to generate text in documents, create PowerPoint presentations from Word documents, or assist with features like PivotTables in Excel.
Copilot is not limited to just Office apps; it’s also accessible in Teams. This makes it handy for summarizing meetings you missed or joined late. In Outlook, Copilot can summarize email threads and even generate draft email responses with various tones or lengths.
Microsoft has introduced three versions of Copilot. The regular Copilot is free for both consumers and businesses, functioning as a chatbot similar to ChatGPT. Additionally, there’s the new Copilot Pro, available to consumers for a $20 per month premium.
This version provides AI-powered Copilot features within Office apps and other areas. For businesses, there’s Copilot for Microsoft 365, a premium subscription at $30 per user per month, offering enhanced features for professional use.
Leave a Reply