The AI-driven Copilot Assistant from Microsoft Is Now Available to Small Enterprises and Consumers

Highlights:

• Through expanding access to its generative AI technology, Microsoft aims to offset the substantial expenses associated with constructing and maintaining the computing infrastructure essential for its operation.
• The new Copilot mobile application is now accessible on Android and iOS platforms, offering users the capability to use Copilot while on the move.

Microsoft Corp. is broadening the availability of its Copilot virtual assistant, extending access to users of its Office suite of productivity applications.

Furthermore, users subscribed to Microsoft 365 can now access an enhanced, paid version of Copilot. These updates aim to extend generative artificial intelligence capabilities to a wider user base.

Generative AI, popularized by OpenAI’s ChatGPT last year, is a technology that generates original content such as text, images, code, videos, and more. It creates content in response to natural language prompts provided by humans. Through expanding access to its generative AI technology, Microsoft aims to offset the substantial expenses associated with constructing and maintaining the computing infrastructure essential for its operation.

Investors are confident that Microsoft will successfully leverage the increasing demand for generative AI capabilities across computing systems, cloud services, productivity software, internet search, and other domains. This positive outlook persists despite the competitive landscape, including challenges from rivals like Google LLC. Last week, Microsoft achieved a significant milestone by surpassing Apple Inc. as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.

Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella has strongly emphasized generative AI as a key focus for the company’s future direction. He envisions it becoming central to Microsoft’s identity in the future. “Our vision is pretty straightforward,” he commented at the Microsoft Ignite conference in Seattle last year. “We are the Copilot company.”

During this particular event, the company unveiled Copilot for Microsoft 365, leveraging the capabilities of OpenAI’s extensive language models. Initially, the service was targeted at larger enterprises and educational institutions, debuting in December with a pricing structure of USD 30 per person per month, in addition to their existing subscription costs.

It was announced Microsoft is extending the availability of its generative AI Copilot to smaller businesses that subscribe to Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Business Standard. Microsoft stated that these smaller businesses can sign up for 299 licenses at the equivalent rate of USD 30 per person per month.

The announcement was made through a blog post by Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of Windows and Surface. In the post, he disclosed that the company is eliminating the 300-seat minimum requirement for commercial plans. Furthermore, Yusuf Mehdi mentioned that Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 subscribers who pay a lower cost are now granted access to Copilot services.

Although there were some free-of-charge methods to utilize Microsoft’s Copilot tools, such as accessing them through the Bing search engine or copilot.microsoft.com, these tools were previously restricted from use within applications like Word, Excel, or Outlook. However, this is transforming as Microsoft introduces the Copilot Pro add-on for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers. This add-on, available at an extra cost of USD 20 per person per month, enables users to access Copilot tools within applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook. “Whether you need advanced help with writing, coding, designing, researching, or learning, Copilot Pro brings greater performance, productivity, and creativity,” Mehdi wrote.

Copilot Pro subscribers will enjoy prioritized access to the latest models, commencing with OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo, as mentioned by Mehdi. By having priority access, subscribers to Copilot Pro can utilize Microsoft’s state-of-the-art generative AI models seamlessly, even during peak usage periods. Additionally, subscribers can switch between various models and create customized chatbots using an upcoming tool called Copilot GPT Builder.

Alongside introducing new subscriptions, Mehdi unveiled additional features for Copilot, including introducing Copilot GPTs. These allow users to tailor the behavior of the tools to specific topics of interest. Moreover, a new Copilot mobile application is now accessible on Android and iOS platforms, offering users the capability to use Copilot while on the move. Additionally, Copilot will be integrated into the Microsoft 365 mobile application, set to launch on Android and iOS for Microsoft account holders.