Microsoft Finally Launches Flagship Copilot AI Model for Consumers – Is It Worth It?

Microsoft finally opened its flagship AI model, Copilot Pro, to consumers after exclusively offering it to businesses, charging $20 per month for a subscription. But is it worth it?

The subscription may very well be worth its cost as it offers Microsoft’s greatest AI capabilities and brings Copilot technology into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. The $20 per month subscription targets power users, creators, editorial staff, writers, developers, and businesses looking to boost their productivity by tapping on the power of advanced artificial intelligence.

The launch represents Microsoft’s latest move to monetize and expand access to its AI offerings, including the Copilot virtual assistant technology it co-developed with OpenAI. It comes on the heels of upgrades that will also allow small and medium-sized businesses to purchase Copilot for Microsoft 365.

“Whether you need advanced help with writing, coding, designing, researching or learning, Copilot Pro brings greater performance, productivity and creativity,” said Microsoft Executive Vice President Yusuf Mehdi in a blog post published this morning.

Key Features Included on Copilot Pro: Is It Worth It?

Here’s a summary of the key features that will be available to those who subscribe to the new Pro tier.

• Access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers. This brings AI-powered assistance for writing, data analysis, creating presentations, drafting summaries, and more.
• Priority access to the latest AI models, starting with OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo during peak times. Subscribers will be able to toggle between models to optimize performance and output.
• Enhanced image creation capabilities through Designer, with 100 additional daily image generation boosts and improved quality. Landscape image formats will also be enabled.
• Future access to Copilot GPT Builder, which will allow users to create custom AI assistants that specialize in certain topics and fields. Microsoft said that fitness, travel, and cooking GPTs will start rolling out first.

Also read: OpenAI Debuts Game-Changing App Store: Use, Create, & Monetize Custom GPTs

The Copilot Pro subscription costs $20 per user per month and does not require a separate Microsoft 365 license. However, access to Copilot features in Microsoft 365 apps does require a valid Personal or Family subscription.

The new subscription could be worth it for anyone who needs or wants to use advanced large language models. Copilot is one of the leading AI tools in the world and most find it comparable to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Copilot Pro is especially useful for LLM users who also use Microsoft programs like Word, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel and at the same price as a ChatGPT Pro subscription, it’s a pretty great deal.

Expanding Access to Businesses

In addition to the launch of Copilot Pro, Microsoft (MSFT) also announced expanded access to Copilot for commercial customers:

• General availability for small businesses. Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now available as an add-on for Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Microsoft 365 Business Standard, starting at $30 per user monthly for up to 299 users.
• Removal of the 300-seat minimum purchase requirement for commercial licenses. Now Copilot can be purchased for any number of users.
• Access to Office 365 E3 and E5 customers without requiring the full Microsoft 365 license.
• Availability through Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider partners, making it easier for businesses to purchase.

Microsoft is aiming to bring Copilot to more types of customers with options that meet diverse needs. Copilot Pro provides premium capabilities for individuals while Copilot for Microsoft 365 delivers enterprise-grade tools optimized for business users.

For customers interested in trying Copilot for free, Microsoft added new capabilities including mobile apps for iOS and Android that sync Copilot chats across devices and integrate features like image creation.

The goal is to get Copilot in front of more people while converting a subset of highly engaged users to paid subscriptions.

Microsoft is Building on Earlier AI Milestones

The launch of Copilot Pro and expanded Copilot for Microsoft 365 availability builds on Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to bring advanced AI capabilities to consumers and businesses.

Last July, Microsoft announced Bing Chat Enterprise, an AI-powered virtual assistant designed specifically for enterprise users. It provided access to enhanced chat features while ensuring data privacy and protection.

At the same time, Microsoft revealed it would price Copilot for Microsoft 365 at $30 per user monthly for commercial customers. The assistant’s technology draws on Microsoft’s large language models with the power to analyze data in Microsoft 365 apps and the Microsoft Graph.

Six months later, Microsoft simplified its branding by renaming Bing Chat and Bing Chat Enterprise to just Microsoft Copilot. However, the capabilities and target user base remain the same.

With Copilot Pro, Microsoft is further segmenting Copilot variants based on use cases. The $20 personal subscription focuses squarely on serving individual subscribers who want premium generative writing, data analysis, and other tools.

Meanwhile, Copilot for Microsoft 365 delivers enterprise-optimized features like summaries of meetings in Microsoft Teams to help employees be more productive. Its security, compliance, and privacy features also aim to give IT departments confidence in an AI assistant that interacts with sensitive business data.

Microsoft’s steady launch of new Copilot offerings suggests that it is still exploring product-market fit as organizations decide how to best leverage AI solutions into enhanced business processes.

Monetizing Microsoft’s AI Investment

The progress in monetizing access to Copilot comes as Microsoft continues to invest heavily in AI through its partnership with OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT and other technologies. Last year Microsoft announced a new $10 billion investment in OpenAI.

The tech giant has also been racing to integrate OpenAI’s models across its apps and cloud services. It sees artificial intelligence as the next major computing platform — one it hopes to lead by leveraging Azure and other existing products.

However, AI models require intensive computing resources to be developed and run, meaning that new revenue streams need to be secured to make sure these heavy investments are paid for. Copilot provides a beachhead for commercializing Microsoft’s AI work in a way that brings direct value to customers.

If the technology proves useful for tasks like writing, analyzing data, and generating content, more customers may opt for paid subscriptions over time. Enterprise adoption also appears strong so far: Microsoft says that over 40% of the Fortune 100 participated in the early-testing stage of Copilot and its features.

With OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman taking over his position again after a tumultuous forced departure, Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI seems poised to keep driving AI innovation and deployment. New model architectures like GPT-4 promise to boost Copilot performance for subscribers as they are rolled out.

The launch of Copilot Pro shows Microsoft’s willingness to experiment with making its AI breakthroughs accessible via premium subscriptions. If adoption reaches critical mass, it could provide a steady revenue stream to support Microsoft’s growing ambitions in this up-and-coming field.