Microsoft has revealed plans to raise prices by at least 53 percent for accessing new artificial intelligence (AI) features in its widely used Office software suite. This move demonstrates the company’s expectations of reaping significant benefits from AI technology.
Additionally, Microsoft announced the immediate availability of a more secure version of its Bing search engine for businesses. This aims to address data-protection concerns, foster interest in AI, and compete more effectively with Google.
During its virtual Inspire conference, Microsoft disclosed that customers would be charged $30 per user, per month for its AI copilot in Microsoft 365. This feature enables tasks such as drafting emails in Outlook, creating documents in Word, and providing prompt access to an employee’s data through a chatbot. The copilot can potentially triple costs for some Microsoft customers on top of their existing monthly plans, which range from $12.50 to $57 per user.
Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President, emphasized that the time savings and productivity gains resulting from the copilot would offset its cost. For example, the copilot can summarize Teams calls, reducing the need for note-taking and attendance at certain meetings. The tool has been tested by at least 600 enterprises since its unveiling in March, but it is not yet widely available.
Bing could help Microsoft increase its share of search advertising revenue
In response to concerns about privacy and data security, Microsoft is introducing Bing Chat Enterprise. This version of the search engine includes a bot that can generate content and comprehend information from the internet. Unlike the public Bing accessed by millions of users, the enterprise version does not allow viewing or saving of user data. Users must log in with work credentials to ensure data protection.
Microsoft’s push for Bing in the corporate sector may aid its efforts to compete with Google in search advertising. The company sees it as a strategic move that aligns with its goal of bringing AI to consumers.
Regarding Bing’s previous privacy policies, Spataro stated that Microsoft had made them clear and that the company was eager to enhance AI capabilities for consumers. Microsoft also announced the addition of image uploading and related content search, similar to Google’s features.
The corporate focus on Bing could help Microsoft increase its share of search advertising revenue, which currently stands at $2 billion per percentage point gain.
“This is a very strategic move for us,” commented Spataro.
