Microsoft is expanding the reach and capabilities of its AI chatbot Copilot with a brand new paid tier for the service called Copilot Pro.
The newly launched Copilot Pro will cost $20 a month and will give subscribers access to generative AI features in its productivity apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more if they have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family Plan. However, it is worth mentioning that subscribing to Copilot Pro will not automatically grant users a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Similar to the enterprise-level Copilot offering (Copilot for Microsoft 365), the consumer-focused plan is a premium add-on, resulting in a combined monthly cost of $27 for the base Microsoft 365 subscription’s lowest tier ($6.99 per month for Microsoft 365 Personal plus an additional $20 for Copilot Pro).
Copilot Pro combined with Microsoft 365 provides the same capabilities that Copilot enterprise users have been enjoying for a while already.
Once users subscribe to Copilot Pro, they gain the ability to write, edit, summarize, or generate new text within Word and OneNote. Excel and PowerPoint combined with Copilot Pro can take natural word prompts and turn them into full-fledged presentations and data visualization. Meanwhile, the AI chatbot will help users write emails in Outlook with toggles to adjust the length or tone.
Other than productivity app upgrades, Copilot Pro subscriptions also grant 100 “boosts” per day in Designer, which should speed up the image creation process in Microsoft’s AI-powered image creation tool. This premium offering also includes upgrades such as enhanced image generation quality and additional landscape formatting choices.
Subscribers to Copilot Pro also enjoy priority access to the latest GenAI models that power Copilot, including OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo, ensuring improved performance during peak usage periods, according to Microsoft’s claims.
Similar to OpenAI’s custom chatbots called GPTs, Microsoft will also allow Copilot Pro users to use the Copilot GPT Builder to create “Copilots” made for specific tasks. Copilot Pro users should be able to switch between different models based on their requirements at the moment.
Microsoft is extending the availability of Copilot for businesses as it introduces a premium version for consumers. Copilot is now generally accessible to organizations subscribed to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, or Office 365 E3 and Office E5.
Previously, Copilot for Microsoft 365 had imposed a minimum purchase requirement of 300 users and necessitated a Microsoft 365 license. However, these restrictions have now been eliminated, making it more accessible to a broader range of business customers.
