Microsoft Launches Premium AI Copilot Service for Individuals

Microsoft has unveiled Copilot Pro, a $20-per person, monthly subscription service providing priority access to its AI-powered productivity suite.

The new subscription offering is aimed at individuals, giving users access to generative AI tools in Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Copilot Pro works across your devices including phones with the new Copilot app now generally available. However, a Microsoft 365 subscription is still required.

Subscribers get access to the latest models, starting with OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo, to power faster responses. Users will soon have the ability to toggle between models. Also included in a Copilot Pro subscription is access to Image Creator from Designer, an AI image generation tool where users can create highly detailed images.

Microsoft said commercial data protection is included with no additional fee. It does not save chat data nor is your data used to train AI models.

Premium users can also build their own Copilot GPT – a customized Copilot tailored for specific users, not too dissimilar to OpenAI’s GPTs. With access to the Copilot GPT Builder, which is coming soon, users can build their own specific versions from just a handful of prompts.

“Our goal is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more by bringing Copilot, the everyday AI companion, to millions of people around the world,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, wrote in a blog post.

Notably, what makes it different from ChatGPT Plus is that Copilot Pro - as well as the free version - integrates with your Microsoft 365 apps so it will learn from your content.

Business Copilot expanded

Microsoft also announced that its commercial version, Copilot for Microsoft 365, will now be open to companies of all sizes. Previously, companies needed at least 300 licensed users to access AI tools for Microsoft 365. Late last year, smaller businesses took issue with Microsoft over the seat minimum.

Smaller businesses with up to 300 employees must already have either a Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Microsoft 365 Business Premium license, after which they can add Copliot for Microsoft 365 for $30 per person per month. Larger enterprise customers must have a license for Microsoft 365 E3 or E5, or Office 365 E3 or E5.

According to Microsoft, 40% of the Fortune 100 participated in its Early Access Program for Copilot for enterprises with the likes of Honda, Pfizer, Visa and BP among early adopters.

New Copilot features

Microsoft Copilot now has a mobile app for Android and iOS operating systems, which can interact on the go between the phone and PC.

The Copilot mobile app boasts the same capabilities as Copilot for PC including access to GPT-4, Dall-E 3 to create images, as well as the ability to upload images from your phone when chatting with Copilot.

Copilot is also coming to the Microsoft 365 mobile app. Rolling out over the next month, users can access Copilot from inside the app and export content to a Word or PDF document.

“With today’s announcements, we continue to bring Copilot to more customers with more options that work for them,” Mehdi wrote.