On July 18, 2023, Microsoft announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence subscription service called Copilot for its Microsoft 365 platform. Copilot utilizes OpenAI’s powerful GPT-3 language model to act as a smart assistant that helps users with various productivity tasks like writing emails, creating presentations, and summarizing data.
According to Microsoft, Copilot is still under development but has already been tested by select users with promising results. It aims to save time and boost productivity by generating content and code using its advanced AI capabilities.
However, the new AI assistant does not come cheap. The Copilot subscription will cost an additional $30 per month for each user, on top of existing Microsoft 365 subscription fees. For enterprise customers who use Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook, Word, and Excel, this could increase monthly costs by as much as 83%.
The announcement has elicited both excitement about Copilot’s potential to revolutionize work and concern about its hefty price tag. While some view it as a breakthrough in AI assistance, others worry about the implications of automating tasks and jobs.
Microsoft states that Copilot can help users write code, emails, presentations, and more. Corporate VP Jared Spataro touted it as a way to “save you time and help you be more productive.”
But the rollout of this transformative AI comes with many open questions. How seamlessly will it integrate into workflows? Will the steep subscription cost be justified by productivity gains? And how will its suggestions and content generation be supervised for quality control?
Nonetheless, Copilot represents a major investment by Microsoft in leveraging AI to develop intelligent user experiences and interfaces. Its uptake will help reveal whether robust AI assistance is a must-have productivity tool or an overpriced novelty. Microsoft is betting that Copilot will become an indispensable smart aid for workers, but the market will ultimately decide if that vision rings true.
