AI in practice

Microsoft Business Copilot costs at least $108,000 per year and is aimed at larger companies

Matthias Bastian

Microsoft

Microsoft 365 business customers get access to Copilot, but with a catch: they must purchase a minimum of 300 individual licenses at $30 per user per month. This means that AI for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint currently costs at least $108,000 per year. The offer appears to be targeted at large enterprises, as only about 77,000 of the more than 18 million U.S. businesses have more than 250 employees (via naics.com). Microsoft has indicated that the 300-user minimum may be a temporary restriction in the beta phase, Heise Online reports. Educational institutions gained access to Copilot earlier this year, but it is unclear whether the same minimums apply. Microsoft also promises educational institutions "commercial data protection" (data will not be stored or used for training purposes) for users over the age of 18. What this means for underage users is not clear from the announcement.

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