Image : Chris Hoffman / IDG
Google announced two days ago that it would no longer charge a separate fee for its Gemini AI in Workspace, and instead force you to pay whether you want AI. Microsoft has followed suit today, increasing the price of its Microsoft 365 packages to $3 per month, and bundling some Copilot AI tools in order to justify this increase.
Microsoft announced in the announcement postthat the price for Microsoft 365 would be increasing from $7 to $10 a month for Personal subscribers, and $10 to $12 a month for Family bundles. Prices will increase from $70 per year to $100 for Personal and $100 to $130 for Family.
For that 42 percent increase in price, what do you get at the lowest level? Access to Copilot’s text generation, formatting and queries in Word and Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, plus AI-generated pictures and editing in OneNote. You will not have unlimited access to these tools. You can only bank or roll over 60 “AI credits” each month. Copilot Pro costs $20 more per month than existing 365 plans and is the only way currently to get “extensive use.” (Presumably, this means unlimited credits, since it’s not enumerated.
It’s hard to interpret this don’t-call-it-a-price-increase upsell as anything other than a forced integration of AI, just like Google’s recent move. The market has shown people don’t buy new PCs for AI and they aren’t interested in expensive packages like Copilot. Both companies are now inserting AI infrastructures in existing products, and charging more.
It’s not a solution that will be popular with anyone, except shareholders… or even them if they can’t prove that removing the consumer’s choice results in increased profit.
Michael Crideris a Staff Writer at PCWorld
Michael has been in technology journalism for 10 years, covering everything from Apple and ZTE. He is the resident keyboard nut at PCWorld, always testing out a new keyboard for a review. In his spare time he builds a mechanical board or expands his desktop “battlestation” . Michael has written for Android Police, Digital Trends Wired, Lifehacker and How-To Geek. He’s also covered live events like CES or Mobile World Congress. Michael lives in Pennsylvania and is always looking forward to the next kayaking trip.