Microsoft announces a $30 monthly fee for its AI subscription for Microsoft 365, notices stock surge
Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a brand-new subscription service for artificial intelligence for Microsoft 365. The upgrades come as tech titans like Microsoft, Google, IBM, and others compete to create consumer-driven generative AI tools.
Highlights
- Enterprise users should expect to pay an additional 50 percent or more per month for the generative AI subscription
- Microsoft stock jumps by $154 billion
Microsoft stock increased by up to 5.8 percent on Tuesday following the company's announcement of a new subscription service for artificial intelligence for Microsoft 365. As per the recent information, users will have to pay an additional $30 per month to the company to employ generative AI with programs like Teams, Excel, and Word.
For commercial clients, the monthly cost of Copilot, a generative AI assistant that functions across Microsoft 365 programs, could climb by as much as 83 percent. According to Microsoft, Copilot capabilities include ranking incoming emails, summarise meetings, analyse spreadsheet data, provide writing prompts, and create presentations.
Tool currently in the testing phase
“It’s grounded in your business data in the Microsoft Graph — that’s all your emails, calendar, chats, documents and more,” Microsoft wrote in a release, adding that the tool abides by a user’s preset security, privacy, and compliance policies for Microsoft 365.
The tool is presently undergoing preliminary testing with 600 business clients, including Goodyear and General Motors. As of now, Microsoft has not specified a launch date for its general availability.
On Tuesday, the business unveiled a key addition to Bing Chat, its AI chatbot: visual search. Now, users can shoot or upload a photo to Bing Chat and use the desktop or Bing applications to inquire about it.
Microsoft shares spikes
The decision and the corporation's apparent pricing power were applauded by investors, and Microsoft shares rose as much as $154 billion at its Tuesday peak, boosting the market capitalisation of the company. The tech giant was able to garner great profits in a single day as compared to the entire valuation of Morgan Stanley, Intel, Honeywell, and other companies.
"We're learning that the more customers use Copilot, the more their enthusiasm for Copilot grows. Soon, no one will want to work without it," Microsoft's head of consumer marketing Yusuf Mehdi said in a blog post.
