Microsoft Launches SaaS AI Capabilities for Small Businesses

Microsoft announced on January 15 that consumers and small businesses can purchase subscriptions to access additional capabilities in its artificial intelligence "Copilot," as it expands sales beyond large enterprises. Following the release of a free AI Copilot for its Bing search engine last year, Microsoft will now offer Copilot Pro to individuals for $20 per month.

The subscription will add a text-drafting, number-crunching AI assistant to Microsoft's popular applications such as Word and Excel, as well as access to new tools and AI models such as GPT-4 Turbo. The company also said it was removing a 300-person minimum requirement to buy the enterprise version of the software, making the security controls and Microsoft Teams upgrade that come with the $30 per-month per-user Copilot available to smaller businesses.

Microsoft now expects virtually all of its business customers to sign up, Corporate Vice President Jared Spataro said in an interview.

"I can't imagine a commercial organisation out there that will not buy at least a seat of Copilot to see what it's all about," he went on to say.

Google, owned by Alphabet, competes with Microsoft in marketing AI for productivity and cloud software to business customers.

Microsoft's Copilot Pro is also making its way into a crowded consumer market. OpenAI, which Microsoft has funded, announced a $20-per-month subscription called ChatGPT Plus nearly a year ago, which gives early access to new features and AI models. Copilot Pro, according to Spataro, will stand out because it is integrated into applications that "people use every day."