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Microsoft has been positioning Copilot because the “UI for AI.” The corporate has already launched a number of variants of the GPT-4o-powered assistant for enterprise and private customers. Now, as the subsequent step on this work, it’s launching Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat — a rebranded model of its free AI chat expertise for companies, enhanced with agentic capabilities.
Accessible beginning at present, the providing is designed to present companies a simple option to discover most, if not all, of the capabilities of the extra full-featured Microsoft 365 Copilot, which is priced at $30 per person monthly. Though the expertise is free, there’s a notable caveat: The agentic capabilities promising activity automation will work solely on a consumption-based mannequin.
The aim right here is fairly apparent: Microsoft desires to present its industrial prospects a style of what it has on provide within the paid model of Copilot. If, with highly effective options like brokers, the corporate could make utilizing Copilot a every day behavior of Microsoft 365 customers — from customer support representatives to advertising and marketing results in frontline technicians — these customers may ultimately flip to the paid plan.
This growth isn’t a shock on condition that the rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot has been reported to be removed from good, with some enterprises describing it as costly and complicated to implement as a result of safety issues.
For its half, Google continues to maneuver forward with Gemini for Workspace, positioning it as an reasonably priced, simply accessible AI for work.
What to anticipate from Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Identical to the unique model, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will proceed to have a chat interface, the place customers will be capable to enter their queries and get solutions from AI.
The mannequin below the hood, GPT-4o from OpenAI, will present data grounded within the net, permitting customers to do market analysis or put together technique paperwork. It even helps file uploads, enabling customers to hunt summaries, analyses or solutions from paperwork, and picture technology to be used instances like social media advertising and marketing.
However the true deal is help for AI brokers. IT admins can now use Copilot Studio to construct domain-specific brokers and make them obtainable to workers by way of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.
These brokers can function digital teammates for workers, serving to them automate repetitive duties, from offering buyer data earlier than conferences to monitoring related occasions. They are often grounded utilizing information from the online in addition to work information both by way of Microsoft Graph or third-party graph connectors.
“A customer service representative can ask a customer relationship management (CRM) agent for account details before a customer meeting, while field service agents can access step-by-step instructions and real-time product knowledge stored in SharePoint,” Microsoft notes in a weblog publish.
By offering entry to brokers inside Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, Microsoft desires to indicate companies the worth its AI choices can deliver. Nonetheless, this expertise is not going to be totally free.
The brokers will probably be accessible on a consumption-based mannequin, with the overall utilization being decided based on the variety of messages utilized by a company.
“You can purchase messages though the Copilot Studio meter in Microsoft Azure, a pay-as-you-go option, for $0.01/message, or via pre-paid message packs priced at $200 for 25,000 messages/month,” the corporate notes in a separate publish.
It’s value noting right here that totally different sorts of interactions will dissipate messages otherwise, with Microsoft Graph-based solutions taking on as many as 30 messages or 30 cents.
Taking over Gemini dominance
With this transfer, Microsoft hopes to squeeze some cash out of Microsoft 365 customers with primary AI wants whereas creating a possibility to transform them into paying prospects. It additionally comes as a counter to Google’s push with the Gemini assistant
The Sundar Pichai-led firm has simply introduced that Gemini will probably be obtainable free of charge inside its Workspace apps, together with Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat and Vids. This integration is obtainable to Workspace Enterprise and Enterprise prospects, which means corporations paying a base worth of $14 per person monthly will acquire entry to AI options inside their core purposes.
In distinction, Microsoft 365 customers should subscribe to the total Copilot model, priced at $30 per person monthly, to entry AI options inside apps like Groups, Outlook, Phrase, Excel and PowerPoint.
However Microsoft differentiates itself by providing usage-based agentic AI capabilities. This enables companies to create customized brokers for activity automation — a characteristic at the moment absent in Gemini.
Finally, the selection comes all the way down to the ecosystem you’re aligned with and your particular wants. Google’s strategy permits easy accessibility to Gemini inside important enterprise apps however lacks agentic capabilities for now. In the meantime, Microsoft 365 gives web-based chat and agentic options (on a pay-as-you-go mannequin) however requires the next funding to unlock AI performance inside its work apps.
