Microsoft is finally answering the question of how to monetize pre-generative technologies in 2024 with its new Copilot Pro platform.
While people were getting a kick out of artificially intelligent ‘hallucinations’ and planning imaginary week-long vacation itineraries, others were ringing the capitalism bell, wondering how these resource intensive large language models would turn a profit.
Microsoft announced today that it would be offering a subscription-based version of its Copilot platform donning the moniker ‘Pro’ that will deliver “the most advance features and capabilities of Microsoft Copilot to individuals looking to supercharge their Copilot experience.”
While Microsoft evp and consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi might have used a bunch of marketing lingo to seemingly say little, the realities of Copilot Pro include the following:
- Access to Copilot in Word, Excel (currently in preview and English only), PowerPoint,
Outlook, and OneNote on PC, Mac and iPad for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family
subscribers. - Priority access to the very latest models – starting today with OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo. With
Copilot Pro you’ll have access to GPT-4 Turbo during peak times for faster performance
and, coming soon, the ability to toggle between models to optimize your experience how
you choose. - Enhanced AI image creation with Image Creator from Designer (formerly Bing Image
Creator) – ensuring it’s faster with 100 boosts per day while bringing you more detailed
image quality as well as landscape image format. - The ability to build your own Copilot GPT – a customized Copilot tailored for a specific topic
– in our new Copilot GPT Builder (coming soon) with just a simple set of prompts.
As it stands, Copilot for M365 enables pre-generative prompts, images, scripts, brainstorms, text, organization, and more across a breadth of services such as email, chats, documents, and more with the use of natural language via voice or text.
Currently customers can generate status updates based on previous meeting notes, emails or Microsoft Teams chats as well as edit, analyze, and design across Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In more niche instances, developers can make use of Copilot in conjunction with GitHub to streamline coding via ‘code referencing’.
Microsoft will also be adding the following features to flush out Copilot’s functionality:
- Copilot GPTs – Today we’re announcing Copilot GPTs. Copilot GPTs let you customize the
behavior of Microsoft Copilot on a topic that is of particular interest to you. A handful of
Copilot GPTs will start to roll out beginning today with specific purposes such as fitness,
travel, cooking and more. Soon, Copilot Pro users will also be able to create their own
Copilot GPTs using Copilot GPT Builder. Stay tuned for more on this experience as we get
closer to availability. - Copilot mobile app – The Copilot mobile app is now available for Android and iOS. The
Copilot app gives you the power of Copilot on the go as your Copilot queries and chats will
roam across your phone and PC. The Copilot mobile app includes the same magical
capabilities of Copilot on your PC including access to GPT-4, Dall-E 3 for image creation,
and the ability to use images from your phone when chatting with Copilot. Download the
app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. - Copilot in the Microsoft 365 mobile app – We’re also adding Copilot to the Microsoft 365
mobile app for Android and iOS for individuals with a Microsoft account. This new feature is
rolling out over the next month. Access Copilot right inside the app and easily export the
content you create to a Word or PDF document.
Microsoft will start the Copilot Pro subscription price at $20USD per month per user.
Copilot Pro is unmistakably meant to be paired with Microsoft 365’s various local, online and cloud services and to prime customers for its usefulness, the company is expanding the availability of its current Copilot experience to more M365 by removing its previous three hundred seat minimum.
As of today, Copilot for Microsoft 365 is generally available for small, medium, and large-scale enterprise use in conjunction with M365 Business Premium and Business Standard plans.
Smaller organizations are not free to choose seat allocations of as small as one to 299 at $30USD per person per month.
With the removal of the 300-seat minimum, Office 365 plans E3 and E5 are now open to pair with Copilot without a Microsoft 365 licenses which should make it more convenient for educators to try out the pre-generative platform.
Commercial customers can also snag Copilot for M365 through the company’s Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers partners’ network.
