Microsoft Unveils Copilot Chat: A Pay-As-You-Go Plan for Business
Microsoft has announced the launch of Copilot Chat, a pay-as-you-go plan designed for corporate customers. This new plan bundles several AI-powered productivity features, including business-related question-answering, workflow automation, and image generation. Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model, Copilot Chat aims to provide businesses with a flexible and cost-effective solution for leveraging AI in their operations.
Key Features and Capabilities
Copilot Chat offers a range of features that enable businesses to streamline their workflows and improve productivity. Some of the key capabilities include:
– Asking business-related questions and receiving answers from Copilot, Microsoft’s chatbot experience
– Building workflow automations using Copilot’s “agentic” features
– Generating images and collaborating on projects with teammates and AI via Copilot Pages
– Launching “agents” to automate basic tasks, such as providing account details or delivering instructions
Pricing and Availability
Copilot Chat is available as a pay-as-you-go plan, with pricing based on a “metered basis.” While Microsoft has not revealed detailed pricing information, this approach is likely to appeal to businesses with varying AI requirements.
Comparison to Microsoft 365 Copilot
Copilot Chat is a more limited version of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which offers a broader range of features, including prebuilt agents, AI-powered capabilities for Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and personalization options. However, Copilot Chat provides a more flexible and cost-effective solution for businesses with less complex AI requirements.
Microsoft’s AI Strategy
The launch of Copilot Chat is part of Microsoft’s broader AI strategy, which focuses on developing “model-forward applications” that “reshape all application categories.” According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the company has been working on this strategy for over two years and has learned valuable lessons about the systems, app platforms, and tools required for the AI era.
