Microsoft announces historic price increase for its Office suite with the arrival of AI

©Microsoft

The news came as a blow to millions of users of the Office suite. The American giant announced a substantial increase in the prices of its office suite, effective immediately for new subscribers. This decision marks a turning point in the company's strategy, which had not touched its prices for over a decade.

A technological revolution at a high price

The figures speak for themselves. The Microsoft 365 Family offer goes from 99 to 129 euros per year, an increase of 30%. Even more spectacular, the Personal subscription jumps from 69 to 99 euros per year, representing an increase of 43%. Microsoft justifies this inflation by the integration of Copilot, its generative AI assistant, directly into flagship applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The timing of this announcement is not insignificant. Microsoft is looking to make its colossal investments in artificial intelligence profitable, including the $13 billion it has invested in OpenAI since 2019. The company also plans to invest an additional $80 billion in AI by 2025, a staggering sum that partly explains this aggressive pricing strategy.

The integration of Copilot into the Microsoft 365 suite promises to radically transform the user experience. The assistant can generate complete documents in Word, analyze complex data in Excel, or create elaborate presentations in PowerPoint in just a few clicks. But this power comes at a cost, and Microsoft has chosen to pass it on directly to its customers.

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The system implemented is based on monthly credits, limiting the use of Copilot. This approach allows Microsoft to control infrastructure costs, which are particularly important for AI services. Given the 400 million users of Microsoft 365, this limitation appears to be a technical as well as an economic necessity.

A strategy that divides the market

Microsoft's strategy comes in a particular context. Google, its main competitor, has also announced a price increase for its Workspace suite, ranging from 12 to 22%, to finance the integration of its Gemini AI. This general increase in prices in the industry reveals a common desire to monetize advances in artificial intelligence.

For users who are resistant to this increase, Microsoft is temporarily offering a “Classic” version of its suite, devoid of AI features but retaining the previous pricing. This alternative could appeal to more traditional users who are not inclined to experiment with AI or are simply concerned about their budget.

The reception remains mixed, particularly in the professional sector. A study by GCS Technologies reveals that some large companies have frozen the deployment of Copilot, citing concerns related to data security. Feedback from consultants in the field also shows some disappointments regarding the real performance of the tool.

Faced with this reluctance, Microsoft recently launched Copilot Chat, a more flexible version of its assistant, billed per use.

• Microsoft increases the prices of its 365 suite by up to 43% to integrate Copilot AI
• A “Classic” version without AI remains available at the old prices
• The market reacts in a mixed way, between promises of innovation and concerns about costs

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