Microsoft Unveils AI Chat for Businesses with Flexible Pricing

Microsoft has launched a new AI chat service for businesses, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, offering a free tier with optional pay-as-you-go pricing for AI agent access. This move aims to encourage businesses to adopt AI in their workflows and potentially upgrade to the full Microsoft 365 Copilot service, which costs $30 per user per month.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is a rebranding of Bing Chat Enterprise, now including access to Copilot AI agents within the chat interface. These agents can perform tasks like monitoring email inboxes or automating series of tasks, making them valuable virtual colleagues for businesses. The service is priced through the Copilot Studio meter in Azure or through a pay-as-you-go option, giving businesses flexibility in their AI agent usage.

Microsoft measures AI agent usage in messages, with classic answers costing one message, generative answers costing two messages, and accessing the Microsoft Graph costing 30 messages. Autonomous actions cost 25 messages each. The pricing is designed to be transparent and easy to understand, with a message equivalent to 1 cent (roughly Rs. 0.86).

Microsoft provides example cost calculations for businesses considering using AI agents through Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. For instance, a hypothetical agent using data stored in Microsoft Graph to answer employee questions about HR policies would cost 6,400 messages or $64 for a day, based on 200 generative answers and 200 tenant Graph grounding for messages.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is already popular among businesses that rely on Microsoft software and services. Microsoft hopes that by offering a free, secure AI chat service with AI agent access, more businesses will become accustomed to using AI at work and eventually upgrade to the full Microsoft 365 Copilot service.

Microsoft's pay-as-you-go pricing model for AI agents offers businesses several potential benefits, such as flexibility and cost control, trial and testing opportunities, scalability, and accessibility. However, it also presents potential drawbacks, such as a complex pricing structure, potential for unexpected costs, and lack of guaranteed access.

Microsoft's AI Chat for Businesses could significantly impact the adoption of AI in the enterprise sector by lowering the barrier to entry, increasing familiarity with AI, tempting businesses to upgrade to paid plans, promoting AI integration with existing workflows, and offering a flexible pricing model.

In conclusion, Microsoft's AI Chat for Businesses, now Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, is a strategic move to encourage businesses to adopt AI in their workflows and potentially upgrade to the full Microsoft 365 Copilot service. The pay-as-you-go pricing model offers businesses flexibility and accessibility, but it also presents potential drawbacks. Microsoft's AI Chat for Businesses could significantly impact the adoption of AI in the enterprise sector by lowering the barrier to entry, increasing familiarity with AI, and offering a flexible pricing model.