Microsoft Abandons Consumer Chatbot Plans, Focuses on Enterprise
Microsoft is exiting the consumer chatbot market and refocusing its Copilot technology on enterprise users. The company will no longer develop a personal AI companion, instead folding its consumer version of Copilot into a workplace product.
The decision comes two years after Microsoft entered the personal chatbot space, but with limited success. Fewer than 7% of Microsoft's 450 million commercial seats have paid for Copilot, and the company is now metering agent work by usage to fund it through enterprise budgets.
The new Copilot app will be organized around three main areas: Home, Code, and Autopilot. Full versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will run inside the app, allowing employees to create documents and presentations without leaving the platform.
Microsoft's executive vice president for Copilot, Jacob Andreou, said that the company is holding a 'very high bar' on output quality rather than cost efficiency. The commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot license costs $30 per user per month, with usage-based billing for the Cowork, Code, and Autopilot portions of the app.