According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Microsoft has begun increasing prices for its 365 subscriptions by adding Copilot in Australia and select South Asian countries. The AI chatbot, released in 2023, is built on OpenAI's ChatGPT technology.
Several users who spoke with the publication aren't happy about the hike, especially when there is no option to opt out of Copilot. Microsoft also seems to aggressively push the AI assistant, almost forcing users to try it.
"It was very keen to be used, and this was irritating to me as a user," Alistair Fleming, an Australian YouTuber, told WSJ. He said his monthly bill had increased to AUD 16 (€9.54 or £7.94) from AUD 11 (€6.56 or £5.46). Microsoft declined to comment when asked by WSJ.
In October, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told the Rapid Response podcast (via Windows Central) that Copilot "is the just the new Microsoft Clippy." Benioff said the AI assistant "doesn't work," and adds no value. He called it "disappointing" and something that "spews data all over our floors."
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