Microsoft has announced that small businesses can now subscribe to Copilot, the virtual assistant, in its productivity applications. In addition, consumers who pay for Microsoft 365 software can subscribe to a new paid version of Copilot.
These updates will allow Microsoft to expose its customers even more to generative artificial intelligence, a technology that emerging company OpenAI popularized last year with its ChatGPT chatbot that can compose natural-sounding texts from short written commands. Expanding access could help the company cover the cost of building the data center infrastructure that enables AI.
Microsoft and generative artificial intelligence
Generative artificial intelligence has become an area of great interest for many technology companies, including Microsoft. Generative AI refers to the ability of a computer system to autonomously create new content, such as text, images, or sound, based on input data. This technology is based on highly complex machine learning models that have been trained on huge amounts of data.
Microsoft has begun offering its version of generative AI through its Copilot virtual assistant. Copilot uses OpenAI’s language models to generate natural language text from short commands written by users. This technology has gained popularity over the past year as demand for chatbots and virtual assistants has increased in various industries.
Microsoft’s decision to offer Copilot to small businesses is a significant step in making generative AI more accessible to a wider audience. Prior to this announcement, Copilot was only available to large companies and staff at educational institutions. Expanding access to Copilot will enable small businesses to take advantage of generative AI to improve the productivity and efficiency of their operations.
The benefits of Copilot for small businesses
Introducing Copilot to small businesses offers several benefits. First, using Copilot can help enterprises save time and resources in content creation. With Copilot’s generative AI, high-quality text can be generated quickly and easily. This can be especially useful when creating content for marketing, writing business documents, or responding to customer emails and messages.
In addition, Copilot can help small businesses improve the quality of their content. Copilot’s generative AI can generate high-quality, natural language text that can be used to improve business communications and engage customers. This can help improve the company’s image and create a better experience for customers.
Another advantage of Copilot for small businesses is its ability to adapt to the specific needs of each user. Copilot can be customized to meet the writing, programming, design, research or learning needs of each user. This means that small businesses can use Copilot flexibly to improve their operations and achieve the desired results.
How to access Copilot for small businesses
To access Copilot for Small Business, companies must subscribe to Microsoft 365 Business Premium or Business Standard. Once subscribed, companies can sign up for up to 299 licenses of Copilot at a cost of $30 per person per month. This will allow all company employees to use Copilot in Microsoft’s productivity applications, such as Word, Excel, Outlook and others.
In addition, Microsoft has eliminated the 300-seat minimum limit for business plans and allowed Copilot use for those with Office 365 E3 or E5, which cost less than full Microsoft 365 subscriptions. This means that even small businesses with limited budgets can access Copilot’s features.
For individuals who wish to use Copilot, Microsoft has introduced Copilot Pro, an add-on that can be purchased with the Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription at a cost of $20 per month per person. With Copilot Pro, users will have priority access to the latest generative AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo. They will be able to use this model during busy periods and design custom chatbots using the Copilot GPT Builder interface.