Microsoft 365 customers around the world are waking up to a new look in their Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook apps. It’s part of Microsoft’s huge changes to Microsoft 365 Family and Personal plans which include a very limited Copilot AI service and a big price rise.
Microsoft 365 users might first notice these changes when they open Word 365 and see this:
It’s just one of the Copilot additions (intrusions) that Microsoft has added to Microsoft 365 Family and Personal plans.
This is happening across the globe after a trial last year in some countries. Microsoft says the changes are in ‘most’ countries so there are some, unstated, regional exceptions.
Office Watch has been investigating these changes since Redmond started the trial last year starting with Copilot comes to Microsoft 365 with many limits and a high price
Here’s a brief summary.
Microsoft 365 price rises
Microsoft 365 consumer plans have an ‘overnight’ price rise between 30% and over 40%.
Microsoft is ‘soft-pedaling’ this as just a “$3 a month” increase but a few moments with a calculator or Excel shows the real cost.
For the new prices on other countries see Microsoft 365 price increases around the world
Copilot in Microsoft 365
Now or after the next time Microsoft 365 apps are updated, Copilot will appear in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook but there’s a catch.
Excel
PowerPoint 365
AI Credits
The Copilot additions to Microsoft 365 Family & Personal plans are very limited by the number of AI credits each user gets.
Each Microsoft 365 Personal user and only the owner of Microsoft 365 Family plan gets 60 AI credits each month. Note: the other people sharing a Microsoft 365 Family plan do NOT get the Copilot extras.
Every time you use Copilot takes one AI credit. It’s easy to use up 60 credits, if you’re not careful.
This ration of Copilot use is really a ‘taster’ of AI which Microsoft hopes will encourage people to pay for the ‘unlimited’ Copilot Pro plan.
Microsoft 365 “Classic” plans
If you don’t like the Copilot or the price increase, you’ll have a ‘Classic’ option when the current Microsoft 365 plan expires.
When you try to cancel a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal plan, Microsoft will (should) offer a matching “Microsoft 365 Classic” plan. This is essentially the ‘old’ Microsoft plan, without Copilot but also the old lower prices.
All about the new Microsoft 365 Classic