Microsoft is reintroducing Copilot for business with free AI chat and pay-as-you-go agents

Today, Microsoft is re-launching its free Copilot for business service with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, which includes the ability to utilize AI agents. Copilot Chat is Microsoft’s latest attempt to get people used to using artificial intelligence at work and relying on it enough to tempt them to pay $30 a month for the full Microsoft 365 Copilot suite.

“It’s free and secure AI chat powered by GPT,” explains Jared Spataro, director of AI marketing at Microsoft, in an interview with Edge. “You can upload files, which makes it very comparable to the competition. In fact, we think it outperforms the competition even at this level.” Spataro wouldn’t name the competition, but it certainly includes ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

You’ll be able to create and utilize agents using Copilot Studio, utilize agents powered by web data, and even utilize agents powered by work data via Microsoft Graph. Operate of Copilot Chat agents will be priced based on the Copilot Studio meter in Azure or pay-as-you-go.

“The first question people ask me is, ‘Am I writing you a blank check?’” Spataro says, but Microsoft has developed mechanisms to control how people pay for AI agent access. “The way to control meter turnover is to pay in different ways. One way is pay-as-you-go, which is basically an open account or card that you burn, but another way is to use consumption packs and when the pack runs out, that’s it.

The prices and consumption rates however, they are a bit complicated. Microsoft measures agent usage in messages, so classic replies that don’t take into account large language models are priced as one message, while generative replies cost two messages, and anything accessing the Microsoft Graph (including files stored in SharePoint ), will cost 30 messages.

“A message is equal to 1 cent, so basically it can be converted to 1 cent, 2 cents and 30 cents,” Spataro explains. “It spins the Azure Meter and burns the customer’s MACC (Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment).”

Microsoft provides some sample cost calculations for companies that may be tempted to utilize AI agents via Microsoft 365 Copilot chat:

A hypothetical agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat uses data stored in Microsoft Graph to answer employee questions about HR policies. Yesterday, the agent used 200 generative responses and 200 graph ground tenants for the message. So on that day it will cost 6,400 messages, or $64.

The actual chat experience in Copilot Chat remains largely unchanged and uses GPT-4o for queries. You can also upload files to Copilot Chat and utilize Word document summaries, or even analyze data in Excel spreadsheets. You can do the same directly in Word or Excel if you pay for the full Microsoft 365 Copilot suite, instead of having to manually transfer files. Spataro says Microsoft has no plans to offer a trial mode for Microsoft 365 Copilot, but it’s clear that Copilot chat is intended to get businesses to pay to utilize Copilot features in Office applications.

Copilot Chat is already popular among companies that utilize Microsoft software and services. “We had a name called Bing Chat Enterprise, which we renamed, and even though the naming process was difficult to follow and find the product, we have an extraordinary amount of users from it,” Spataro says. “We find that once you start using it, you become accustomed to and appreciate the value it can provide at work.”

With the ongoing debate about the value of a $30 per user monthly Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, Microsoft hopes that Copilot Chat will support many more businesses transition to an AI-driven mindset.