Microsoft introduces Copilot Chat and AI assistants; take that, Gemini!

Microsoft has been positioning Copilot as a “UI for AI.” The company has already launched several variety of GPT-4o-powered business support and individual users. Now, as the next step in the project, it is launching Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat – a redesigned version of its free AI chat for businesses, powered by support technology.

Available starting today, the offering is designed to give businesses an easy way to experience most, if not all, of the capabilities of the popular Microsoft 365 Copilot, priced at $30 per user per month. Although the experience is free, there is a common caveat: The technical capabilities that promise to automate the process are limited.

The goal here is clear: Microsoft wants to give its business customers a taste of what it has in the paid version of Copilot. If, with a powerful feature like support, the company can make the use of Copilot a daily habit of Microsoft 365 users – from customer representatives to marketing leads to frontline specialists – those users can turn to a paid system.

This is not surprising as the release of Microsoft 365 Copilot has been reported to be far from perfectand other businesses describe as expensive and difficult to implement for security reasons.

For its part, Google continues to push forward with Gemini for Workspace, positioning it as an affordable, accessible AI for the workplace.

What to expect from Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

Like the original version, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will continue to have a chat area, where users will be able to post their questions and get answers from AI.

The prototype under the hood, GPT-4o from OpenAI, will provide a standard online experience, allowing users to research the market or prepare technical documentation. It also supports file uploads, enables users to search for summaries, analysis or ideas from content, and creates images for use as social media marketing.

But the real challenge is supporting the AI ​​assistants. IT managers can now use Copilot Studio to create virtual assistants and make them available to employees through Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.

These assistants can act as colleagues on the team, helping them to handle repetitive tasks, from providing customer information before meetings to monitoring progress. They can be implemented using data from the Internet and service data through Microsoft Graph or third-party connectors.

“A customer service representative can ask a customer relationship management (CRM) manager to find out more about your account in advance, while field service assistants can get detailed instructions and information about specific products stored in SharePoint,” Microsoft says. blog post.

By giving agents access to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, Microsoft wants to show businesses the value AI can bring. However, this will not be completely free.

The agents will be available on a usage-based basis, and full usage will be determined based on the amount of communication that the organization uses.

“You can buy messages even meter Copilot Studio in Microsoft Azurepayment method, for $0.01/message, or through prepaid message packages at a price of $200 for 25,000 messages/month,” the company says in another post.

It is important to note here that different types of communication will use messages differently, Microsoft Graph solutions take up to 30 messages or 30 cents.

Taking control of Gemini

With this move, Microsoft hopes to squeeze money from Microsoft 365 users with AI needs while creating opportunities to convert them into paying customers. It also comes as a counter to Google’s push and Gemini assistant

The company headed by Sundar Photosi is just he announced that Gemini will be available for free within its Workspace apps, including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat and Vids. This integration is offered to Workspace Business and Enterprise customers, meaning companies that pay a starting price of $14 per user per month will gain access to AI features within their core applications.

In contrast, Microsoft 365 users must subscribe to the full version of Copilot, priced at $30 per user per month, to access AI features within applications such as Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

But Microsoft differentiates itself by offering the ability to use AI resources. This allows businesses to create service providers – something not available in Gemini.

In the end, the choice comes down to your environment and your specific needs. Google’s approach enables easy access to Gemini within key business applications but lacks support capabilities at this time. Currently, Microsoft 365 offers web-based chat and technology features (on a pay-as-you-go basis) but requires more money to unlock AI functionality within its apps.