Microsoft Debuts Pay-as-You-Go AI Copilot Chat

Microsoft is adding pay-as-you-go artificial intelligence agents to its free chatbot for commercial users.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat offers free AI chat powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o for Microsoft 365 commercial customers, according to a Wednesday (Jan. 15) Microsoft blog post.

“Moving forward, every organization will have a mix of Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot … to drive AI transformation at scale,” the post said.

Copilot Chat lets users conduct market research, create strategy documents or prepare for meetings, per the post. It can also work in Microsoft programs by summarizing a Word document or recommending improvements for a PowerPoint presentation, for example.

Users can also create agents to automate repetitive tasks directly in Copilot Chat. These include customer relationship management agents and field service agents that can “access step-by-step instructions and real-time product knowledge stored in SharePoint,” the post said.

Agents are priced on a metered basis, according to the post.

“While Copilot Chat is a powerful new on-ramp for everyone in your organization to build the AI habit, Microsoft 365 Copilot remains our best-in-class personal AI assistant for work,” the post said. “It includes everything in Copilot Chat and more.”

AI agents in the B2B space are “stepping up to take on more responsibility, shifting from assistants to key players in B2B processes,” PYMNTS reported Wednesday.

For example, AI agents are taking over customer service and operations at major companies, navigating complicated business processes independently and employing capabilities beyond basic chatbots.

This month, Salesforce, Talkdesk and Google made announcements about their own AI agent efforts. In addition to Google’s own AI projects, the tech giant is investing in business-process-specific providers such as Fazeshift, an accounts receivable AI agent.

“Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all interactions,” PYMNTS wrote. “Today’s customers expect personalized, high-touch experiences, even from the businesses they engage with. Agentic AI systems are increasingly able to learn about individual customer preferences, anticipate their needs, and offer tailored solutions — without the need for human intervention.”

In addition, AI agents can track behavior, predict needs and offer insights on customer satisfaction, allowing companies to deliver enhanced customer experiences and foster long-term loyalty.

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