The price of Microsoft 365, the cloud-based productivity suite, will increase as it adds the company’s artificial intelligence capabilities. According to Microsoft Asia’s announcement, client subscription sets (personal and family) They will include Copilot as standard with a subsequent price increase when it’s time to renew. It has been tested in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, but it is not excluded that it will also reach Europe or America.

It’s not uncommon for Microsoft to test new subscription offerings regionally before rolling them out globally. That’s exactly what this ad looks like, as it may seem at the moment “free add-on” is criticized below some arguments you can read on reddit:

“I have to put up with unwanted software packages that I never adopted that consume CPU cycles on my hardware…why does Microsoft need to prove that its AI investments are generating a return on investment for investors?”.

“Does Microsoft not understand that graduate or PhD students are automatically given a failing grade or accused of academic misconduct for any hint of AI assistance in their writing?”

And that’s it not everyone needs or wants AI in their productivity apps. The problem is the one reported in ZDnet which reflected the information: Microsoft’s Copilot AI is coming to your Office apps whether you like it or not. It should be said that Microsoft already has specific subscription programs to offer its AI services, Copilot Pro and Microsoft 365 Copilot to consumers and businesses. And so they should continue, for independent purchasing, but Microsoft’s commercial needs are different.

The “trap” invested by the people of Redmond in OpenAI and AI technologies is colossal. And in the end, it will cost your customers money whether they want it or not.. Of course, users may be weary of the product they once paid for being changed without permission and which, thanks to the deep integration of AI functions, may end up being something else. Or a price increase if the basic option is not retained in the future, without Copilot.

In this scenario, it should be noted again that there are alternatives, and they are excellent, sufficient for the vast majority of users. On the one hand, a local office suite if you want to continue with Microsoft applications or others like LibreOffice, completely free, open source and without burdensome AI features that you probably don’t care about.

As for Microsoft’s strategy, when asked about plans to roll out similar features in the United States and Europe, a spokesperson contacted by ZDnet dropped the ball: “The company implemented changes in six markets to listen, learn and improve. We have nothing more to share today.