Home Microsoft 365 plans use Copilot AI features as pretext for a price hike

Microsoft has two announcements for subscribers to its Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans today. First, you're getting the Copilot-powered AI features that Microsoft has been rolling out to businesses and Copilot Pro subscribers, like summarizing or generating text in Word, drafting slideshows in PowerPoint based on a handful of criteria, or analyzing data in Excel. Second, you'll be paying more for the privilege of using those features, to the tune of an extra $3 a month or $30 a year.

This raises the price of a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription from $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year to $9.99 and $99.99; a family subscription goes from $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year to $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year. For current subscribers, these prices go into effect the next time your plan renews.

Current subscribers are ...