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(GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop)
Microsoft is increasing the price of its consumer Microsoft 365 bundle by $3 per month as it adds AI features to various applications.
It’s the first price increase for Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) since it launched 12 years ago.
Microsoft 365 Personal will cost $9.99/month and $99.99/year, up from $6.99/month and $69.99/year. Microsoft 365 Family will cost $12.99/month and $129.99/year, up from $9.99/month and $99.99/year.
Subscribers will get access to Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
With the integration, Copilot can generate drafts, outlines, rewrites and summaries in Microsoft Word; analyze data in Microsoft Excel; create visuals and speaker notes in Microsoft PowerPoint; among many other features.
The company is also adding access to AI image editing tool Microsoft Designer as part of the Microsoft 365 consumer bundles.
“To reflect the extensive subscription benefits that we’ve added over the past 12 years and enable us to deliver new innovations for years to come, we’re increasing the prices of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family in the US for the first time since its release by $3 USD per month,” Bryan Rognier, vice president, Microsoft 365 Consumer, said in a blog post.
The price change goes into effect immediately for new subscribers, while existing subscribers will see the change when they renew.
Microsoft said that existing subscribers with recurring billing enabled can switch to plans without Copilot or AI credits.
Late last year Microsoft began testing price increases for consumer Microsoft 365 bundles in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
A report by the Wall Street Journal last month included comments from a user in Australia who was compelled by the Copilot integration to switch from Microsoft Word to Google Docs.
Microsoft increased the price of Microsoft 365 business software subscriptions in 2022.
