Microsoft Proposes $300 Annual Fee for AI Art in Word

Microsoft is introducing a new subscription model for its Copilot Plus program, charging users $20 per month to access AI-generated art directly within Microsoft Word.

This move aims to integrate AI art capabilities, initially available for free via Microsoft’s Bing Image Creator, into the broader Microsoft 365 suite.

AI art has been a part of Microsoft's offerings since 2022, starting with the beta release of Microsoft Bing Image Creator, which evolved into Microsoft Designer—a competitor to Canva. Recently, Microsoft announced that the AI art features from Designer would be integrated into multiple apps, including Photos, Word, and PowerPoint.

However, these new capabilities come with a cost. Microsoft 365 already requires a subscription, with Personal plans at $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually, and Family plans at $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually. The new Copilot Pro subscription, which adds AI art generation within Word, will cost an additional $20 per user per month.

This pricing model raises some questions. Users can currently generate AI art for free using Copilot on Windows by pressing Win+C, creating the image, and then importing it into Word. Alternatively, other AI art generators like Adobe Photoshop with generative AI capabilities via Firefly are available for $19.99 per month.

Copilot Pro offers more than just AI art generation; it provides access to advanced language models and other premium features. However, Microsoft will need to continually add value to these subscriptions to justify the cost. Smart users are likely to seek ways to perform these tasks without incurring additional expenses.

In summary, Microsoft’s new Copilot Plus subscription could cost users over $300 annually when combined with the Microsoft 365 Personal subscription. The question remains whether consumers are willing to pay this price for the convenience of embedding AI-generated images directly into their Word documents.