Microsoft unveiled a tier of its Copilot AI assistant offering a consumption-based pricing model for corporate users, as the software giant looks to further drive adoption.

The Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat service is being pitched as an alternative to Microsoft 365 Copilot, which costs $30 per user/month along with an annual subscription.

Microsoft explained in a blog Copilot Chat “adds pay-as-you-go agents” to its existing free chat service.

CNBC reported the pricing is based on how the set-up is used, noting the benefit lies in companies not paying for users who do not access it, unlike the flat fees of its main AI offering.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o and enables users to create AI agents in chats using natural languages to perform automated tasks covering meeting preparation, market research or writing strategic documents.

It can retrieve information from the internet, analyse data in an Excel spreadsheet and summarise text in Word documents.

Microsoft stated it can also be used to create agents which perform tasks in the background. It pitched the service as an introduction to its broader 365 Copilot option, helping organisations “build the AI habit”.

“Moving forward, every organisation will have a mix of Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot, our best-in-class offering, to drive AI transformation at scale,” it stated.