for the first time, Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT ) Copilot disclosed key metrics for its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot and assistant, a key part of the larger group’s AI strategy and somewhat seen as a competitor to other chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Investors have long tried to understand how well Copilot is resonating with customers and whether it could truly be one of the main AI chatbots. The metrics revealed about Copilot were shocking in more ways than one.
As described on Microsoft’s website, “CoPilot is a conversational, AI-powered assistant that helps increase productivity and streamline workflow by providing contextual assistance, automating routine tasks, and analyzing data.” Examples of tasks Copilot can perform include drafting presentations and reports by generating content and suggesting edits and revisions, analyzing data and creating charts, and drafting email chains and emails.
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Different Microsoft Copilot plans include different Copilot accessories and capabilities. The free CoPilot version gives users access to Microsoft’s AI chatbot and the ability to generate AI-powered images. Microsoft 365 Personal offers users higher usage limits on Microsoft 365’s suite of office products and AI features in the Copilot app, advanced security and up to 1 terabyte of cloud storage for files and photos.
The Microsoft 365 Premium plan offers higher limits and more app usage than Microsoft 365 Personal. Copilot Studio enables users to build, test and publish agents, while providing access to generative AI plugins to enhance these agents.
In Microsoft’s most recent earnings call, management said Microsoft 365 Copilot has 15 million paid Copilot seats, up 160% year-over-year. Businesses can pay $30 per user per month for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Furthermore, Copilot seems to be resonating deeply with some businesses, as many of Microsoft’s customers now have more than 35,000 seats using Copilot. fiserv, INGUniversity of Kentucky, University of Manchester, and the US Department of the Interior.
Management also said that Copilot has seen the average number of conversations per user double year-over-year and daily active users increase tenfold. Copilot also has a checkout feature that Microsoft has partnered with such as payments and e-commerce sites Paypal, Shopifyand Stripe, so users can purchase directly from Copilot. Finally, Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, which is for developers, had 4.7 million paid subscribers, up 75% year over year.
While growth may be strong, Copilot adoption is still low in Microsoft’s total user base. The 15 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot users represent only about 3.3% of the company’s total of 450 million 365 members. The 4.7 million GitHub Copilot paid members represent only about 3.1% of GitHub’s total of 150 million registered developers.
Now, it’s certainly possible that adoption will just take longer. However, Microsoft has already invested hundreds of billions in AI-related infrastructure and services, and it still doesn’t seem close to being a real competitor to big chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
“M365 revs growth is not accelerating due to Copilot, many checks on Copilot do not suggest a strong usage ramp (we plan to refresh our own checks if we miss a usage ramp) and the model market appears crowded and capital-intensive.” UBS Analyst Carl Keirstead wrote in a research note following Microsoft’s latest earnings report. “We think Microsoft needs to prove it’s a good investment.”
The market clearly wants more. If you think about the average person, how many of them know about ChatGPT, and how many of them know about Copilot? Much work remains to be done to improve Copilot adoption. I still think Microsoft could be one of the main beneficiaries of AI adoption, especially in its Azure and cloud services business, but Copilot leaves a lot to be desired right now.
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Bram Berkowitz has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions and recommends Microsoft, PayPal, and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short March 2026 $65 calls on PayPal. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Microsoft finally revealed how many paying Copilot customers it has. The answer was shocking for more than one reason. Originally published by Motley Fool
