Users of Microsoft 365 say they are being shoehorned into paying upgraded fees for having access to its Copilot AI features, irrespective of whether they want it or not.
In May MS will slap massive increases on its Personal and Family 365 subscribers.
In Australia a Personal account will go from $109 yearly to $159. A Family sub rises from $139 to $179.
However users are saying there is a workaround, but you have to take certain steps to find it.
Earlier today Microsoft issued a statement about Copilot and Microsoft 365.
“Since we launched Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) to consumers in 2013, we’ve steadily delivered new apps, features, and benefits to our subscribers. These include advanced security with Microsoft Defender, creative tools like Microsoft Clipchamp, and countless enhancements to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook.

MS 365 Copilot new subscription tiers in Australia.
“We’re building on those 12 years of innovation by bringing Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Designer to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers in most markets worldwide. These changes bring the transformative power of AI to the personal productivity tools that millions of people use every day.”
The plan to make people pay a lot more for a product they may not use has left some users seething.
“I think this move by you signals my final association with Microsoft and its products after nearly 40 years,” said one on Reddit.
“It is definitely excessive and unacceptable,” said another.
However, one commenter added that they discovered they could keep the classic Personal version at the old price of $109, but that Microsoft would only let you know about this possibility if you started the process of cancelling your sub.
This option is only open to current subscribers.

MS 365 Copilot screenshot on Reddit show option to stay with $109 Personal subscription.
ChannelNews asked the MS 365 bot if it would be possible to buy a $109 Personal subscription without Copilot.
The bot asked if I had a current subscription. I said I did not.
It then asked for my Microsoft account’s email address so it could create a case or reference number.
I said I didn’t have one.
It then came back with: “Regarding your inquiry have checked this with my support however I’m afraid that we can no longer get the old pricing of the Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, but may I ask if you are currently working or a student?”
In a statement to the Australian Computer Society’s Information Age, a Microsoft spokesperson said: “Existing subscribers with recurring billing enabled can switch to plans without Copilot or AI credits like our Microsoft 365 Basic plan or, for a limited time, to Microsoft 365 Personal Classic or Microsoft 365 Family Classic plans. These plans include the previously available feature offerings and will continue to be supported.”
Microsoft says it is making its newest app Microsoft Designer part of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family.