Last week, Microsoft announced its 365 Copilot artificial intelligence Office add-on was being made generally available for purchase. Forrester Research projects that by 2024 nearly 7 million U.S. knowledge workers will use the AI assistant, which integrates with Word, Excel and other Office productivity tools and costs $30 per person per month. According to investment bank Piper Sandler’s forecast, 18 percent of eligible users will use Copilot by 2026, translating to more than $10 billion in revenue by 2026. Microsoft appears to be introducing Copilot in a staggered rollout with its largest enterprise customers first in line.

“Enterprise customers will need to commit to at least 300 users and pick up the phone to Microsoft to get on the list to access this new AI-powered assistant that Microsoft promises will change the way Office documents are created and edited,” The Verge reports, calling the launch “more like a preorder event — most people aren’t getting it right away.”

“Customers who already have Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 (or Business Standard/Premium) can start using Bing Chat Enterprise today,” Microsoft 365 Senior Director of Product Marketing TJ Devine told The Verge.

“Only Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 commercial subscribers are able to purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot today,” The Verge explains, noting that excludes many Office 365 Business Standard and Business Premium plans, while Microsoft 365 Monthly Enterprise Channel users will have to wait until December.

Those who sign up for Copilot will be able to summarize documents, generate emails, turn notes into plans and improve Excel analysis (including generating Python visualizations, per ZDNet), as well as use it in Teams, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint. Microsoft has made basic aspects of Copilot — such as search functions through Bing Chat and add-ons for ChatGPT — available as a Windows 11 upgrade, free to eligible users.

Microsoft began testing Copilot in March with 20 enterprise customers, including Chevron, General Motors, Goodyear and Dow. In May, the company launched the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program, a paid preview made available by invitation to an initial wave of 600 customers worldwide.

“In the months since, tens of thousands of people have started using it as a regular part of their workday,” writes Microsoft in a blog post that shares a surprising finding: “more experienced people managers are having an easier time adapting to the new technology than their less experienced counterparts.”

But veterans and newbies alike “tell us that once they use Copilot, they can’t imagine work without it,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on a Q1 2024 earnings call last week.

Working to gain market share, “Google, meanwhile, is selling the Duet AI enhancement for subscriptions to its Workspace tools,” CNBC writes.