Microsoft rebrands its productivity suite to Microsoft 365 Copilot, emphasizing AI integration, with a new logo and subscription price increase.

Microsoft has announced its first price increase for Microsoft 365 in 12 years, attributing the rise to the introduction of Copilot AI capabilities across its suite of applications. Effective immediately,

According to emails, Australian 365 Family users will also see an increase from AU$139 to AU$179, while 365 Personal subscribers will have a rise from AU$109 to AU$159. That's a 45% price hike, and it's all for AI features and enhancements in apps that's contributing to it.

Microsoft has been testing adding AI-powered Office apps, the most important feature of Copilot Pro, into the Microsoft 365 subscriptions in recent months. What was previously only available in Australia, New Zealand, and a number of countries across Asia is now expanding to most markets worldwide.

Microsoft said on Thursday that it is now including Copilot AI features to its Microsoft 365 suite for individual consumers, a day after it rolled out on-demand AI agents for businesses.

This raises the price of a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription from $7 a month or $70 a year to $10 and $100; a family subscription goes from $10 a month or $100 a year to $13 a month or $130 a year. For current subscribers, these prices go into effect the next time your plan renews.

According to a new blog post from Microsoft, Microsoft 365's Personal and Family plans have been bundled with Copilot and priced up to roughly $3 a month. The latest monthly cost is $9.99, up from $6.

Google announced that it was doing away with a separate upcharge for its Gemini AI features in Workspace and forcing you to pay for it instead whether you want AI or not. Today, Microsoft is following suit,