Microsoft  (MSFT) – Get Free Report has a successful record of cross-selling new solutions to its vast customer base. It’s convinced enterprises to embrace its cloud-computing business, Azure, and millions have adopted online access to its Office365 suite. These solutions have increased Microsoft’s revenue by billions of dollars per year, attracting the attention of investors who have sent shares soaring to all-time highs despite last year’s bear market.

The company’s latest offering may prove similarly successful, but investors may not be happy about how management plans on pricing access to its forthcoming artificial intelligence solution.

Artificial Intelligence Goes Mainstream

AI is far from a new concept. For decades, authors and moviemakers have discussed the potential good and bad of free-thinking computers. However, AI has mostly been fiction until recently.

In December, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT to fanfare. The first generative AI to become publicly available scored over one million users in the first five days. By January, it had eclipsed 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing consumer app in history.

DON’T MISS: US Expert Warns of One Overlooked AI Risk

Since then, there’s been a tidal wave of interest in AI applications. Microsoft shook up the online search market by integrating ChatGPT into Bing. Alphabet  (GOOGL) – Get Free Report responded with its own generative AI search assistant, Bard. Most major companies, including many outside of technology, have detailed AI ambitions.

AI for Everyone Won’t Be Cheap

The promise of improved productivity stemming from using AI solutions to compile, analyze, and report information is alluring, but it will also be costly. 

More Business of AI:

• Here’s the Startup That Could Win Bill Gates’ AI Race
• Meet Your New Executive Assistant, A Powerful AI Named Atlas
• The Company Behind ChatGPT Is Now Facing a Massive Lawsuit

The company provided insight into how it plans to price its AI solution at Microsoft’s online Insight conference. 

Its decision will likely disappoint many.

Rather than including AI tools for free, Office365 business users will have to subscribe to them as an add-on product. Microsoft said it plans to charge $30 per user monthly for the tools to draft emails, write content, and analyze data.

If that pricing doesn’t change, subscribers’ monthly bills will substantially increase if they want to enjoy AI benefits. Office365 business plans cost between $6 to $22 per month per user. Individual Office365 plans start at $6.99 per month.

Microsoft hasn’t said how many customers it expects will sign up for its AI add-on, but over 600 enterprises are reportedly testing its features. If many decide the tools are worth the added expense, it could be a boon for Microsoft’s top line. Over 65 million consumers and 1 million businesses subscribe to Office365.

In the first quarter, Office products and cloud services revenue grew 13% year-over-year, with a 14% increase in Office 365 commercial revenue. As a result, Productivity and Business Processes segment revenue totaled $17.5 billion in the quarter. Overall, Microsoft’s revenue totaled $52.9 billion in Q1, up 7% from one year ago.

Microsoft hasn’t said when to roll out its AI solution and pricing for everyone. Perhaps, we’ll gain more insight when it reports second-quarter results on July 25. For now, the company’s pushing business customers toward Bing Chat Enterprise, a tool already available to 160 million employees.

Forget Microsoft – We’re buying this tech stock