- Only 3.3% of Microsoft 365 users actually pay for Copilot
- Microsoft reports 15 million paid positions despite 450 million free users
- Satya Nadella says Copilot is a “true daily habit” worldwide
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently stated that its Copilot platform is “becoming a true daily habit,” noting growth in AI chats, search, navigation, shopping, and operating system integrations.
On paper, Microsoft reports 15 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot positions, showing 160 percent year-over-year growth.
However The Registry reports that only 3.3% of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 users who access Copilot Chat actually pay for it.
Paid adoption lags far behind general usage
Analyst Mary Jo Foley notes that approximately 450 million Microsoft 365 business users have access to Copilot for free, meaning the paid base is comparatively small.
Nadella emphasized daily habits, stating that “daily active users are increasing tenfold year over year,” and conversations per user are doubling.
However, the scale of non-paying users undermines the perception of widespread adoption, despite the CEO’s statements.
Microsoft’s investment in AI tools reached $37.5 billion in Q2FY26, spanning Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and other productivity tools.
Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said judging AI spending solely by Azure revenue is misleading, explaining, “I think a lot of investors are making a very direct correlation between capital spending and seeing an Azure revenue number.”
Hood added that a large portion of AI capacity is first allocated to Microsoft products before external Azure customers.
Nadella reinforced this and told investors to focus on the long term rather than the short term.
These comments recognize the current disconnect between massive spending on AI and minimal paid adoption of Copilot.
Microsoft 365 Copilot launched in late 2023 as a monthly add-on for $30 per user.
Integrate artificial intelligence tools in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. Copilot acts on behalf of users, searching for documents, analyzing meetings, and automating routine workflows.
Microsoft claims it increases productivity and Lloyds Banking Group estimates it saves staff 46 minutes a day.
Despite these claims, paid adoption remains low relative to Microsoft’s global user base.
Even within Microsoft, there are reports that the release of Copilot is being reviewed and that the company may remove or optimize AI features in Windows 11.
Not only Windows 11, the company is also willing to remove artificial intelligence features in other applications where the use does not justify the investment.
Foley notes that the huge base of free users further emphasizes that few paying users. Nadella insists Copilot is growing rapidly, but the numbers show the paid footprint is extremely limited.
The gap between reported “true daily habit” usage and actual revenue suggests that the long-term profitability of Microsoft’s AI investment remains uncertain.
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