In a strategic move to compete with ChatGPT, Microsoft has rebranded its Bing Chat to Copilot. The shift from Bing Chat comes as OpenAI reveals that 100 million users engage with ChatGPT weekly. Although Microsoft and OpenAI have a significant partnership, they are competing for the same clientele seeking AI assistants.
Colette Stallbaumer, General Manager of Microsoft 365, stated that both Bing Chat and Bing Chat Enterprise will now be unified under the Copilot name. The move positions Copilot as Microsoft's offering for consumers and businesses, in direct competition with ChatGPT.
Microsoft now presents Copilot as the free version of its AI chatbot, with a paid option called Copilot for Microsoft 365. The free Copilot version will be available on Bing and Windows, and it will have its dedicated domain at copilot.microsoft.com, aligning with the standalone experience of ChatGPT.
Business users will sign into Copilot with an Entra ID, while consumers will require a Microsoft Account to access the free Copilot service. Copilot is currently officially supported in Microsoft Edge or Chrome on Windows or macOS.
Despite the rebranding, Microsoft asserts that Bing remains integral to Copilot, with Caitlin Roulston, Director of Communications at Microsoft, emphasizing that Bing is a prominent brand and technology powering many Copilot experiences while remaining a leader in the search industry.
