Microsoft announces a third subscription level for the consumer version of Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365 Premium is now available as an alternative to the existing Personal and Family subscriptions. This corresponds to the Family subscription plus Copilot Pro, whereby all users of the Family subscription can now use the AI assistant and not just the "main subscriber". The separate Copilot Pro subscription has been cancelled. Microsoft 365 Premium is based on Family; it therefore always contains licences for up to 6 users. There is no Copilot extension for Microsoft 365 Personal, at least not yet.

Microsoft 365 Premium costs 22 Euro per month or 219 Euro per year and is therefore significantly cheaper than the previous combination with the separate Copilot Pro subscription, but also almost twice as expensive as Microsoft 365 Family. Premium subscribers also receive access to the "Frontier" programme and therefore to experimental AI functions and the new Office agents. The latter have so far only worked in the web versions of the Office programmes, but this is set to change very soon.

In order for users of the private customer subscription "Microsoft 365 Personal" (one user) and "Family" (6 users, 5 devices each) to be able to use the AI assistant Copilot (largely) without restrictions, they previously needed an additional subscription called "Copilot Pro". This cost around twice as much as the Microsoft 365 subscription itself. In addition, only the main user of a Family subscription could use the Copilot functions; the up to five additional users each needed their own Copilot subscription, each costing more than 20 Euro per month. Although the Microsoft 365 accounts alone - without additional Copilot subscription - also include the AI assistant, they severely restrict its use. For example, only 60 interactions (credits) are possible per month.

Microsoft promises that you do not have to create a new account for the premium subscription. Both pure Copilot Pro subscriptions and Microsoft 365 Family/Copilot Pro combination subscriptions can be converted to Microsoft 365 Premium. The former will now receive the Office apps and other benefits such as OneDrive storage for virtually the same price; previous combos will be cheaper.

Microsoft has not yet updated the German-language websites with the subscription plans for private users; in our MS 365 Family test account, however, the conversion to Premium is already offered, so the price is known.

At the same time, Microsoft has announced that it will change the design of the icons for the Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive and Teams) - For the sixth time since the launch of Office for Windows, by the way.

Anyone curious about "how a subtle update to our Microsoft 365 icons signals deeper changes" and why the icons for launching programs are "gateways to entire experiences that encapsulate complex ideas, product capabilities and brand identities in a single, memorable image" can read Microsoft's Iconography article to find out more about the design philosophy behind the new icons.

We think it's good that the separate Copilot subscription is disappearing and the combination with Microsoft 365 is becoming significantly cheaper for private users. It is even better that the AI assistant is available to all six possible accounts of a Premium subscription and not just the main user as before. Whether this is out of pure customer friendliness or - somehow more likely - because of poor sales of Copilot subscriptions, doesn't matter. But it would be even nicer if Microsoft 365 Family and Personal subscribers who are not interested in the AI assistant were not presented with the Copilot icon at every corner of the programs. But such a concession - at least as an opt-in - is not to be expected from the currently so AI-obsessed company from Redmond. And as far as the new icons are concerned: it's a gift. This is certainly more important to Microsoft than the customer. At least they haven't bothered to stick a Copilot logo on every little picture.