According to insiders, Microsoft is working to include non-OpenAI models into its 365 Copilot products.

In an attempt to diversify from the existing OpenAI underlying technology and cut expenses, Microsoft has been working on integrating both internal and external artificial intelligence models to power its flagship AI product, Microsoft 365 Copilot, according to sources familiar with the project who spoke to Reuters.

Microsoft, a significant supporter of OpenAI, is making a new attempt to reduce its reliance on the AI firm. This is different from previous years when Microsoft boasted about having early access to OpenAI’s models. One of Microsoft’s main selling points when it unveiled 365 Copilot in March 2023 was that it made use of OpenAI’s GPT-4 model.

According to individuals who asked not to be named in order to discuss private things, Microsoft is also looking to lessen 365 Copilot’s reliance on OpenAI because of worries about cost and speed for enterprise users.

According to a Microsoft representative, OpenAI remains the company’s partner on frontier models, which are the most cutting-edge AI models on the market. The two businesses’ initial deal permits the software behemoth to alter OpenAI’s models.

According to a statement from MS, “We incorporate several models from OpenAI and MS based on the product and experience.” OpenAI chose not to respond.

According to the sources, Microsoft is working to improve 365 Copilot’s speed and efficiency by customizing various open-weight models in addition to training its own smaller models, such as the most recent Phi-4.

As per one of the sources, the objective is to reduce the cost of Microsoft’s 365 Copilot and possibly transfer those savings to the final consumer.

According to the same source, Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella, are keeping a close eye on the initiatives.

This adjustment is similar to other Microsoft corporate groups that have modified their OpenAI model usage. In October, GitHub, which Microsoft purchased in 2018, included models from Google and Anthropic as substitutes for OpenAI’s GPT-4o. The October redesign of its consumer chatbot Copilot now uses both OpenAI and in-house models.

A built-in AI assistant to Microsoft’s suite of business software, which includes Word and PowerPoint, Microsoft 365 Copilot is still attempting to demonstrate to businesses how much it is worth. There have been questions regarding pricing and usefulness, and Microsoft has not disclosed precise sales figures regarding the number of licenses sold.

In August, research firm Gartner said that a study of 152 IT businesses revealed that the great majority of them had not advanced their 365 Copilot programs beyond the pilot level.