Microsoft Corporation
According to Bloomberg, tens of thousands of AI prompts in Excel and Outlook are now being completed each week using Microsoft's internally built MAI (Microsoft AI) models - a scale of usage that hasn't been previously reported. Previously, both applications relied more heavily on models from OpenAI and Anthropic.
While still accounting for a small share of overall AI usage, the move signals meaningful progress in Microsoft's effort to build competitive AI models at a lower cost. In June, AI model chief Mustafa Suleyman said the company was actively trying to reduce spending on Anthropic by using more MAI models. "We pay a lot of money to Anthropic - so our goal is to reduce and ultimately eliminate that cost," Suleyman said at Microsoft's Build conference.
Microsoft uses massive quantities of AI tokens across products like its workplace assistant Copilot. For now, the company receives a significant portion of that technology at a discount through its long-standing partnership with OpenAI - but that arrangement has a clock on it, and Suleyman's team is working to ensure Microsoft isn't exposed to whatever pricing the leading AI labs decide to charge once the partnership terms shift.
The company announced seven new MAI models at its Build conference in June, including one it says can match the coding abilities of Anthropic's Opus 4.6 model at a reduced cost. MAI models are also now available within GitHub Copilot, and Suleyman has said a Microsoft-built transcription model will begin appearing in Teams and other products in the coming months.
Microsoft Shares Drop
MSFT Price Action: At the time of publication, Microsoft shares are trading 1.52% lower at $377.52, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
