Microsoft told sales staff at internal meetings to pitch Copilot and its broader AI platform against OpenAI and Anthropic on lower costs, wider product coverage, and security.

Executives said customers are paying closer attention to AI spending.

Chief executive Satya Nadella cited Unilever as an example. He said a claims-processing system built on Microsoft’s platform saved about US$300 million and, at one point, switched to a cheaper Microsoft model.

Microsoft’s platform pitch rests partly on Azure AI Foundry, which offers models from Microsoft and other providers.

Microsoft says Copilot includes enterprise security controls and does not use customer prompts or responses to train foundation models.

That message aligns with a June survey of 100 chief information officers by Andreessen Horowitz, which found that cost and security are becoming more important in AI model purchases, especially for simpler tasks.

Microsoft is also reportedly testing models from in-house and third-party providers in Copilot to cut costs and reduce its dependence on OpenAI.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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