Microsoft apologizes over Copilot plan confusion • The Register
Microsoft Australia has apologized to users of its M365 suite after regulators accused it of steering them towards pricey bundles that include its Copilot AI service.
As The Register reported in January, Microsoft contacted subscribers in six Asia-Pacific nations in an email to advise of imminent price rises for M365 bundles that include its Copilot AI service. The emails advised that users could avoid the price rise by signing up for a “Classic” version of M365, but no information about that package was available online.
Your correspondent, who has a personal account for M365, tried to find info about Classic mode by re-subscribing to the service. I saw dialog boxes reading, “I don’t want my subscription,” and “I want to keep my benefits”, but no info about a Classic version.
That’s a classic “dark pattern” – a deliberately confusing or complex process that vendors use to steer customers towards the things they want them to buy, instead of presenting a comprehensive menu of choices.
Late last month, Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commenced legal action against Microsoft, on grounds that information it provided customers “was false or misleading because there was an undisclosed third option, the Microsoft 365 Personal or Family Classic plans, which allowed subscribers to retain the features of their existing plan, without Copilot, at the previous lower price.”
On Thursday, Microsoft issued apologies to subscribers in New Zealand and Australia, with a near-identical missive in which the software behemoth said, “In hindsight, we could have been clearer about the availability of a non-AI enabled offering with subscribers, not just to those who opted to cancel their subscription.”
In an email received by this correspondent, Microsoft said, “We recognise we could have been clearer in our communications about the full range of Microsoft 365 subscription options including the option to switch to Microsoft 365 Family Classic.”
The email and apology posts all state, “Our relationship with our customers is based on trust and transparency and we apologise for falling short of our standards.”
That apology may even be sincere, as Microsoft will refund the difference between the price of Copilot-enabled and Classic plans to customers who want to downgrade after allegedly being railroaded into upgrades they may not have wanted.
Microsoft also sent its January price rise advice to subscribers in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. We’ve asked if the company plans to issue apologies in those nations, too, but haven’t received a response at the time of writing.
The ACCC’s case against Microsoft continues. ®
