OpenAI takes customers from Microsoft, intensifying competition between partners

Last spring, pharmaceutical company Amgen announced that it wanted to implement Microsoft Copilot for 20,000 employees — a major show of faith in Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar investment in generative AI. But within a year, Amgen switched to a competing product — ChatGPT from OpenAI, Bloomberg reports.

This situation complicates the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI. Although Microsoft is the startup’s largest investor, it is developing its own models in parallel and even supporting OpenAI’s competitors. OpenAI, on the other hand, is actively expanding its paid services for businesses and already has 3 million paid corporate users — 50% more than a few months ago. Microsoft claims that Copilot serves 70% of Fortune 500 companies, and the number of paid users has tripled.

Now both companies actually offer similar solutions — smart assistants for working with texts, analyzing data, or creating reports. But users who are familiar with ChatGPT in everyday life are more likely to agree to use it in the office. Microsoft seeks to distinguish Copilot through deep integration into its own services and many years of experience working with corporations. However, even these advantages do not guarantee leadership.

Some customers prefer Copilot because of its lower price point — $30 per month compared to ChatGPT Enterprise’s $60. But OpenAI is already developing a flexible, usage-based pricing model, so its pricing could be competitive.

Amid this competition, Microsoft is reporting big deals — like with Barclays, Accenture, and Volkswagen, where 100,000 employees each use Copilot. However, it’s important for Microsoft to attract even more users, otherwise the market will continue to lean towards ChatGPT.

So the competition between Microsoft and OpenAI is only gaining momentum. Only time will tell who will win.

By the way, information has also recently emerged that OpenAI wants to weaken Microsoft's control over its AI products and computing resources, as well as secure the tech giant's consent to transform the organization into a profitable company.