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Title: Microsoft reportedly plans to start using Anthropic models to power
some of Office 365's Copilot features

Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2025 20:20:19 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-reporte...

Microsoft reportedly plans to begin using Anthropic's latest Claude models to
power some of the Copilot features in its Office 365 apps. In a report
published Tuesday, The Information said the tech giant would announce the
change "in the coming weeks." Microsoft currently relies on OpenAI's tech to
power the majority of AI features found inside of Word, Excel, Outlook and
PowerPoint.

As an outsider looking in, Microsoft's embrace of Anthropic's models would
appear to signal a deepening split between the company and OpenAI. Microsoft
is the AI lab's largest investor, and was integral to Sam Altman's rehiring
as CEO following his brief ouster in 2023. However, in recent months reports
of a growing impasse between the two in negotiations over OpenAI's plan to
restructure its for-profit division as a public benefit corporation have
bubbled up.

For its part, Microsoft denied the move is motivated by animosity. "As
weΓÇÖve said, OpenAI will continue to be our partner on frontier models and
we remain committed to our long-term partnership," a company spokesperson
told The Information.

Still, the decision likely comes as unwelcome news for OpenAI. The
Information reports Microsoft is at least partly motivated by the fact it
believes Claude 4 Sonnet "performs better in subtle but important ways" than
GPT-5. For example, The Information's source said Anthropic's model tends to
generate "more aesthetically pleasing" PowerPoint presentations. Notably,
that's coming from an older model, and one that isn't even Anthropic's
flagship offering.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to Engadget's comment request.
According to The Information, Microsoft does not plan to charge more for
access to Anthropic models in Office 365, with Copilot pricing set to remain
at $30 per user per month. That's notable because the company will pay Amazon
to access Claude Sonnet 4 through AWS, Anthropic's primary cloud provider. As
part of its investment in OpenAI, Microsoft can access the company's models
at no additional cost.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-reporte...
anthropic-models-to-power-some-of-office-365s-copilot-features-
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