NewsUC&C29 Aug 2023 · 4 min read

Microsoft Introduces Bing Chat Enterprise in Windows Copilot Preview

Microsoft is launching support for Bing Chat Enterprise in the Windows Copilot Preview.

Bing Chat Enterprise in Windows Copilot preview

Microsoft is launching support for Bing Chat Enterprise in the Windows Copilot Preview.

Eligible business customers can now access Microsoft's security-conscious, business-targeting AI-powered productivity tool, Bing Chat Enterprise, via the Windows Copilot panel. However, customers must be on the Windows Insider Dev Channel to access the Windows Copilot Preview.

Microsoft's accompanying blog post wrote:

Bing Chat Enterprise gives your organization AI-powered chat with commercial data protection(...) Starting today, we are beginning to roll out Bing Chat Enterprise in the Windows Copilot Preview for eligible commercial customers in the Dev Channel. Some eligible commercial customers in the Beta Channel may also see it as well."

In July, Bing Chat Enterprise was made available in preview on Bing.com and the Edge sidebar. Businesses with Bing Chat Enterprise enabled on Bing.com do not need to do anything extra to enable it in the Windows Copilot Preview.

Microsoft also reaffirms the enhanced data protection for businesses provided by Bing Chat Enterprise: "For your employees, the experience will be very similar to the existing experience with Bing Chat – the branding changes to reflect Bing Chat Enterprise, and there is a reminder with each prompt that personal and corporate data is protected."

Likewise, for IT admins and those responsible for data protection and compliance, Microsoft reassures that Bing Chat Enterprise secures Windows Copilot usage with confidence that their business's data is protected because chat data is not saved. Data is not used to train the AI models.

The Windows Copilot Preview illustrates that Windows 11 will be empowered by a new AI assistant from the desktop that grants access to both Bing Chat and the Microsoft 365 Copilot. Windows Copilot will also be able to be integrated with third-party services because of plugins.

What is the State of Play on Bing Chat Enterprise?

Bing Chat Enterprise was initially announced at Microsoft Inspire 2023. Bing Chat's generative AI capabilities were only previously available in Microsoft Edge for consumers.

In March, Microsoft revolutionised its Bing search engine and Edge browser by implementing an AI-powered experience with ChatGPT features. The offering leverages OpenAI's and Microsoft's proprietary Prometheus models, encompassing AI within the search algorithm and a refined user experience. Microsoft described it as a "copilot for the web".

Its generative AI capabilities include answers to natural language questions (with citations) and visual responses, such as charts and images. Microsoft also emphasised that the solution provides greater data security for businesses worried about privacy and data breaches.

Earlier this month, Bing Chat Enterprise became available in preview for various Microsoft 365 licences, including Microsoft 365 A3 and A5, and the E3, E5, Business Standard and Business Premium that had access since July.

It will cost $5 per user per month when released as a standalone offering but will be free for those customers with existing Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium subscriptions.

What is the State of Play on Copilot?

Microsoft's potentially game-changing AI-powered productivity tool Copilot will be integrated across the entire Microsoft 365 suite, including Word, Excel, Power, Outlook, and Teams. From intelligent Teams meeting recaps to drafting Outlook emails with different tones, its exhaustive (and growing) list of productivity-enhancing features and updates is an increasingly attractive product that could be a game-changer for how many businesses and industries operate.

Microsoft recently ended Windows support for Cortana support, illustrating Microsoft's commitment to integrating more powerful AI-powered productivity tools across its suites, with Copilot and Bing Chat Enterprise at the forefront.

However, Copilot's newly announced pricing at this year's Inspire also raised a few eyebrows. Copilot will cost $30 per user per month and will be available for users with Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard and Business Premium users when it becomes generally available.

The addition of Copilot would almost double the cost for Microsoft E3 subscribers. For E3, Microsoft currently charges businesses $36 per user per month, including Office apps, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Customers who subscribe to Microsoft 365 Business Standard now pay $12.50 per user per month, almost a third of the extra Copilot expense.

Likewise, the absence of a concrete general availability date for Copilot instigates uncertainty for Microsoft's partners.

Tom Arbuthnot, Microsoft Teams Expert and Co-founder of Empowering.Cloud, spoke to UC Today earlier his month about the awkward position this puts partners trying to sell the solution to their customers.

"This is the funny thing," Arbuthnot said. "The stock price bumped, everybody’s hyped, and the whole Inspire conference was, 'Partners get ready to sell this stuff,' but there’s still no GA date(...) the partners have got to make money, and there’s only so much preparation you can do. I think it’ll be interesting to see how the partners equip themselves to do big prep projects and how customers react to that as well."

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