Today, you can ask Microsoft Copilot to create an AI-generated image of a strawberry pie for free directly within Windows. However, if you want to generate the same image in Microsoft Word, it will cost you at least $26 per month. Does that make sense to you?
AI art has been part of Microsoft’s ecosystem since 2022, when the company released the first beta of Microsoft Bing Image Creator. This evolved into Microsoft Designer, a design tool developed to compete with Canva. Recently, Microsoft announced that Designer’s AI art capabilities would be integrated into several of its apps and services, including Photos, Word, and PowerPoint.
But there’s a catch: These capabilities come at a cost. A Microsoft 365 subscription is required, with Personal users paying $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually, and Family users paying $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually. This subscription grants access to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and more. To generate AI art within Word, however, Microsoft charges an additional $20 per user per month for the Copilot Pro subscription.
This creates an odd situation. Microsoft essentially offers the ability to create AI-generated illustrations for Word documents directly within Word, and similar images can be added as backgrounds, themes, or embedded images within PowerPoint. However, certain features, like adding an AI-generated banner to a document, are not yet available. (Isn’t a banner just an elongated illustration?)
Interestingly, you don’t need a specialized Copilot subscription to generate AI art. You can use the Win+C shortcut on your PC to open Copilot and generate an AI image, then download it to your PC and import it into Word. Additionally, other AI art generators are available, such as Adobe Photoshop plus Lightroom, which includes generative AI art capabilities via Firefly for $19.99 per month.
Copilot Pro offers more than just AI art capabilities; it also provides access to premier large language models (LLMs). However, with any new subscription — including Microsoft 365 — Microsoft must continually add features and capabilities to justify the cost. Meanwhile, savvy users will seek ways to perform the same tasks without paying extra.
In summary, Microsoft wants you to pay over $300 per year (Microsoft 365 Personal + Copilot Pro) to add a few AI-generated images to your neighborhood newsletter. Is that a price you’re willing to pay? Probably not.
