Microsoft Office 365: Difference between revisions

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In the current version of Office 365, Microsoft Copilot is turned on by default. It can be turned off in some of the Office applications' options (Word, Excel, but not PowerPoint, though Microsoft say they'll add the "off" button to PowerPoint in February 2025).

===Forced ~~upsell~~===

===Forced Copilot up-sell (Oct. 2024)===

~~In January 2025~~, ~~YouTuber Atomic Shrimp reported~~<ref name="~~video-explanation~~">{{~~cite~~ web|~~author~~=~~Atomic Shrimp~~|title=~~Microsoft’s Sneaky Forced~~-~~Upsell to 365 Users; If You Don’t Need/Want Copilot, Don’t Pay for It~~|url=https://www.~~youtube~~.com/~~watch?v=eYVPThx7yss|website=Youtube|date=25 Jan~~ 2025~~|access~~-~~date=25 Feb 2025~~|url-status=live|~~archive~~-~~url~~=~~https://web.archive.org/web/20250225115451/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVPThx7yss%2A~~|~~archive-date~~=~~25 Feb 2025~~}}</ref> ~~that Microsoft had enacted a~~ "~~forced upsell~~" of 365's new AI Copilot feature. Users with basic accounts (now called "Classic"), such as Shrimp himself, had been informed their subscription fee was going up, but that they would enjoy new features as a result, including Copilot. In his efforts to disable Copilot, Shrimp subsequently discovered that Microsoft now offered "Classic" plans, identical to the old basic plans both in features and in subscription fee. The option to downgrade to Classic, however, was only visible to enterprise users, not to personal users. In essence Microsoft upgraded users' plans without their consent and disabled the option to downgrade, forcing the user to contact Microsoft support in order to opt out of the newly introduced Copilot AI features. The forceful upgrade was at the user's expense, and the downgrading process through support, according to Shrimp, was very time consuming. It is possible to downgrade a personal account through the website without contacting support. If you go to the first page of the cancellation process, there should be an option to downgrade to the "Classic" plan.

Microsoft has been accused of misleading customers from around October 2024, by suggesting they had to move to higher-priced Microsoft 365 personal and family plans that included Copilot.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-27 |title=Australia sues Microsoft over AI-linked subscription price hikes |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-takes-microsoft-court-says-it-misled-27-million-customers-2025-10-26/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref name="video-explanation" />

In January 2025, YouTuber Atomic Shrimp reported<ref name="video-explanation">{{cite web|author=Atomic Shrimp|title=Microsoft’s Sneaky Forced-Upsell to 365 Users; If You Don’t Need/Want Copilot, Don’t Pay for It|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVPThx7yss|website=Youtube|date=25 Jan 2025|access-date=25 Feb 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225115451/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVPThx7yss%2A|archive-date=25 Feb 2025}}</ref> that Microsoft had enacted a "forced up-sell" of 365's new AI Copilot feature. Users with basic accounts (now called "Classic"), such as Shrimp himself, had been informed their subscription fee was going up, but that they would enjoy new features as a result, including Copilot. In his efforts to disable Copilot, Shrimp subsequently discovered that Microsoft now offered "Classic" plans, identical to the old basic plans both in features and in subscription fee. The option to downgrade to Classic, however, was only clearly visible to enterprise users, not to personal users. In essence Microsoft upgraded users' plans without their consent and hid the option to downgrade. While Atomic Shrimp's video suggested contacting support to revert to the "Classic" plan, it is possible to downgrade a personal account through the website without via the cancellation process.

In October 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued Microsoft over the change, accusing it of misleading about 2.7 million customers.<ref name=":0" />

=== File Request ===

File request, a common feature in other cloud service providers' ''free'' plans, that allows you to invite users to anonymously upload files to a designated cloud folder (e.g. group vacation photos) is only available in personal plans if every uploader is logged-in to a Microsoft account. If you want anonymous uploads, you have to upgrade to a One Drive for Business-Account. Since this is a common feature in other providers' free private plans (e.g. Dropbox), consumers subconsciously expect it to be a feature in paid personal OneDrive plans of the highest tier, but it's not offered.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 In the current version of Office 365, Microsoft Copilot is turned on by default. It can be turned off in some of the Office applications' options (Word, Excel, but not PowerPoint, though Microsoft say they'll add the "off" button to PowerPoint in February 2025).
-===Forced upsell===
+===Forced Copilot up-sell (Oct. 2024)===
-In January 2025, YouTuber Atomic Shrimp reported<ref name="video-explanation">{{cite web|author=Atomic Shrimp|title=Microsoft’s Sneaky Forced-Upsell to 365 Users; If You Don’t Need/Want Copilot, Don’t Pay for It|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVPThx7yss|website=Youtube|date=25 Jan 2025|access-date=25 Feb 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225115451/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVPThx7yss%2A|archive-date=25 Feb 2025}}</ref> that Microsoft had enacted a "forced upsell" of 365's new AI Copilot feature. Users with basic accounts (now called "Classic"), such as Shrimp himself, had been informed their subscription fee was going up, but that they would enjoy new features as a result, including Copilot. In his efforts to disable Copilot, Shrimp subsequently discovered that Microsoft now offered "Classic" plans, identical to the old basic plans both in features and in subscription fee. The option to downgrade to Classic, however, was only visible to enterprise users, not to personal users. In essence Microsoft upgraded users' plans without their consent and disabled the option to downgrade, forcing the user to contact Microsoft support in order to opt out of the newly introduced Copilot AI features. The forceful upgrade was at the user's expense, and the downgrading process through support, according to Shrimp, was very time consuming. It is possible to downgrade a personal account through the website without contacting support. If you go to the first page of the cancellation process, there should be an option to downgrade to the "Classic" plan.
+Microsoft has been accused of misleading customers from around October 2024, by suggesting they had to move to higher-priced Microsoft 365 personal and family plans that included Copilot.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-27 |title=Australia sues Microsoft over AI-linked subscription price hikes |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-takes-microsoft-court-says-it-misled-27-million-customers-2025-10-26/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref name="video-explanation" />
+In January 2025, YouTuber Atomic Shrimp reported<ref name="video-explanation">{{cite web|author=Atomic Shrimp|title=Microsoft’s Sneaky Forced-Upsell to 365 Users; If You Don’t Need/Want Copilot, Don’t Pay for It|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVPThx7yss|website=Youtube|date=25 Jan 2025|access-date=25 Feb 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225115451/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVPThx7yss%2A|archive-date=25 Feb 2025}}</ref> that Microsoft had enacted a "forced up-sell" of 365's new AI Copilot feature. Users with basic accounts (now called "Classic"), such as Shrimp himself, had been informed their subscription fee was going up, but that they would enjoy new features as a result, including Copilot. In his efforts to disable Copilot, Shrimp subsequently discovered that Microsoft now offered "Classic" plans, identical to the old basic plans both in features and in subscription fee. The option to downgrade to Classic, however, was only clearly visible to enterprise users, not to personal users. In essence Microsoft upgraded users' plans without their consent and hid the option to downgrade. While Atomic Shrimp's video suggested contacting support to revert to the "Classic" plan, it is possible to downgrade a personal account through the website without via the cancellation process.
+In October 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued Microsoft over the change, accusing it of misleading about 2.7 million customers.<ref name=":0" />
+=== File Request ===
 File request, a common feature in other cloud service providers' ''free'' plans, that allows you to invite users to anonymously upload files to a designated cloud folder (e.g. group vacation photos) is only available in personal plans if every uploader is logged-in to a Microsoft account. If you want anonymous uploads, you have to upgrade to a One Drive for Business-Account. Since this is a common feature in other providers' free private plans (e.g. Dropbox), consumers subconsciously expect it to be a feature in paid personal OneDrive plans of the highest tier, but it's not offered.