If you have a regular subscription, you’re likely well-versed in the dance of paying for something and wondering if it’s worth the value. For many people, that might be a streaming service that hasn’t been used in six or more months or a membership for a gym that hasn’t been visited since before that last holiday. For me, I grapple with what to do with my Microsoft 365 subscription, specifically after the recent price hike due to the addition of Copilot+ features.
Microsoft 365 is one of those interesting computer suites that you don’t realize that you need until you need it. It’s likely why I’ve allowed Microsoft to snatch money from my bank account for several years, when I only use one or two programs and one or two features.
The primary way that I use Microsoft 365 is via the Read Aloud function in Word when editing my articles before publishing. I find it highly beneficial for catching errors that might be missed in a standard read-through. Without AI, I think many can agree that the tools of Microsoft 365 are extremely powerful applications. I’m certain many Gen X and Millennials would say, back in our day, Clippy was the only AI we needed.
Microsoft 365 in my everyday
When appropriately orchestrated, many a Microsoft 365 functionality works like magic. The other day, I fashioned a signature into a Word document using a photograph of my handwriting. I edited it with the wrap text and transparency functions (I didn’t even know that was a thing). But there’s a reason why proficiency in the Microsoft suite is an actual skill and not just something you put on your resume. Not that it’s something I’ve personally mastered, but it is a notable skill that doesn’t necessarily go away with the introduction of AI.
Nevertheless, Copilot+ is here to stay, and Microsoft is marketing its productivity suite and its hardware partnerships around the AI functionality. It’s unavoidable, as reports of how Microsoft continues to develop its technology surface daily. However, in my day-to-day life, it has become very easy to compartmentalize many AI features, most of which entail some form of rewriting or paraphrasing. As a journalist, my bread and butter depend on my ability to write things from scratch.
I initially subscribed to Microsoft 365 not for my own needs but to assist a family member who was preparing to navigate college. We were anticipating them needing to connect with me when asking for help with schoolwork, so we opted for a family plan. When their college plans fell through, I kept the subscription for myself for my work. This was ahead of the industry-wide AI boom; however, having the subscription benefited me in testing various features in real time as they dropped. I tinkered with various Teams functions, Microsoft Designer features, and early iterations of Copilot. Amid this, I fell into my general Read Aloud routine using Microsoft Word, primarily for editing purposes.
AI as an external tool
Being a technology reporter, I believe I turn to some places to be my refuge away from all of the burgeoning AI features. I have become so accustomed to going to the outside apps and web-based interfaces to access AI features that I don’t require them to be integrated into my productivity atmosphere. I use the web-based version of Microsoft Copilot, especially to get access to its Think Deeper function, which is powered by the reasoning models typically accessed only in OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro. However, I don’t pay for a $200 ChatGPT subscription. I occasionally reference back to Microsoft Designer, though these features don’t require a 365 subscription.
When I’m in my word processor, I just focus on my work and worry about the AI afterwards. It wasn’t until contemplating this piece that I realized I don’t notice the Copilot+ button in the Microsoft Word interface to think of using the AI functions. This is likely because I spend most of my time in the Review section of Word, where Read Aloud is, and not in the Home section of Word, where the Copilot button is, so the AI functionality is simply not a part of my world.
Even when using Google Workspace, where the Gemini icon appears more prominent to me, if I want to use AI, I find myself opting for the web-based option of Gemini for research, testing features, or leisure tasks like interpreting tarot cards.
I recently began experimenting with Gemini within Google Workspace, using the Rephrase tool to suggest synonyms for singular words. While this worked sometimes, it wasn’t as comprehensive as I’d have liked for AI. I’d often get one word as a suggestion, and it wouldn’t be a fit. I overall found it better to just go to Google search and get a more extensive list of alternatives. Even doing this in my word processor would often take me out of the flow of my writing, whereas pulling up a Google search, I expect to find a synonym, and I can just get back to what I was doing.
Copilot+ potential in unexpected places
Also outside of Microsoft 365, I have a basecamp file in Microsoft Notes that holds a mishmash of links, half-written drafts, and headline ideas of stories that go back so far, I don’t remember. I’ve undoubtedly written about this in the past myself– Notes has also received Copilot+ updates. The Search with Bing function would be extremely beneficial for activating links instead of having to copy them from Notes into a web browser. That is a simple yet useful function I can add to my workflow.
Whether or not I actively use the Copilot+ features, I do find my Microsoft 365 subscription to be beneficial in the capacity that I use its functions. When I need it, it’s there, and the AI is just icing on top.
While the past two months since Microsoft increased its prices have evaded me, it is my goal to truncate my 365 subscription from the currently unused family plan to a personal plan, because I don’t need to spend $13 per month to have Word read me my own stories.