Microsoft has announced that it is increasing the price of its Microsoft 365 Personal and Home subscriptions for the first time in 12 years, and is also adding Copilot.

This eliminates the need for a $20 Copilot Pro add-on to try the AI features in Office apps, but it increases the overall subscription fee. A Microsoft 365 Personal plan now costs

According to emails, Australian 365 Family users will also see an increase from AU$139 to AU$179, while 365 Personal subscribers will have a rise from AU$109 to AU$159. That's a 45% price hike, and it's all for AI features and enhancements in apps that's contributing to it.

This raises the price of a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription from $7 a month or $70 a year to $10 and $100; a family subscription goes from $10 a month or $100 a year to $13 a month or $130 a year. For current subscribers, these prices go into effect the next time your plan renews.

According to a new blog post from Microsoft, Microsoft 365's Personal and Family plans have been bundled with Copilot and priced up to roughly $3 a month. The latest monthly cost is $9.99, up from $6.

Google announced that it was doing away with a separate upcharge for its Gemini AI features in Workspace and forcing you to pay for it instead whether you want AI or not. Today, Microsoft is following suit,