Microsoft is shifting its enterprise AI tool Copilot Cowork to a usage-based pricing model, Axios reported on Monday.
Microsoft is also weighing self-hosting DeepSeek as a cheaper model option. But adding a Chinese AI company’s model could draw criticism, Axios reported.
Agent tools such as Copilot Cowork, Anthropic Claude Code and OpenAI Codex keep calling AI models while handling tasks. They boost productivity, but sharply rising AI costs are seen as a problem.
Microsoft is reviewing a fine-tuned DeepSeek V4 or other open-source models as cheaper alternatives to the Anthropic and OpenAI models it uses to run Copilot Cowork, Axios reported.
Microsoft plans to offer a low-cost model within a few weeks. It said it will disclose which model it will use at that time.
The test shows Microsoft is pursuing a multi-model strategy rather than relying only on OpenAI and Anthropic models.
If Microsoft adopts DeepSeek, customer data would remain within the Microsoft cloud and be subject to Azure enterprise security, compliance and data residency controls.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr