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Microsoft is testing an ad-supported free tier for the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Office applications. Typically, these apps are only available to people who have purchased the Microsoft 365 subscription. However, some users are now seeing an opportunity to choose a free version with restricted services and advertisements. Currently, this tier only includes three apps: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. According to reports, the corporation has no plans to promote this new tier and is merely testing it in a few places.
Microsoft Provides Ad-Supported Free Versions of Office Apps to Some Users
On Monday, Gadgets 360 workers discovered this free, ad-supported version of Microsoft 365 on their PCs. The plan shows when a user hits the "Buy Microsoft 365" button located above the Office applications. Usually, this opens a pop-up window displaying the various subscription plans. However, now, a "Try Microsoft 365 for free" notice shows, displaying the free tier.
Normally, once the Office license expires, users may still read documents in applications, but they cannot edit or create new documents unless they acquire a subscription. However, the free tier now includes three programs (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) for free. The pop-up states that users will have restricted access to these applications' functionality, will see advertisements, and will receive 5GB of cloud storage powered by OneDrive.
As first observed by Beebom, the ad-supported tier displays a permanent ad banner on the right side of the app interface that cannot be deleted. In addition, Microsoft is apparently airing a muted 15-second video commercial every few hours.
According to the magazine, the free tier does not allow users to save documents locally and instead requires cloud storage. Some complex functionality, such as add-in installation, watermarking, and data analysis, are stated to be greyed out in the free tier.
"Microsoft has conducted some limited testing. A Microsoft official informed PCWorld that there are currently no plans to introduce a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office desktop software. India looks to be part of this limited testing territory. Other regions are yet unknown.
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