Microsoft 365 Family subscribers will finally be able to share AI benefits

Microsoft bundled its AI-powered Office features into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions last year, but it only allowed the primary account holder to access the AI benefits. Now, Microsoft is about to let Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers share Copilot and AI usage features, alongside access to Office apps and OneDrive storage, with up to five other people on a plan.

In an email to Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers seen by The Verge, Microsoft outlines the changes that are coming to subscription plans over the coming months:

The storage changes seem like the major downside to Microsoft’s updates. Instead of getting 1TB of OneDrive storage per account, Microsoft is now limiting this to just 2TB of shared storage across the entire plan. Microsoft argues this makes storage more flexible if one member exceeds 1TB, but it looks like it’s an easy way for the company to upsell more OneDrive storage in reality.

According to a support note, “Existing subscribers in eligible markets might also qualify for transitional bonus storage.” Microsoft is also planning to provide support to families that use a lot of storage

The changes are being announced a year after Microsoft 365 Premium launched, which offers all the benefits of a Copilot Pro and a Microsoft 365 Family subscription for $19.99 a month. The “more flexible AI usage” change could mean that some subscribers end up paying more for AI usage, depending on how they’re using Copilot.