Microsoft has announced that small businesses can now subscribe to its Copilot virtual assistant in its productivity apps. Consumers who pay for Microsoft 365 software can sign up for a new paid version of Copilot. This update aims to expose more customers to generative artificial intelligence, a technology startup OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot that can compose natural-sounding text with a person's brief written command. Microsoft is betting on capitalizing on generative AI demand in operating systems, cloud, productivity, web search, and security, even as it faces competition from Amazon and Google. Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, has been emphasizing AI as the core of the software maker's identity. Microsoft offers small businesses 299 licenses for $30 per person per month, eliminating the 300-seat minimum for commercial plans and allowing Copilot's use for Office 365 E3 or E5, based on OpenAI's large language models.