AIBRIEF
Britain's competition regulator is examining how Microsoft 365 customers were auto renewed onto a £25 a year (about $32) pricier tier with its Copilot AI assistant, and whether they could opt out.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has opened a consumer-protection investigation into how Microsoft marketed its Microsoft 365 subscriptions after adding Copilot, the company's AI assistant built into Word, Excel, and the rest of the Office suite, in January 2025.
The regulator's question, set out in a 29 July 2026 case announcement, is whether existing Microsoft 365 customers were given clear information about being moved onto a tier that costs £25 (about $32) more per year and how to switch back to a cheaper, AI-free "Classic" plan.
Microsoft auto-renewed subscribers onto the Copilot-equipped package at renewal, charging the higher price unless customers actively switched down or cancelled. The probe turns on whether UK consumer-protection rules on clear communications and choice architecture were met.
The UK action lands five weeks after Italy's AGCM opened its own case on Microsoft 365 Copilot bundling (PS13129) in June 2026, giving the matter a cross-jurisdictional rhythm. National broadcaster RTÉ also reported the UK probe on Wednesday.
The investigation targets consumer subscriptions; enterprise and education licences are not part of the stated scope. The CMA has not named a deadline, fine, or remedy, and Microsoft has not yet publicly responded. The Italian case and the UK probe are running on separate tracks; nothing in the public record links them causally, but both turn on how Copilot was bolted onto a product people were already paying for.