There is a serious threat to Microsoft here, if everyone starts using AI for generating and updating Office docs. At some point Office will become just a viewer.

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trueno 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

im stoked for that outcome, standard document tooling should not live behind subscription models anymore. i dont care that microsoft spent zillions bankrolling education systems and companies to fall into this cultural lock in over the decades

whether they like it or not spreadsheets word docs etc are just ubiquitous parts of existing in society at this point you're gonna need to reach for these tools eventually just to apply for jobs or do homework

	▲	watwut 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You assume tokens will be free after these get their monopoly positions? Actual libre office is actual open source running on weak hardware. Truly free. And I suspect we will look back at MS with nostalgia once Altman and Musk get their ai imperiums.

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fg137 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I have not created or read any Word document for a very long time. I only create PowerPoint presentations a few times a year for work, which could be easily replaced with PowerPoint online or Google Slides or even just some markdown files.

But I have a license for the entire office 365 including Copilot premium.

Guess why?

	▲	articulatepang 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		For Excel?

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jags-v 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Haven't used MicrosoftOffice in the past 7 years.

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dist-epoch 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Don't worry, they are ahead of this.

Satya said some time ago that they expect soon to have more agents using Microsoft software than humans, and are working on transitioning their focus from serving humans to serving agents.

https://www.news18.com/business/satya-nadella-announces-micr...

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petilon 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

So they will switch to per-agent pricing instead of per-user. Fine, but that doesn't change the fact that Microsoft Office will become a just bunch of viewers as far as human usage is concerned. As far as generating Office documents, you can do that without using any Microsoft code.

	▲	yakz 6 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		This is one that's already true and "everyone" hasn't figured it out yet. But you don't really even need Office as a viewer, PDF is fine (for printable/portable fixed-layout) or just HTML. "Office" is a product that doesn't need to exist anymore, at least for the core apps. For day-to-day office work, you probably shouldn't be using those legacy apps, you should be reviewing portable document formats and asking an agent to make the revisions that you want.
	▲	dist-epoch 6 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		> For Microsoft, this shift means products like M365 will act as the foundational layer where AI agents operate. Users will still need places to store documents, manage projects, search files, and track workflows They bet on the online office suite (M365).
	▲	cromka 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		... and without the license, crucially!

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kelvinjps10 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

But why would openai and antrhopic pay them if they already libreoffice for free and why would users pay if they already have an Ai subscription