Microsoft is following in the footsteps of Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity by providing free access to its 365 Personal subscription with Copilot to students. The Redmond-based software giant normally gives college students a three-month free trial of the Microsoft 365 Personal plan, after which they pay a subsidised monthly charge to continue using the services. However, with the ongoing deal, the company is providing free access to its productivity tools and premium Copilot capabilities for a full year. However, this is a limited-time promotion available only in specific regions.
The software company announced the new offer for all college students in a post on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. This means that anyone can take advantage of this offer if they have completed high school and begun their undergraduate or graduate studies. Those who are not enrolled in a degree program at a recognised university, however, will not be able to benefit.
According to Microsoft, this free 1 year membership subscription provides students with free access to Microsoft’s Office programs and the Copilot AI assistant integration for one year, after which they are eligible for a 50% discount to maintain the subscription.
It’s also a time-limited offer. Students can immediately claim the free 12-month subscription on Microsoft’s offer page, which is now active. However, after November 30, which is the deadline, the deal cannot be claimed.
The Microsoft 365 Personal plan can only be used by one person and is not intended to be shared with others, according to the company. Students can easily enable the services on their PCs, phones, and tablets because they can access them on up to five devices at once. All of these devices are supported under the plan.
In terms of features, all of the company’s 365 suite of productivity apps—Outlook, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive, and more—come with all of the premium features. All of these platforms will also include the Copilot sidebar as an additional layer of AI. Additionally, the plan unlocks new Copilot app capabilities including Vision, Podcasts, and Deep Research. Students will also have increased restrictions on all basic talents.
This membership package now includes access to Copilot’s picture and video tools, allowing customers to enjoy the full multimodal experience across the Microsoft 365 suite. The company also provides 1TB of online storage for Outlook and OneDrive.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the free offer at the White House’s AI Education Task Force meeting yesterday, along with additional promises to satisfy the Presidential AI Challenge and the AI Education Executive Order. Microsoft is awarding $1.25 million in educator grants, providing free LinkedIn AI courses to job seekers, students, and teachers, and increasing access to its AI tools in schools.