Microsoft shifts Office AI to in-house MAI models

Microsoft is shifting tens of thousands of AI requests each week in its Excel and Outlook applications from models provided by OpenAI and Anthropic to its own in-house MAI models, according to a report. The move is part of a broader corporate strategy to reduce the soaring costs of artificial intelligence and lessen dependence on external providers.

While still a small fraction of Microsoft's overall AI usage, the deployment of MAI models in flagship productivity software marks a significant step in the company's effort to build a competitive, lower-cost alternative. The company processes massive volumes of AI tokens, the unit of consumption for AI computing, across services like its Copilot workplace assistant, Microsoft 365, and GitHub Copilot. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman stated last month that the goal is to reduce and ultimately eliminate the substantial costs associated with using Anthropic's models.

The strategic pivot was highlighted at Microsoft's annual Build developer conference in June, where the company unveiled seven new MAI models. These include MAI-Thinking-1, its first reasoning model designed for complex tasks like coding and mathematics, as well as models...