Microsoft executives reportedly instructed the company’s sales team to draw unfavourable comparisons between rival artificial intelligence products and Microsoft’s own offerings during an internal meeting on Tuesday.
The strategy session, held ahead of Microsoft’s new fiscal year, focused on positioning the company’s in-house AI models against products from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, Bloomberg reported. Executives emphasised efficiency, cost and integration across Microsoft’s software.
“Everyone else is selling parts — we’re selling the full end-to-end system. That’s the story that we all need to get out there and tell in FY27,” Executive Vice President Jay Parikh reportedly told employees.
Copilot Executive Vice President Jacob Andreou also presented a direct comparison between Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude chatbot, according to the report.
Andreou said Anthropic’s model was “slower and less accurate, and lacked the proper security integrations” when used within Microsoft’s office applications.
Microsoft and Anthropic were contacted for comment, but no responses were included in the source copy.
The reported sales strategy places Microsoft in more direct competition with companies whose models have long supported its own AI products.
A separate report earlier this month said Microsoft had begun replacing OpenAI and Anthropic models in flagship applications, including Word and Excel, with its own technology. That report described the changes as a cost-cutting measure.
Microsoft and OpenAI previously operated under an agreement that gave Microsoft exclusive access to OpenAI’s application programming interface and models in exchange for capital and computing resources.
The companies amended the partnership in April, removing the exclusivity provision and allowing OpenAI to sell its services to Microsoft competitors.
The source also linked Microsoft’s stronger sales pitch to investor scrutiny of the company’s spending on AI infrastructure and concerns about its stock outlook over the past year. Those possible motives were not attributed to Microsoft executives.
TL;DR:
Microsoft executives reportedly told sales staff to contrast the company’s AI products with those from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, promoting Microsoft’s models as cheaper, more efficient and better integrated with its software.
Key points:
- Microsoft reportedly outlined the strategy at an internal fiscal-year sales meeting.
- Executives encouraged comparisons with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google products.
- Jacob Andreou reportedly called Claude slower, less accurate and less secure in Microsoft office apps.
- Microsoft has reportedly been replacing some rival models in Word and Excel with its own.
- Microsoft and OpenAI removed an exclusivity clause from their partnership in April.
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