Microsoft Brings Copilot Ads to Paid Word Subscriptions

Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers are reporting a persistent promotional banner in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

According to online magazine Neowin, some users have been seeing a large banner titled “Supercharge your AI experience” when opening a document since late April 2026. The banner promotes a limited time offer to upgrade to Microsoft 365 Premium, promising additional AI usage and exclusive Copilot features.

In addition, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint now permanently display an “Upgrade your plan” button in the title bar. There is reportedly no official setting to remove it. According to affected users, the prompt also returns after one to two weeks, even if it was previously dismissed.

The issue reportedly affects subscribers to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family, for which Microsoft charges around $130 per year in the US. Numerous users have already complained about the new promotional messages through Microsoft’s official feedback portal.

Copilot Access Remains Limited on Lower Cost Plans

Microsoft previously integrated Copilot features into its standard Personal and Family plans, but with a limited monthly AI usage allowance. Compared with these standard plans, the newly promoted Microsoft 365 Premium tier offers a higher Copilot usage limit as well as additional features that are exclusive to the premium subscription.

So far, Microsoft has not publicly commented on reports about the new promotional messages.

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