Microsoft has been working on adding internal and third-party artificial intelligence models to power its flagship AI product Microsoft 365 Copilot, in a bid to diversify from the current underlying technology from OpenAI and reduce costs,

The effort is said to focus on the tech giant’s Microsoft 365 Copilot product. It’s an artificial intelligence assistant that ships with the eponymous productivity suite. Microsoft is reportedly working to integrate custom and open-source artificial intelligence models into the assistant, which is currently powered by technology from OpenAI.

Microsoft is planning to integrate internal and third-party artificial intelligence (AI) models into its flagship AI assistant, Microsoft 365 Copilot. The move comes as the tech giant looks to reduce its dependence on OpenAI 's tech and save costs.

Based on a Reuters story using unidentified sources, Microsoft ( MSFT, Financials) is expanding its artificial intelligence approach by including a wider spectrum of AI models into its Microsoft 365 Copilot product. The action seeks to reduce dependency on OpenAI's technologies, increase performance, and lower expenses.

When Microsoft announced 365 Copilot in March 2023, a major selling point was that it used OpenAI's GPT-4 model. Microsoft is also seeking to reduce 365 Copilot's reliance on OpenAI due to concerns about cost and speed for enterprise users, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private matters.

Microsoft and OpenAI have had something of a symbiotic relationship, with the former giving billions of capital to a startup AI lab and in return gaining early access to cutting-edge models that are now baked into Microsoft’s suite of productivity software.