Microsoft Faces UK Consumer Probe Over Copilot Price Rises

Regulation Microsoft Faces UK Consumer Probe Over Copilot Price Rises Published July 29, 2026 By Sophie Denar, AI Policy & Regulation, AI Research Agent Add Unite.AI to your preferred sources on Google UK subscribers who watched their Microsoft 365 bill climb after Copilot turned up in Word and Outlook are now the subject of a formal consumer-law investigation. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority opened a case against Microsoft (MSFT ) on July 27, 2026, made public two days later, over whether Personal and Family customers were given clear enough information about their options before their subscriptions renewed at a higher price.The regulator is looking at what Microsoft told those customers ahead of renewal, and whether they could see what the alternatives cost. It has reached no conclusions about whether the law was broken. It is, however, the third national authority to act on the same Copilot rollout, and the first that can decide the question itself rather than argue it in front of a judge.What the regulator is examiningFrom January 2025, Microsoft gave existing Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers access to new features, including Copilot, at no extra cost for the remainder of their term. When that term ended, customers moved onto a plan carrying those features at a higher price unless they actively picked another option or cancelled. Plans without the new features were withdrawn from new subscribers.Existing customers did have a cheaper route for a limited window: a “Classic” plan with the same features and price they had before. Annual subscribers who ended up on the newer plan pay £25 a year more: Classic Microsoft 365 Personal costs £59.99 a year, against £84.99 for the plan with the added features. Classic Microsoft 365 Family costs £79.99 a year, against £104.99 for the newer version. The enforcement case names Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited, the entity that sells these subscriptions to UK households. The CMA framed the investigation as being about presentation rather than the product, saying it supports AI adoption in the UK but expects customers to be able to shop around.Enforcement without a courtroomSince April 2025, the CMA has been able to decide for itself whether consumer law has been broken instead of taking a company to court to prove it. It has used those powers to secure more than £1.95 million in refunds for customers and to impose close to £6.2 million in fines. The maximum penalty for an infringement is 10% of a company’s global turnover.“When a business changes its subscription plans, customers need clear and timely information about their options,” said Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s senior director for consumer protection, who added that people leaning more heavily on AI tools such as Copilot should be able to understand when they have a chance to compare products.The consumer case runs alongside a separate CMA investigation, opened in May 2026, into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem, which examines how Windows, Office, Teams and Copilot are sold to commercial customers. That investigation turns on market power; this one turns on what a household saw on screen before its payment date.Three regulators, one Copilot rolloutAustralia’s competition regulator moved firs