Microsoft provides the OpenAI o1 model free of charge to all Copilot users

Microsoft has made OpenAI's o1 model available free of charge to all Copilot users. This means that advanced reasoning capabilities that were previously available only to Copilot Pro or ChatGPT Plus subscribers are now open to all users of this AI-powered tool.

The o1 model, which powers Think Deeper, allows Copilot to analyze complex questions and generate deeper, more informed answers. The feature can take up to 30 seconds to process a question and is useful for tasks that require logical analysis, comparing options, writing code, or planning complex routes.

Microsoft first introduced Think Deeper in October 2024 as part of Copilot Labs, where new experimental AI features are tested. It works similarly to ChatGPT Plus, offering step-by-step explanations for complex queries.

“This now gives everyone access to OpenAI’s world class o1 reasoning model in Copilot, everywhere at no cost. I urge you to give it a try. It’s truly magical,” Suleyman wrote.

Interestingly, this announcement coincided with the growing popularity of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek-R1, which offers performance on par with OpenAI o1, but for free. Even despite censorship and security issues, DeepSeek's development continues to attract users, and Microsoft has apparently decided to offer a similarly free alternative.