AI/Machine Learning

Microsoft offers refunds to 365 subscribers over CopilotAI prices just 10 days after ACCC action

- November 6, 2025 2 MIN READ

Microsoft will offer refunds after admitting that it “fell short of our standards” by failing to inform users of the Microsoft 365 productivity suite that they could have stayed with a cheaper version of the suite that did not include the tech giant’s Copilot AI features. The move relates to the October 2024 introduction of… Read more »

Microsoft
AI/Machine Learning

ACCC sues Microsoft, alleging it misled 2.7 million Australians on Microsoft 365 plans

- October 27, 2025 2 MIN READ

The competition regulator alleged Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plan subscribers were told to either pay higher prices for Copilot or cancel.

This was false or misleading, the ACCC claims, because there was an undisclosed third option for subscribers to keep their existing ‘classic’ plan, without Copilot or the markup in price.

The only way customers could find out about the ‘classic’ plans was when they opted to cancel their subscription because that was when a new page appeared offering the option to switch to the ‘classic’ plan instead.

Cyber security

Australia having three ‘cloud giants’ is a risk, says ACCC

- June 25, 2025 4 MIN READ

Australia’s competition regulator says the dominance of the country’s three major cloud computing providers — Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) — means such companies could be incentivised to engage in anti-competitive behaviour, potentially increasing risks to consumers and the wider market. The major cloud providers — often called ‘hyperscalers’ due to their capacity… Read more »

MIcrosoft CEO Satya Nadella
AI/Machine Learning

Microsoft’s AI price hikes and why they ditched their data centre plans

- March 6, 2025 4 MIN READ

After a year of shoehorning generative AI into its flagship products, Microsoft is trying to recoup the costs by raising prices, putting ads in products, and cancelling data centre leases. Google is making similar moves, adding unavoidable AI features to its Workspace service while increasing prices. Is the tide finally turning on investments into generative… Read more »

Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Microsoft President Brad Smith in Washington DC.
Global tech

Microsoft pours $5 billion into Australia for TAFE skills training, AI, cloud centres and cybersecurity

- October 24, 2023 2 MIN READ

Microsoft is looking to sure up its position in its battle against AWS, partnering with the Australian government to improve cybersecurity as part of $5 billion spend over the next two years on cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The capital expenditure was announced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Australian Embassy in… Read more »

MIcrosoft CEO Satya Nadella
Data

Microsoft’s having a shocker with two self-inflicted data leaks in a week

- September 21, 2023 3 MIN READ

Microsoft has been its own worst enemy this week as the tech giant suffered two unrelated data leak incidents where masses of internal documents, trade secrets, and backups of employee computers were released on the internet. On Tuesday, researchers at security company Wiz went public about a 38TB trove of data that Microsoft’s AI team had accidentally… Read more »

Kate Pounder
AI/Machine Learning

A new report from the Tech Council reckons AI could be worth up to 5% of GDP by 2030

- July 20, 2023 2 MIN READ

Generative AI could contribute between $45bn & $115bn annually to the Australian economy by 2030 That represents 2% to 5% of total economic output. 4 key sectors will benefit: healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and professional and financial services. Barriers include technology capability, enterprise readiness, awareness & skills, and responsible AI Using artificial intelligence (AI) in business… Read more »

Ai
AI/Machine Learning

The AI race is ‘out of control’ & starting to freak out tech titans, with Musk, Woz and others wanting a 6-month freeze

- March 31, 2023 3 MIN READ

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and over 1300 academics, tech and business luminaries have signed a Future of Life Institute (FLI) open letter calling for a 6-month freeze on “out-of-control” AI development that, they say, poses “profound risks to society and humanity.” That development has accelerated at a furious rate since last November’s release of GPT-3… Read more »

AI
AI/Machine Learning

Google and Microsoft are adding AI to their most popular apps, which is a big win for all of us – and especially cybercriminals

- March 22, 2023 4 MIN READ

Google and Microsoft are on a mission to remove the drudgery from computing, by bringing next-generation AI tools as add-ons to existing services. On March 16, Microsoft announced an AI-powered system called Copilot will soon be introduced to its 365 suite apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. The news came about two days… Read more »

ACCC
AI/Machine Learning

ACCC warns of ‘dark patterns’ used by tech giants to lock in consumers

- March 9, 2023 3 MIN READ

The five largest tech giants may be using ‘dark patterns’ to prevent consumers from adopting online services from competitors, the ACCC has warned as it solicits feedback on a new issues paper exploring the companies’ entrance into a diverse range of markets. Recent years have seen Amazon, Apple, Facebook parent company Meta, Microsoft, and Google… Read more »