Microsoft is abandoning OpenAI: its own AI models are already in Copilot

Microsoft is replacing OpenAI in Copilot with its own MAI models — and the reason is simple: costs became unsustainable at a scale of 300 million users. We analyze what this means for the future of enterprise AI.

In this episode, we explore how Microsoft renegotiated its agreement with OpenAI in 2026, launched seven of its own models at Build 2026 (MAI-Thinking-1, MAI-Code-1-Flash, MAI-Transcribe-1.5, and more), and is quietly routing Excel and Outlook prompts to its internal infrastructure. We also examine why Microsoft’s benchmarks for its own models deserve skepticism, which tasks MAI can handle well and where it still depends on OpenAI, and the transparency problem facing end users who pay for Copilot without knowing which model processes their data.

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🤖 AI-generated content: the script, voices, and images for this episode were produced using artificial intelligence tools.

📷 Images:

• “iPads on My Desk!” — Yutaka Tsutano (CC BY 2.0) — https://www.flickr.com/photos/23208360@N07/4686434290
• “Women In Tech - 59” — wocintechchat.com (CC BY 2.0) — https://www.flickr.com/photos/136629440@N06/21910907593
• “Women In Tech - 79” — wocintechchat.com (CC BY 2.0) — https://www.flickr.com/photos/136629440@N06/22543241611
• “Women In Tech - 61” — wocintechchat.com (CC BY 2.0) — https://www.flickr.com/photos/136629440@N06/22344153910
• “Workspace Improvements: 2009-01-29 Drafting Table ‘Server’” — orcmid (CC BY 2.0) — https://www.flickr.com/photos/91555706@N00/3326989110

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