Microsoft is giving you ChatGPT Plus for free — here's how
Microsoft has quietly updated its Copilot artificial intelligence assistants with the latest version of OpenAI’s large language model GPT-4-Turbo. This version of the model was previously only available with a paid subscription to ChatGPT Plus which costs $20 per month. It allows for more complex queries and responses.
Enhanced Capabilities
Copilot is now available across the Microsoft range of products and services including in Windows 11, the 365 productivity suite, and as a standalone app for iOS and Android. GPT-4-Turbo and its more up-to-date knowledge cutoff, better processing capabilities, and larger memory are now being rolled out to Copilot users with GPT-4 enabled.
Continuous Upgrades
OpenAI is continuously upgrading the large language models underpinning its own and Microsoft’s AI products and services, fine-tuning and enhancing capabilities. The most recent version of GPT-4, its most advanced model, has an updated knowledge cutoff compared to earlier versions, with information up to and including April 2023 as well as a much larger 128k context window — equivalent to a memory of 300 pages of text.
The previous data cutoff for the base GPT-4 model was September 2021, a year before ChatGPT launched. It also had a context window of 32,000 tokens, leading to forgetting information after 100 pages of text.
Improved Functionality
One of the significant changes in GPT-4-Turbo is improved image analysis and significantly enhanced reasoning capabilities, making it better at following instructions. According to a blog post by OpenAI, "GPT-4 Turbo performs better than our previous models on tasks that require careful following of instructions".
Future Developments
Microsoft hasn’t officially announced the availability of GPT-4-Turbo within Copilot, but in December, they confirmed that the AI tool would receive regular upgrades. Users have noticed the gradual transition within the service, with the upgraded capabilities becoming evident when more up-to-date information is provided.
