Microsoft says it has over 20M paid Copilot users, and they really are using it

Microsoft announced it has surpassed 20 million paid users for its Copilot AI tool, integrated into Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook. This information was disclosed by CEO Satya Nadella during the company's quarterly earnings conference call. The announcement aims to counter a "lingering perception that no one really uses Copilot" by demonstrating significant user base growth and engagement.

Nadella highlighted that Microsoft has quadrupled the number of companies paying for over 50,000 Copilot seats. Specific large enterprise clients mentioned include Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Mercedes, and Roche, all with over 90,000 seats. A major deal with Accenture for over 740,000 seats was also cited as Microsoft's largest Copilot win to date.

Engagement metrics were also presented to support the claim of active usage. Nadella stated that Copilot queries per user increased by nearly 20% quarter-over-quarter, reaching weekly engagement levels comparable to Outlook email. He characterized this as a "daily habit of intense usage." Furthermore, Nadella emphasized Copilot's model agnosticism, noting that users can access multiple AI models, including Anthropic's Claude, and utilize intelligent auto-routing and agents for optimal responses.

A key driver of this reported usage is the "Agent mode," which became the default experience across Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint shortly before the earnings call. This mode allows Copilot to perform multi-step actions directly within documents, enabling users to "delegate and complete work." Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss commented on the earnings call that the Copilot numbers were "super impressive and...way ahead of most people's expectations." The sole source for this information is TechCrunch, reporting directly on Microsoft's official statements from its quarterly earnings call.