New Delhi, Oct. 27 -- Australia's competition watchdog has launched legal action against Microsoft, accusing the tech giant of misleading consumers into purchasing higher-priced Microsoft 365 plans after the inclusion of its artificial intelligence assistant, Copilot.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that, beginning in October 2024, Microsoft misled roughly 2.7 million Australian customers by implying they needed to upgrade to new, more expensive personal and family subscription plans that featured Copilot.

According to the regulator, the annual price of the Microsoft 365 Personal plan rose by 45 per cent to A$159 ($103.32), while the Family plan increased by 29 per cent to A$179 ($117) following the AI ass...