Microsoft will discontinue Copilot GPT Builder within a month
In less than a month, Microsoft will discontinue its customer-facing functionality that allows users to create customized versions of its Copilot AI service, as originally revealed by tech journalist Paul Thurrott on his website.
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Microsoft made the announcement via email to Copilot Pro users (you had to pay $30 a month for the feature), as well as on a support page on its website.
According to the company's support page:
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"Microsoft will remove the ability to create GPTs starting July 10, 2024, and then remove all GPTs (created by Microsoft and by customers) along with their associated GPT data also starting July 10, 2024, through July 14, 2024."
You Might be Wondering, Why?
Why is Microsoft acting in this way, especially considering that less than three months ago, in March 2024, it launched the Copilot GPT Builder and customized Copilot GPTs to great fanfare?
Additionally, the company states on its support page:
“We are shifting our focus on GPTs to Commercial and Enterprise scenarios and are stopping GPT efforts in consumer Copilot."
This implies that enterprise Copilot subscribers and users will have access to a version of the Copilot GPT Builder, however, Microsoft has not yet made a formal announcement about this service.
The comments on Thurott's website suggest that the feature was probably not very popular.
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Ethan Mollick, an AI influencer and professor at Pennsylvania University's Wharton School of Business, was surprised at the decision, pointing out that it would limit grassroots users' creativity.
A minor but potentially meaningless concession
On its webpage, Microsoft notes that users who have already created custom GPTs with Copilot GPT Builder can make a small accommodation for themselves, by opening the GPT in "Edit" mode, users can click the "Configure" tab and "Copy the instructions and save them elsewhere for reference."
However, customers who relied on the Custom GPTs to function within Copilot are probably not going to find this comforting. They will now need to either install those customized instructions permanently or paste them into Copilot as a kind of prompt for particular actions. This is not a great user experience, and it is undoubtedly more difficult and time-consuming than what was previously possible with the Copilot GPT Builder.
Anyway, what use did Copilot GPT Builder serve?
The tool will allow users to build and distribute personalized, task-specific chatbots for Copilot Pro subscribers, similar to Microsoft's investment in OpenAI's unique GPT Builder and GPT Store.
The Copilot GPT Builder had two tabs, "Create" for creating and "Configure" for more customizing. RAG allowed for the integration of external data, as well as the toggling of online browsing and image creation features.
All of these specially constructed GPTs, however, will be unavailable after July 14, 2024.
Data will be removed.
Additionally, Microsoft wants to reassure Copilot users that, in keeping with its commitment to data privacy as stated in its Privacy Statement, it will eliminate any data gathered via the Copilot GPT Builder.
Microsoft offers full guidance on its website for those who want to cancel their Copilot Pro subscriptions or who want further information about managing subscriptions.
If a user purchases a subscription through Google Play or the Apple App Store, they can cancel it using the respective app stores or the Microsoft account page.
What did this teach us?
Thinking back on Copilot GPT Builder's path, its release arrived with excitement since it allowed customers to customize AI tools to meet their unique requirements.
With the help of technology, employees may now develop apps that are appropriate for their roles without needing technical knowledge.
Though there was no direct cooperation, the tool was inspired by OpenAI's GPT Builder, suggesting that the market is moving toward more customizable AI solutions.
Microsoft's move toward Commercial and Enterprise scenarios points to a focused strategy for utilizing AI's potential in a corporate setting going forward.
However, users who have already invested time, money, and effort in a subscription to construct personalized Copilot GPTs are unlikely to view the move kindly, and it may also cast doubt on Microsoft's overall commitment to any future AI products and services the company delivers.
The similar GPT Builder and unique GPT Store from OpenAI, which launched with great excitement in November 2023 and January 2024, respectively, but which OpenAI has not updated or mentioned much since then, also make me wonder at least what will happen to them. Are they too long for this world?
Following its Spring Updates event back in May, OpenAI did take steps to enable free users of ChatGPT and GPT-4o to access custom GPTs made by third parties; perhaps this indicates that the firm continues to believe that custom GPTs have value for a broad audience.
Please share your thoughts and reactions to this news with me in the comments section below and on today's post, Technical Moeed Signing off.