For a long time, some features in Microsoft Apps Notepad and Paint require a paid subscription for the first time.
As PC World reported earlier this year, some newer features that have been added to applications that use AI, such as image generators in paint and AI rewrites of text in Notepad, will require a paid Microsoft 365 account.
Non-AI features in both applications should continue to work. Those who are inaccessible due to lack of subscriptions may be greyed.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Microsoft has invested billions of dollars, and the company has invested in Openai, one of the industry’s AI leaders, which has been introducing AI capabilities through its Copilot App through its Voice and Windows capabilities for Windows. Some of these increased prices have promoted prices in certain areas of the Microsoft 365 area, with the service priced at about $10 per month or $99 per year.
Not all Microsoft's AI efforts are full of user enthusiasm. Copilot feature recall delays snapshots of user activity to improve searches, and Microsoft defends the claim that its own app is a privacy and security nightmare. In December, news came out that a recall could capture information such as credit card numbers and social security numbers for user activity in screenshots.
In the case of notepad and paint, it seems that the paywall will not affect the ability of Windows users without a 365 subscription, who cannot access and use these applications. Microsoft posted some details on the new AI features on one of its blogs in November.
