Microsoft said it will revise language in the terms of use for Microsoft Copilot after a clause describing the product as being “for entertainment purposes only” drew scrutiny.
The wording appears in Copilot’s Terms of Use updated on October 24, 2025, under a section titled “Important Disclosures and Warnings.” It states: “Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.”
The agreement adds: “We do not make any warranty or representation of any kind about Copilot. For example, we can’t promise that any Copilot’s Responses won’t infringe someone else’s rights … or defame them. You are solely responsible if you choose to publish or share Copilot’s Responses.”
Microsoft has been selling Copilot to businesses for $30 per user per month and integrating it across Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Windows 11, positioning the tool as a workplace productivity assistant.
The terms resurfaced in early April, prompting debate over the gap between that language and how the product is marketed and priced.
A Microsoft spokesperson told PCMag the company plans to update what it described as “legacy language,” adding that it is “no longer reflective of how Copilot is used today and will be altered with our next update.”
The spokesperson said the phrasing dates back to Copilot’s earlier positioning as a search companion in Bing. The company did not provide a timeline for the change. The terms apply to consumer Copilot products and not Microsoft 365 Copilot enterprise services.
Damilare Odedina
Industry peers issue similar cautions
Other AI providers include disclaimers about reliability, though none use the same phrasing.
OpenAI advises users not to treat outputs as a sole source of truth or factual information. Google warns against relying on its Gemini models for medical, legal or financial advice. xAI says its systems may produce incorrect outputs, while Anthropic states that its Claude chatbot may generate inaccurate or incomplete responses.
None describe their products as being “for entertainment purposes only.”
Adoption lags amid trust concerns
Microsoft reported 15 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats in its fiscal 2026 second quarter, representing about 3.3% of its 450 million commercial users.
In the U.S., paid subscriber market share declined from 18.8% in July 2025 to 11.5% in January 2026. When given a choice between Copilot, ChatGPT and Gemini, 8% of workers selected Copilot.
Recon Analytics data shows Copilot’s accuracy Net Promoter Score fell from -3.5 in July 2025 to -24.1 in September 2025. Among users who stopped using the tool, 44.2% cited distrust of its outputs as their primary reason.
Implications for users
Microsoft’s terms state that users should “always use your judgment and check the information you get from Copilot before you make decisions or act.”
For organizations using Copilot to generate code, draft contracts or produce customer-facing communications, the terms place responsibility on users for outcomes tied to the tool’s output.
Microsoft expands AI efforts
The development comes as Microsoft continues to expand its AI portfolio. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in September 2025 he would delegate other responsibilities to focus more on AI product development, according to reporting by The Information.
In April 2026, Microsoft released new proprietary models, including MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1 and MAI-Image-2, its first in-house AI releases since renegotiating its OpenAI partnership in September 2025.
Damilare Odedina
