Microsoft Probed in Italy Over Pricing of AI Bundles — Update

By Adria Calatayud

Italy's antitrust watchdog launched a probe into Microsoft's pricing, saying the U.S. tech giant might have failed to clearly inform users that artificial-intelligence tools had been bundled into its Microsoft 365 suite of products.

The Italian Competition Authority said Friday that its investigation focuses on how Microsoft told consumers about an increase in the subscription price for its Microsoft 365 service.

The company might have failed to make it sufficiently clear to consumers that the subscription service had been integrated with its Copilot and Designer AI tools, and might have made it difficult to opt out of a price increase by placing them by default on a higher-cost plan, the authority said.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is committed to complying with Italian consumer law and will cooperate with the Italian Competition Authority in its investigation.

The regulator said it would investigate whether Microsoft's behavior breached consumer rules.

The investigation in Italy comes after Australia's consumer watchdog sued Microsoft last year, claiming the company didn't clearly tell existing Microsoft 365 subscribers how to decline paying for Copilot AI tools when their annual plans renewed.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 26, 2026 08:10 ET (12:10 GMT)