Software giant Microsoft is facing hefty penalties for allegedly misleading millions of Australian users over artificial intelligence-linked subscription price hikes.

The nation's consumer watchdog has taken the US company to court for allegedly misleading customers into believing they must either pay extra fees when its AI assistant Copilot is integrated into their package or cancel altogether.

But subscribers also had the option to maintain their previous plan with the AI assistant at the same price, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, as stated in the Federal Court case.

Some 2.7 million Australians received the emails, which said a Microsoft 365 personal account would auto-renew at $159 for a one-year subscription if the customer did not cancel.

Commiss

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