Copilot Cowork is GA - but mind the cost

Copilot Cowork is now GA... and I genuinely like what Microsoft is building. That said, I’m not sure I’d broadly recommend it yet unless AI costs come down significantly. Today, you can often achieve similar outcomes with a combination of Microsoft Scout, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and other tools at a much lower cost. Would you ever consider using a tool that can cost you 7+ USD for a single message? In Poland, 7 USD equals around 60-70 minutes of work at minimum wage. In many parts of the world, the equivalent cost is even more significant. With Copilot Cowork, you don't only need to pay 30$/user/month, but also for copilot credits. Depending on the task, a single query may cost anywhere from around $1 to several dollars. Yes, some of those tasks could save more value than they cost, but the economics become interesting when you start scaling usage across teams. With AI, it's really simple to ask a tool to generate some output multiple times just to pick the best one. One challenge with AI is that iteration is part of the workflow. People naturally ask for multiple versions, refine outputs, and explore different approaches before choosing the best result. Every iteration has a cost. In some scenarios, a single document or work session with Cowork could easily consume $50–75+ worth of credits. And despite the price tag, the output is still AI-generated, meaning it should be reviewed carefully rather than accepted at face value. If you're using tools like this personally, prompt quality becomes increasingly important at current AI pricing. The more context, requirements, and constraints you provide upfront, the fewer expensive iterations you'll need later. There really should be information directly on UI on how much $ have you used in this session to make people more conscious about the cost associated with the work. Am I overreacting? Maybe a little. Real-world costs may end up being lower than the initial announcements suggest, and many organizations will find the ROI compelling. Still, I think it's worth having a broader conversation about how we use AI. As these tools become more powerful, being intentional with prompts, iterations, and overall usage will matter just as much as the technology itself. You should use AI responsibly.