For the first time, some features in longstanding Microsoft apps Notepad and Paint will require a paid subscription. As reported by PC World earlier this year, some newer features that have been added to apps that use AI, such as an image generator in Paint and AI rewriting of text in Notepad, will require a paid Microsoft 365 account.
Non-AI features in both Paint and Notepad should continue to work. Those that are not accessible due to a lack of a subscription may be grayed out in the apps. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Microsoft, which has invested billions of collars in one of the industry’s AI leaders, OpenAI, has been introducing artificial intelligence features into different apps and services, including its Xbox gaming division, and voice and reasoning features for Windows via its Copilot app. Some of the additions have driven up prices in some regions for Microsoft 365, the subscription service it offers for about $10 a month or $99 a year.
Not all of Microsoft’s AI efforts have been met with enthusiasm from users. The Copilot feature Recall, which takes snapshots of a user’s activities in order to improve search, was delayed, with Microsoft defending itself against claims that the app was a privacy and security nightmare. In December, news emerged that Recall could capture information such as credit card numbers and social security numbers in the course of taking screenshots of user activity.
In the case of Notepad and Paint, it seems as if paywalling the AI features would not affect the ability for Windows users who don’t have a 365 subscription to access and use the apps for everything else. Microsoft posted some details about the new AI features on one of its blogs back in November.
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