Microsoft is looking to introduce more diverse, lower-cost technology options in the field of generative artificial intelligence after easing its close partnership with OpenAI. According to Axios, Microsoft is evaluating using a set of self-developed and self-hosted Chinese open source models DeepSeek in its AI assistant Copilot to control expenditures as cost pressures soar due to so-called "tokenmaxxing" (surging token consumption for large model inference).
Microsoft is considering a variant of DeepSeek-V4, a popular model from China, as a low-cost computing option for Copilot Cowork, a "proxy" AI tool primarily offered through the Microsoft 365 enterprise suite, people familiar with the matter said.
At present, Copilot Cowork's underlying model mainly relies on Anthropic's products and is compatible with OpenAI's models in some versions. However, the two manufacturers have continued to increase prices in recent years and have gradually abandoned the previous "unlimited use" package model. This has made Microsoft face an increasingly heavy cost burden when providing services to customers. In response to this trend, Microsoft has begun to shift its agent-based AI solutions to a usage-based billing model, while looking for cheaper models to drive down the cost of a single call, thereby making enterprise customers more satisfied with the cost while maintaining performance.
If Microsoft ultimately chooses to introduce DeepSeek into the Copilot system, it will inevitably collide with the Trump administration's current tendency to regulate technology. The Trump administration has recently stepped up scrutiny of artificial intelligence models, showing strong wariness in particular about models developed, trained and operated by foreign institutions. The administration has previously publicly threatened to crack down on some Chinese AI companies, accusing them of allegedly stealing models trained by U.S. companies, and has discussed banning some Chinese models, including DeepSeek, from entering the U.S. market. At the same time, U.S. regulatory authorities have just suspended the use of Anthropic’s latest generation model to foreign nationals due to security risks, further sending a signal of tightening the cross-border flow of AI technology. In this political and regulatory environment, if Microsoft adopts models from China in key enterprise products, no matter what technical and compliance protection measures it takes, it will be difficult to obtain a favorable response from the Trump administration.
From the perspective of Microsoft's own strategy, this consideration of low-cost models such as DeepSeek occurred after CEO Satya Nadella recently published a long article explaining his view of the AI industry. Nadella pointed out in the article "Frontiers Without Ecosystems Are Not Stable" published on the After ending the "highly tied and tense relationship" phase with OpenAI, Microsoft is actively trying to reduce its dependence on a few leading manufacturers and reshape its position in the AI ecosystem by introducing more model options. This move is also seen as a signal sent by Microsoft to the industry: Large technology companies can and should explore more diversified model sources instead of completely entrusting key capabilities to a few domestic suppliers in the United States.
However, for more corporate customers who rely on the US market and regulatory environment, whether to follow Microsoft and choose overseas models like DeepSeek will still be a real problem. Even if an enterprise can accept an architecture design with multiple models coexisting at the technical and data governance levels, once the relevant models are not directly controlled by U.S. companies, they will bear additional risks from government review, export controls, and compliance uncertainties. Under the premise that the Trump administration has made it clear that it will take a tougher stance against Chinese AI companies, if Microsoft really introduces DeepSeek into Copilot, it is likely to reduce its own AI costs while also pushing customers into a more complex policy and public opinion whirlpool.