Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT, the world's largest software company, is preparing its sales team to compete more aggressively with Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind Claude, and OpenAI, another major AI developer. During internal meetings held Tuesday and Wednesday, Microsoft executives said the company should emphasize its lower costs, stronger security controls, and broader product offering. Executive Vice President Jay Parikh said Microsoft's fiscal 2027 sales message should focus on the company providing a complete end-to-end system while competitors offer individual parts. This strategy supports Microsoft's effort to position itself as a platform where businesses can fine-tune, deploy, and monitor artificial intelligence across their operations.
The competitive push comes as Microsoft faces pressure from large AI startups and rival cloud platforms, including Alphabet NASDAQ:GOOGL, the technology company that owns Google. Investors have raised concerns that newer AI tools could replace established software products, while Microsoft's rising data-center spending has added further pressure on sentiment. The stock has fallen 20% this year, although shares gained 2.9% to $396.08 by 1:50 p.m. in New York, representing the largest intraday increase in two weeks. Executive Vice President Jacob Andreou also compared Microsoft's Copilot assistant with Anthropic's Claude for use in Microsoft's office products, saying Claude was slower, less accurate, and lacked suitable security integrations. Anthropic declined to comment.
Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said customers are expected to focus more heavily over the next year on monitoring AI costs and using cheaper models. Nadella pointed to Unilever, a consumer goods company, which built an automated claims-processing system on Microsoft's platform that is projected to generate about $300 million in savings. The system had previously used one of the most advanced AI models available before switching to a less expensive Microsoft model. Microsoft has also replaced advanced models from OpenAI and Anthropic with its own cheaper alternative in some products, according to Bloomberg. Investors may view the strategy as an attempt to improve AI economics while strengthening Microsoft's position against fast-growing competitors.