HomeMicrosoft reportedly trains sales staff to undercut rivals OpenAI and Anthropic
Microsoft is reportedly gearing up its sales force to intensify competition against key rivals in the artificial intelligence sector.
According to a Bloomberg report, executives held an internal strategy session on Tuesday, instructing sales teams to highlight the advantages of Microsoft’s AI offerings over those from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The meeting, focused on fiscal year 27 planning, emphasized pitching the efficiency and cost benefits of Microsoft’s proprietary models compared to competitors’ solutions.
“Everyone else is selling parts — we’re selling the full end-to-end system. That’s the story that we all need to get out there and tell in FY27,” Executive Vice President Jay Parikh reportedly stated during the session.
Executive Vice President Jacob Andreou reportedly presented a direct comparison between Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude. Bloomberg reports that Andreou claimed Anthropic’s model was “slower and less accurate, and lacked the proper security integrations” when used within Microsoft’s office applications.
TechCrunch has contacted Microsoft and Anthropic for comment and will provide updates if responses are received.
While instructing sales teams to critique competitors is common, Microsoft’s current target is notable: these are the same companies whose AI models power many of its own products.
This marks another step in that direction. A recent report indicated that Microsoft has been replacing OpenAI and Anthropic models in flagship apps like Word and Excel with its own solutions, a move aimed at reducing costs.
Microsoft and OpenAI once shared a close partnership. Years ago, they entered a unique agreement where Microsoft provided funding and computing power in exchange for exclusive access to OpenAI’s API and models. In April, the companies amended this deal, removing exclusivity and allowing OpenAI to sell to Microsoft’s competitors.
This updated partnership may explain the new sales pitch. With Microsoft’s stock performance under scrutiny due to heavy AI infrastructure spending, emphasizing the competitiveness of its products could help reassure investors and bolster confidence in the company’s long-term AI strategy.
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Microsoft is reportedly gearing up its sales force to intensify competition against key rivals in the artificial intelligence sector.
According to a Bloomberg report, executives held an internal strategy session on Tuesday, instructing sales teams to highlight the advantages of Microsoft’s AI offerings over those from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The meeting, focused on fiscal year 27 planning, emphasized pitching the efficiency and cost benefits of Microsoft’s proprietary models compared to competitors’ solutions.
“Everyone else is selling parts — we’re selling the full end-to-end system. That’s the story that we all need to get out there and tell in FY27,” Executive Vice President Jay Parikh reportedly stated during the session.
Executive Vice President Jacob Andreou reportedly presented a direct comparison between Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude. Bloomberg reports that Andreou claimed Anthropic’s model was “slower and less accurate, and lacked the proper security integrations” when used within Microsoft’s office applications.
TechCrunch has contacted Microsoft and Anthropic for comment and will provide updates if responses are received.
While instructing sales teams to critique competitors is common, Microsoft’s current target is notable: these are the same companies whose AI models power many of its own products.
This marks another step in that direction. A recent report indicated that Microsoft has been replacing OpenAI and Anthropic models in flagship apps like Word and Excel with its own solutions, a move aimed at reducing costs.
Microsoft and OpenAI once shared a close partnership. Years ago, they entered a unique agreement where Microsoft provided funding and computing power in exchange for exclusive access to OpenAI’s API and models. In April, the companies amended this deal, removing exclusivity and allowing OpenAI to sell to Microsoft’s competitors.
This updated partnership may explain the new sales pitch. With Microsoft’s stock performance under scrutiny due to heavy AI infrastructure spending, emphasizing the competitiveness of its products could help reassure investors and bolster confidence in the company’s long-term AI strategy.
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