If you've been up to date with your Microsoft news, you'll know that the company recently reported that its Copilot user count has plateaued. The service attracts 20 million users a week, which sounds impressive on paper; however, given how ChatGPT garners 400 million users a week, you can see how things pale in comparison. Not only that, but given how roughly 1.5 billion users use Windows, and Copilot now comes as default with Windows 10 and 11, you'd think that number would be a tad higher. But it's not going up.

While that's good news for AI critics, this failure is likely to make Microsoft even more annoying. So, here's why Windows users should prep themselves for more Microsoft-based shenanigans in the future.

The advertisements for Copilot will ramp up

And will continue to do so until you use it

So, Copilot has stalled on user numbers. Guess it's time for Microsoft to pack it up, right? Admit that maybe they got off on the wrong foot and try another venture. Maybe use their partnership with OpenAI to allow ChatGPT to handle all the AI stuff while Microsoft does its own thing.

But we both know Microsoft is not going to do that. Like, really? This is the company that often doubles down on its choices, regardless of how people respond to them. That means that Copilot, Copilot Pro, and Copilot+ devices aren't going anywhere. And that means that Microsoft is going to advertise them even harder to get people to adopt their new AI overlords.

We're already kind of seeing it with Microsoft's monthly Windows 10 pester quest. Before the worrying Copilot statistic came out, Microsoft was content with just asking people on Windows 10 to purchase a Windows 11 machine to get them up to speed. However, the latest campaign specifically points out the benefits of a Copilot+ machine instead of a Windows 11 one. I think this is going to be Microsoft's main tactic as we head toward Windows 10's end-of-support date in October: advertising not just Windows 11, but the benefits of a Copilot+ device specifically.

The advertisements for other services are also going to ramp up

And will continue to do so even if you do use them

Alright, for this part, I'm going to need you to join me in the Speculation Zone. See, I believe Microsoft is currently looking for its big golden goose. Obviously, Windows does numbers for them; it's one of the most used operating systems in the world, after all. The problem is, after people buy a new computer with Windows or grab a Windows license, they can go for years without buying another one. Sometimes they won't purchase a new license until the newest version of Windows comes out. That's a lot of time waiting for money to come in.

So, the company has been on the hunt for a monthly money-maker. They have Microsoft 365 subscriptions, which are pretty good, but they need something else. When ChatGPT began to take off, I can imagine Microsoft seeing dollar signs when looking at its own assistant, Copilot. They could make special Copilot-enhanced devices (which make them money) that run Copilot locally and encourage people to upgrade to Copilot Pro (which makes them money) and perhaps then pay extra for the Office integration (which makes them money).

But now that golden egg hasn't panned out like Microsoft wants, and now it needs to find a way to help prop up the income while it tries to get Copilot off the ground. This means more ads for the Microsoft Store, more ads for its game store, and more ads for Microsoft 365. Oh, and let's not forget the ads within Copilot itself. If you thought things were bad now, I have a nasty feeling we're only just getting started with the ads.

Using Windows is going to be annoying for the next few years

Regardless of how you feel about Copilot, one thing's for sure: Microsoft isn't going to take its lack of popularity lying down. Unfortunately for us, that means more pestering, both to use Copilot and to invest in its other products. And until the people finally accept the AI assistant into their lives like Microsoft wants, the advertisements will continue.