Microsoft Faces UK CMA Probe Into AI Bundling, Risk of 10% Global Revenue Fine

TradingKey - Microsoft is under investigation by the UK's CMA over suspected bundling and automatic renewal price hikes.

According to market news on July 29, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Microsoft ( MSFT ), focusing primarily on whether the company leveraged its position in the office software market to force-bundle AI tools (Copilot) and implement automatic renewal price hikes, as well as allegedly misleading consumers. In pre-market trading, Microsoft shares rose 0.25%, standing at $394.35.

If the CMA ultimately finds that Microsoft has seriously breached consumer protection laws or antitrust regulations, the law authorizes the CMA to fine Microsoft up to 10% of its global total revenue. Based on Microsoft's global annual revenue of over $280 billion, the theoretical 10% maximum fine would exceed $28 billion. Currently, the CMA has not determined that Microsoft has engaged in any unlawful behavior.

In May this year, the CMA launched another review into Microsoft's commercial software ecosystem, including Windows, Office, Teams, Copilot, etc., to assess whether the company locked in corporate clients and hindered competition from third-party AI products through deep product bundling, a lack of cross-platform interoperability, and default settings. Currently, the CMA has published the public and corporate feedback it gathered but has not yet made a final ruling on the investigation, with results expected to be released by February 2027.