Microsoft appears to be preparing its sales team for stronger competition against other leading AI companies.

At an internal meeting on Tuesday, executives laid out plans for salespeople to point out shortcomings in AI products from firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic while favoring Microsoft's own solutions. The session, centered on strategy for the new fiscal year, focused on stressing the efficiency and lower costs of the company's in-house models relative to rival offerings.

Everyone else is selling parts - we are selling the full end-to-end system. That is the story that we all need to get out there and tell in FY27, one executive reportedly told attendees.

Another leader delivered a presentation directly comparing Copilot to Anthropic's Claude chatbot. The comparison highlighted that Anthropic's model performed slower and less accurately in Microsoft office applications and lacked appropriate security integrations.

A company training its sales staff to critique competitors is not unusual. What stands out is that Microsoft is now targeting firms it has long relied on to power its AI products.

This marks the latest step in that shift. Recent reports indicate Microsoft has been replacing models from OpenAI and Anthropic in key apps such as Word and Excel with its own versions as a cost-saving measure.

Microsoft and OpenAI once maintained a close partnership. The companies had an agreement under which Microsoft supplied capital and computing resources in exchange for exclusive access to OpenAI's API and models. They updated the arrangement in April, removing the exclusivity terms and allowing OpenAI to work with Microsoft's competitors.

The updated relationship may account for the new sales approach. Microsoft has faced questions about its stock performance amid heavy spending on AI infrastructure. Highlighting the strength of its products may aim to reassure investors about the company's long-term AI strategy.