Microsoft on Wednesday denied claims that it uses customer data from its Microsoft 365 applications, including Word and Excel, to train artificial intelligence models.

Microsoft says it isn’t using customer data from its Microsoft 365 apps to train its AI models. The clarification addresses reports circulating online in the last few weeks claiming Microsoft required Word and Excel users to opt out of training the company’s AI systems.

Following concerns that Microsoft is using connected experiences in its office apps to train its AI language models, the company clarified that worries are unfounded.

The setting in question 'only enables features requiring internet access like co-authoring a document,' Microsoft says.

People are increasingly worried about how AI affects them. Will our jobs become obsolete? Are we constantly being tracked online and in the real world? Most recently, people have raised concerns about whether our creative and professional work is being used to train large language models.

All of the recent hullabaloo surrounding Microsoft 365's 'connected experiences' has been a misunderstanding, per the company.

This week, Microsoft refuted reports claiming that it is training its Copilot AI on data customers store in Microsoft 365.

A tweet claiming that Microsoft Office uses the content of customer documents to train its AI systems raised a