Unlocking Free Productivity: Microsoft Trials Ad-Supported Office Apps for Windows Users

Microsoft has introduced ad-supported versions of its Office desktop apps. These include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. While they let users edit documents, the features are limited.

Currently, users can access Microsoft 365 apps for free through Office on the web. However, details about the new ad-supported desktop apps haven’t been fully explained by Microsoft yet.

When you use these apps, you’ll see ads displayed in a vertical panel on the right side of the screen as you work.

Below the ads, there will be messages prompting users to subscribe to Microsoft 365 to remove the advertisements. Clicking “See benefits” takes you to more information.

To try the new ad-supported Office apps, download Microsoft 365 and select “Skip for now” on the sign-in screen.

This action opens a page welcoming you to free Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, where you can click “Continue for free” and save to OneDrive afterwards.

As noted by Beebom, you’ll need a paid Microsoft 365 subscription to save your edited documents to your computer. Otherwise, you can only save them to OneDrive.

The ad-supported versions offer basic features and limitations, which can be found in the table below:

​​BleepingComputer could not duplicate these findings, suggesting this might be a limited test.

Microsoft has not commented on this situation yet.

Ads in Windows Services

This isn’t Microsoft’s first venture into ad space. Last year, ads appeared in the “Recommended” section of the Windows 11 Start menu. They’ve also promoted their products in other areas, such as the sign-out menu.

In the past, Microsoft displayed ads in Windows File Explorer and promoted Microsoft Edge in Windows 10. Even the Windows 10 Wordpad app showcased ads for their free Office web apps.