Microsoft and OpenAI are committed to the long term. This week, the two companies announced an extension of their partnership through 2032, cementing Microsoft’s role as OpenAI’s core infrastructure partner.

The updated agreement sets clear boundaries for how both companies operate:

• Microsoft retains exclusive IP rights and Azure API access
• OpenAI commits to $250 billion in Azure services
• Microsoft does not have right of first refusal as OpenAI’s compute provider
• OpenAI can work with third parties, as long as products run on Azure
• US government API access can run on any cloud
• Microsoft now owns an estimated 27% stake in OpenAI, valued at around $135 billion

The takeaway is simple: Microsoft’s AI stack is here to stay. Copilot, Bing’s AI answers, and related tools will continue running on the latest OpenAI models for the rest of the decade.

For businesses, that matters. The AI responses users see – and how content appears inside them – will be shaped by this partnership for years to come. Staying visible means understanding where those answers are coming from.