Microsoft on Wednesday denied claims that it uses customer data from its Microsoft 365 applications, including Word and Excel, to train artificial intelligence models. The response came after some users pointed out on social media that the company requires users to opt-out of its "connected experiences" feature,

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

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

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.

In the latest controversy, Microsoft has refuted the claim stating that it doesn't use Word documents or Excel data to train its AI models.

Reports that the tech giant is taking user data through its best known business software to train its AIs follows a global crash on Monday.

Microsoft has denies rumors of using Microsoft 365 customer data data to train AI models. The company took to social media and shared statements to explain its Connected Experiences within Microsoft 365.

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

Confusion over Connected Experiences settings in 365 apps spark concerns Microsoft's Connected Experiences option in its productivity suite has been causing consternation amid accusations that the default setting might allow Microsoft to train AI models using customers' Word and Excel documents and other data.