Both of those statements are true, though.

"Next big thing" may actually work, nobody knows for sure. One thing MS actually has is a big userbase, and it would be unwise to ignore possibility of testing few hypothesises on them.

I used to work in startup during "big data" hype and some things we developed was truly outside of users imagination. Users knew their problems, "pains" as we called them, but they lacked tech skills to even imagine ways of solving them. Picture this: you are showing spreadsheet editor to people who are used to keep all ther records on paper. You are

• Forcing them to spend money on software
• Making them learn new stuff they didn't need in their work before
• Exposing their data to the government
• Are being an elitist asshole in general, assuming they need your help

AI may work for some people. Paint can get you pictures based on scribbles, notepad can turn your drafts into proper notes. You wouldn't know until you try it yourself, and most non tech savvy people won't even search for a ways to try. But if it's already installed - why not? Click on that fancy ✨AI✨ button and enjoy wonders of technology.

For some context - i'm not an MS shill, not even using Windows since Vista (used my literal lunch money to buy it). But i can't be mad at them for trying, especially when they don't charge extra for it.