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Marc Benioff’s warning that Microsoft could use a “pretty nasty” playbook against OpenAI is a prediction, not proof that Microsoft has already acted unlawfully against its AI partner. The comparison draws on a real record: Slack complained to the European Commission about Microsoft bundling Teams with its productivity software, and the Commission investigated before making Microsoft’s later commitments legally binding. But that process did not establish every allegation Benioff made.
The analogy also needs updating. Since Benioff spoke in 2025, Microsoft and OpenAI have revised their deal to give OpenAI more room to work across clouds while preserving substantial cooperation. For enterprise customers and investors, the key question is less whether the partnership is “over” than how much control either company has over models, distribution, cloud access and switching.
What Benioff said about Microsoft, Slack and OpenAI
In a podcast conversation with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said Microsoft had done “horrible things” to Slack before Salesforce acquired it. He described Microsoft’s conduct as “pretty nasty,” referred to a “dark” playbook, and linked it to Microsoft’s earlier competition with Netscape. He then suggested Microsoft was beginning to use a separate competitive playbook against OpenAI. ITPro’s report of the conversation attributes those characterizations to Benioff; they should not be mistaken for findings by a regulator or court.
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What happened in the Teams–Slack dispute
Microsoft promoted Teams as part of its wider Office 365 and Microsoft 365 ecosystems while Slack sold a competing workplace messaging product. Slack complained to the European Commission on July 14, 2020, alleging that Microsoft unlawfully tied Teams to its productivity suites and used that distribution advantage to disadvantage rivals.
The Commission opened a formal investigation on July 27, 2023. It raised concerns about the bundling of Teams with Microsoft’s productivity products and about interoperability. Crucially, the Commission said opening the investigation did not prejudge its outcome. An investigation is not a final finding of infringement, and Slack’s complaint remained an allegation unless and until established through a decision.
Microsoft introduced versions of certain business suites without Teams and later proposed further commitments. In September 2025, the Commission accepted commitments that became legally binding under EU competition rules. They included making productivity suites available without Teams, options for switching under some existing contracts, improved interoperability and data-extraction provisions. The measures were intended to address the Commission’s concerns through unbundling, pricing differences, interoperability and data portability. The Commission’s investigation announcement and its account of accepting the commitments document that history.
The careful summary is that Slack filed a complaint, the Commission investigated, and Microsoft accepted binding commitments. That supports Benioff’s reference to a genuine competition dispute. It does not, by itself, prove that Microsoft deliberately ran a “dark” campaign or that all of Slack’s claims were legally confirmed. The commitments described here apply in the European Economic Area; they should not be summarized as a worldwide order to stop bundling. Microsoft separately said it would align certain options globally.
Why Salesforce’s Slack acquisition matters
Salesforce announced its acquisition of Slack in December 2020 in a transaction reported at roughly $27.7 billion. The deal placed Slack inside a company seeking to strengthen its enterprise-software and workplace-communication position against Microsoft. Benioff’s comments therefore come from a leader whose company bought the alleged target of Microsoft’s strategy and now competes in adjacent markets.
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The acquisition is useful context, not evidence that Salesforce’s strategy succeeded or that Microsoft’s conduct was unlawful. Its relevance is that the Slack dispute concerned how a platform owner’s suite, defaults, distribution and interoperability can affect a standalone competitor—issues that can also matter in AI.
Microsoft and OpenAI are partners and competitors
The Microsoft–OpenAI relationship has never been just a conventional customer-supplier arrangement. It has combined investment and commercial ties with intellectual-property rights, Azure infrastructure and distribution of OpenAI models through Microsoft products. At the same time, both companies have reasons to pursue their own models, products and customers.
That creates several kinds of overlap. Microsoft can build its own AI models and products while continuing to offer OpenAI technology. OpenAI can seek other cloud and infrastructure partners while continuing to work with Microsoft. The companies may cooperate on hosting, licensing or distribution and compete over enterprise AI, agents, applications and customer relationships. AI agents could also reshape workflows associated with productivity, collaboration, CRM and customer support, putting the companies’ broader enterprise ambitions closer together.
Competition is not the same as exclusion. Microsoft developing its own models, or substituting them for OpenAI models in some products, would be commercial competition. A separate concern would arise if a company used control over distribution, cloud access, APIs, licensing or interoperability to make it materially harder for customers or rivals to use alternatives. A finding of antitrust liability is a further step, requiring a regulator or court to establish a legal violation. The cited public record does not establish that Microsoft has unlawfully excluded OpenAI.
How the partnership changed after Benioff’s warning
- May 6, 2025: ITPro published Benioff’s comments. This is the date of the original report, not a description of the partnership’s current terms.
- October 28, 2025: OpenAI announced a new definitive agreement. Microsoft retained important intellectual-property and Azure-related rights, while OpenAI gained greater freedom to work with third parties and Microsoft lost its right of first refusal as OpenAI’s compute provider. OpenAI said both companies could pursue opportunities independently. OpenAI’s announcement describes the agreement.
- February 27, 2026: OpenAI and Microsoft said the partnership remained strong and that the October terms were unchanged. That is a joint statement about their relationship, not evidence that their commercial interests never diverge. Their statement sets out that position.
- April 27, 2026: Microsoft described a further amended agreement: its OpenAI IP license would become non-exclusive, OpenAI could serve products across cloud providers, and Microsoft would stop paying revenue share to OpenAI while continuing to receive capped payments through 2030. Microsoft said its license continued, but on a non-exclusive basis. Microsoft’s announcement explains the changes.
These changes point to negotiated separation and greater flexibility, not a clean breakup. OpenAI is not simply independent of Microsoft: Microsoft retains significant rights and commercial ties. Nor is Microsoft barred from OpenAI technology; its license continues, although it is no longer exclusive. The partnership can remain important while each company reduces dependence on the other in selected areas.
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Is Microsoft repeating its Slack strategy against OpenAI?
| Question | What the public record supports |
|---|---|
| Are Microsoft and OpenAI increasingly competitors? | Yes. They have overlapping ambitions in models, products and enterprise AI, alongside continuing cooperation. |
| Do they still have a substantial partnership? | Yes. Their 2025 and 2026 statements describe continuing ties, and Microsoft retains important IP and commercial rights. |
| Has a regulator or court found Microsoft unlawfully excluding OpenAI? | Not in the sources cited here. The EU Teams matter concerns Microsoft’s treatment of Teams and productivity-suite competitors, not a finding about OpenAI. |
| Are there structural reasons to watch the relationship? | Yes. Cloud capacity, licensing, model access, product distribution, interoperability and customer switching all shape who can compete. |
| Is Slack a direct match for OpenAI? | No. Slack was a standalone collaboration rival to a productivity-suite provider. OpenAI is also an investor-linked strategic partner with negotiated IP and cloud arrangements. |
Benioff’s analogy is strongest as a warning about incentives and platform power: Microsoft has a large installed base and controls important routes to enterprise customers, while it has reasons to build AI capabilities of its own. The analogy is weaker as proof of present misconduct. Slack and OpenAI occupy different positions in relation to Microsoft, and the post-2025 contracts explicitly provide OpenAI with greater flexibility while preserving cooperation.
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For buyers, the practical issue is whether their choices remain usable and portable—not which company wins a public argument. Many organizations may use Microsoft and OpenAI products at the same time, and their experience will depend on existing contracts, cloud commitments, compliance needs and architecture.
- Model choice: Can users access more than one model, and are alternatives available on comparable commercial and technical terms?
- Cloud portability: Can a product or workload move across cloud providers without rebuilding core systems? OpenAI’s broader ability to serve products across clouds is relevant, but it does not make every customer deployment automatically portable.
- Data and workflow exit: Can the organization export relevant data and conversation history, preserve audit records and migrate integrations if it changes vendors?
- Interoperability: Do APIs, identity systems and business applications work with competing services, or does the chosen stack make switching unusually costly?
- Contract and cost structure: Are AI charges seat-based, usage-based or both? What model, region, service level and renewal terms apply? Verify current pricing and contract terms directly rather than relying on old plan names or headline prices.
- Governance: Who controls permissions, retention, identity and audit logs across the assistant, model provider and cloud provider?
The same questions apply to collaboration choices. Microsoft Teams may fit organizations already standardized on Microsoft 365; Slack may suit teams seeking a channel-based collaboration layer and a different integration mix. Neither is automatically the better choice. Buyers should assess switching costs, export and administration alongside features. The EU commitments provide a concrete example of why unbundling, interoperability and data portability matter to competition as well as procurement.
Companies evaluating Azure-hosted OpenAI services may value existing Azure identity, governance and procurement arrangements. Direct OpenAI services or other cloud and model providers may offer different routes, but they involve their own contractual, privacy, regional availability and integration considerations. A vendor’s ability to offer multiple models does not, by itself, guarantee portability or eliminate concentration risk.
Benioff identified a credible strategic risk to monitor: a powerful platform owner can compete with partners and shape how customers reach alternatives. But the available record supports a warning about incentives and control, not a conclusion that Microsoft has already used the same unlawful strategy against OpenAI. The more useful test over time will be observable: whether customers can continue to choose models and clouds, move data and workflows, and obtain workable interoperability as the companies’ interests diverge.
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