November 13, 2023 Microsoft temporarily restricted its employees from using the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, a company in which Microsoft has invested over $13 billion. 

The decision, citing “security and data concerns,” raised eyebrows within the tech industry, given the close ties between the two companies.

Microsoft’s internal website reportedly informed employees that several AI tools, including ChatGPT, were no longer available for their use due to security concerns. The restriction, however, was short-lived. Following CNBC’s report on the matter, Microsoft quickly reinstated ChatGPT access, acknowledging an error in the initial decision.

“We restored service shortly after we identified our error,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated. “As we said previously, we encourage employees and customers to use services like Bing Chat Enterprise and ChatGPT Enterprise that come with greater levels of privacy and security protections.”

The sources for this piece include an article in ZDNet.