Microsoft's core productivity apps—Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—face potential obsolescence due to advancing AI technology, according to a PCWorld analysis citing Bloomberg coverage. The article notes that Microsoft is "being buffeted by AI disruption as its stock plunges." Jack Ablin, chief investment strategist at Cresset Wealth Advisors, which owns the stock, stated, "Whether Microsoft Word or Excel will be rendered obsolete by AI remains to be seen." Keith Fitz-Gerald, principal at the Fitz-Gerald Group, added, "We don’t know what the environment is going to look like in a few years, which opens up very real questions like, will we even use a Microsoft suite anymore?" The analysis explains that while Microsoft's Copilot feature aims to generate results within its apps, external AI applications like ChatGPT and Claude already offer similar document formatting, content creation, and synthesis capabilities without requiring Microsoft applications or subscriptions. The article suggests that if users realize what AI can do, they may abandon Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, noting that "Word isn’t much more than a scratchpad" and that AI chatbots "put PowerPoint at risk" by performing tasks Microsoft touts for Copilot.