In an effort to get more customers to pay Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) on a recurring basis, the software giant is gearing up to roll out subscription plans for consumers. Yusuf Mehdi, a vice president at Microsoft said in a blog post Monday starting April 21 Office 365, its cloud-based service that has more than 38 million subscribers, will become Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 builds on Office 365 by adding new artificial intelligence capabilities to its apps. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. The tech giant also announced that it is launching two new subscription programs for individuals and families that will be available on April 21 worldwide. Microsoft 365 Personal will cost $6.99 a month, while Microsoft Family will go for $9.99 a month. Microsoft has been trying to shift its users to subscription models, enabling them to access the apps in the cloud. That eliminates the need to get people to upgrade their operating system every few years. As part of the subscriptions and the shift to Microsoft 365, users not only get access to Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint but also Microsoft Editor, which is powered by artificial intelligence and makes suggestions on how to write better, and a presentation coach for PowerPoint presentations. The latter tool allows users to practice in front of a digital camera and get feedback. Excel is getting a new feature to help users track spending, via a partnership with fintech Plaid Technologies. The new subscription packages will also include parental controls to enable parents to track what their kids are doing on Microsoft devices, and access to Teams, its digital collaboration tool. "With Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions you get everything in Office 365, like premium desktop Office apps, 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per person, 60 Skype minutes for calling mobile phones and landlines, advanced security features to protect you from malware and phishing attacks, ongoing technical support, plus all the new features and benefits announced today," the Microsoft executive said in the blog post. 10 stocks we like better than MicrosoftWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Microsoft wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 18, 2020 Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Donna Fuscaldo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Microsoft and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft and short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source