Disgruntled Microsoft customers, who were misled into buying more expensive subscriptions featuring its artificial intelligence Copilot chatbot, have flooded the technology giant with refund requests, leaving the company unable to immediately honour pledges to pay them back.

Customers contacted The Australian Financial Review to complain that Microsoft had underestimated the demand for compensation from up to 2.7 million dissatisfied consumers. Microsoft then wrote to some of those affected to explain that it had accidentally sent the wrong link to unsubscribe.