March 13 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) will widen the

availability of its artificial intelligence-powered tool for

cybersecurity professionals from April 1 and adopt a

'pay-as-you-go' strategy for the assistant, the company said on

Wednesday.

Soft-launched last year, 'Security Copilot' lets analysts

run queries through a simple prompt box to help with tasks like

summarizing incidents, analyzing vulnerabilities and sharing

information with co-workers on a pinboard.

Roughly 300 customers are currently using the tool, a

Microsoft ( MSFT ) official said at an event in San Francisco.

The tech giant plans to charge customers for how much they

use the product rather than on a subscription basis, as it

"wanted to reduce the barriers of entry," Microsoft Corporate

Vice President Vasu Jakkal told reporters.