Conflating two issues there.
If they're talking about developing 'an AI', they were late but are still in the game.
If they're talking about adoption of AI, they shat the bed there. They slapped copilot on everything and tried to force us into the way they thought we should be working. They forced us to give up old hardware and to use their garbage new OS. All that was wrong and seriously turned a lot of people against MS. They forgot that 'the customer is always right'. Again.
I still think there will be a big role for AI, but its in the background, quietly assisting in a way we barely notice. Big Tech will pay for how they've missold AI.