If your organisation runs Microsoft 365, Microsoft Copilot is usually the better default, because it works inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams and can draw on your own files, email and meetings. ChatGPT is usually the better choice for teams outside the Microsoft ecosystem, or for people who want the broadest standalone assistant.
This is less of a toss-up than the marketing suggests. The deciding question is usually what you already pay for. The second is which Copilot you actually mean, because Microsoft uses the name for several different products.
Facts checked September 2026 · From a provider that trains teams on all of these tools
Our team has trained:
Start from the work, not the tool. If most of these describe your team, that is usually the better fit.
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| Criterion | Microsoft Copilot | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, plus a chat app | A standalone app and browser tool, plus add-ins for Excel and PowerPoint |
| Your work data | With a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, draws on your email, meetings, chats and files, within existing permissions | Through connectors to SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive and others, once an admin enables them |
| Licensing | Copilot Chat included with Microsoft 365 business plans; the full Microsoft 365 Copilot licence is an extra per-user fee | A separate per-user subscription on Business or Enterprise plans |
| Models | OpenAI models by default, with Anthropic's Claude models available in some experiences | OpenAI's latest models, usually available here first |
| Breadth of features | Focused on work in Microsoft 365, plus agents built in Copilot Studio | Broadest set: image generation, voice, custom GPTs, deep research and agent mode |
| Admin and security | Managed through Microsoft 365 admin, Entra ID and Purview, which IT already runs | Its own admin console, with single sign-on and audit features on Enterprise |
| Data kept in Australia | Microsoft has announced in-country processing of Copilot interactions for Australia | Available for stored content on Enterprise plans, with Australia among the regions |
| Where it tends to lose | Much less value for teams that work outside Microsoft 365 | More workflow change for teams whose work happens inside Office apps |
Microsoft uses the Copilot name for several products, and the difference matters. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included with Microsoft 365 business plans and gives staff a secure chat assistant that works from the web and the files they upload. The full Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, an extra per-user fee, adds what most people picture: Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, working from your own email, meetings, chats and files. The free consumer Copilot app is a separate product again, and not one to use for work data.
So the real comparison is often three-way: ChatGPT, the Copilot Chat you already have, and the Copilot licence you might add. Many organisations should start by using Copilot Chat properly before paying for either.
Its advantage is context. With the full licence, Copilot can summarise a Teams meeting you missed, draft a reply from the email thread and the attached document, or pull together a project update from the files and messages around it, without anyone copying and pasting. It also works within the permissions your organisation already has, so people only see what they could already open.
That advantage carries a risk. If your SharePoint and Teams permissions are loose, Copilot will surface documents people technically had access to but never found. Tidying permissions and labelling sensitive content is part of a sensible rollout, not an optional extra.
ChatGPT is the broader tool. It is stronger for open-ended thinking, research, ideation and drafting that does not start from an Office document, and it has features Copilot does not match, such as custom GPTs that anyone can build and share for a repeatable team task. New OpenAI models also tend to reach ChatGPT first.
It is also the tool staff are most likely to be using already, often on personal accounts. Moving that use onto a managed business plan, with clear guidance on what is safe to share, can be the quickest governance win available.
For a Microsoft 365 organisation, Copilot Chat costs nothing extra, which makes it the obvious place to start. The full Copilot licence is priced per user on top of Microsoft 365, and ChatGPT’s business plans are a separate per-user subscription. Prices and bundles change often, so check current pricing for your agreement.
The larger cost is the one that does not show on the invoice: licences nobody uses. A common pattern with Copilot rollouts is under-adoption rather than under-licensing, where seats are bought, opened a few times and forgotten. Starting with the roles most likely to benefit, and training them on their real work, protects that spend.
Yes. Some organisations keep Copilot for work inside Microsoft 365 and give ChatGPT to the teams that need broader capabilities. It works when each tool has a clear job and a clear policy. It fails when staff are left to guess which one to use for what.
Illustrative examples of common situations, and what we would usually suggest.
Staff spend their days in Outlook and Teams, and IT wants everything inside existing controls.
What we would usually suggest
Start with Copilot Chat and train the teams, then add Copilot licences for the roles where meeting and email context saves the most time.
No Microsoft 365 beyond a few Excel users.
What we would usually suggest
Copilot offers little here. Compare ChatGPT with Gemini instead.
A Microsoft 365 tenant, sensitive information, and a need to keep processing onshore.
What we would usually suggest
Copilot is usually the natural fit, once in-country processing is confirmed and permissions are cleaned up before rollout.
Microsoft 365 for email, but most AI use is happening on personal ChatGPT accounts.
What we would usually suggest
Either can work. A ChatGPT business plan meets people where they are; moving to Copilot takes more change but consolidates on one vendor.
After you choose
Buying seats is quick. Getting people to change how they work is not. We train teams on Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT using their own documents, meetings and workflows, so the licences you pay for get used.
Other comparisons
Not quite. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included with Microsoft 365 business plans and works mainly from the web and files you upload. The Microsoft 365 Copilot licence adds Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, working from your own email, meetings and files. The consumer Microsoft Copilot app is a separate product.
No. Copilot uses OpenAI models, and now some Anthropic models, but it is Microsoft’s own product, with its own access to your Microsoft 365 data, its own admin controls and its own features. Using it feels quite different from using ChatGPT directly.
Usually not straight away. Most organisations do better starting with the Copilot Chat they already have, training staff, and then licensing the roles where meeting, email and document context delivers clear value.
On business plans, Microsoft and OpenAI both state that customer data is not used to train their models by default. Check the terms of the specific plan and your own data policies.
Then Copilot is rarely the right fit. Compare ChatGPT and Gemini instead, since Gemini is included in most Google Workspace business plans.
Product facts checked September 2026. These tools change quickly, so confirm plan details with the vendor.
Tell us which tool your team has and where they are starting from, and we will map out what a session would cover.