Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: Which AI Tool Works Best for Your Business?

Over the past year of QuoStar AI implementations, we’ve worked with many clients to decide whether Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT is a better tool for them: “Should we go Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT?” The answer: yes and no. Understandably, it’s never a one-size-fits-all solution

The Bottom Line

Microsoft Copilot is all about speed and structure. If you’re already making the most of Microsoft 365, Copilot is perfect for summarising long articles in Word, making sense of Excel graphs and formulas and answering emails more eloquently in Outlook. Copilot is deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem and was designed to work inside everyday productivity apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook – as highlighted by Microsoft’s official announcement.

ChatGPT is more creative and flexible. Need help drafting an email? Figuring out programming code? Having a longer, flowing conversation? ChatGPT’s your ideal partner in crime.
Ultimately it depends on where your business stands. For example, does your business live in Microsoft 365? Do you need an AI assistant that works seamlessly in Word, Teams and PowerPoint? Then choose Copilot. However, if your output requires creativity spanning written work to coding, ChatGPT may be more appropriate since allowing for more conversational back-and-forth.

What’s Under the Hood?

The underlying language models are different and worth noting.
ChatGPT is powered by GPT-4o (and the upcoming GPT-5), which means it operates on an upgrade that’s superior for creativity-driven projects and complicated challenges. This language model has been trained on extensive data which means it recognises nuance in conversation, writing style and even coding requests.

Copilot, too, works off GPT-4o but it’s trained in a more specific Microsoft contextand there is now the the option to try GPT-5 too. What makes it unique is its real-time connectivity via Bing search. This means that if you need up-to-date information, it can generate that for you as it’s linked directly to live research results. This is beneficial for research-driven tasks that require current information. Add in the recent release of Copilot Researcher as a specialised AI agent within Microsoft 365 Copilot to carry out complex, multi-step research tasks, and it’s only more effective.

Where Each One Actually Excels

Copilot: The Efficiency Machine

Copilot wins where you need structure and speed. If you’re someone who spends half your day on Outlook, Word, and Excel, Copilot will feel like the ultimate extension of your current operation.

Good for:

• Summarising lengthy documents, email threads and reports
• Summarising and analysing findings from Excel
• Drafting correspondence to the tone you need.
• Speedy information retrieval with real-time web access
• Transcribe automatic meeting notes and actions within Microsoft Teams.
• Anything that benefits from Microsoft 365 integration

In testing, Copilot has been shown to drive fast output for structured requests, especially when tied directly into your Microsoft data and tools. You can ask it to summarise a 20-page report and it’ll give you point form pros and cons within seconds. It also thrives on eliminating steps by having access to your information already – meaning it can just pull up an email or report instead of you wasting time searching for it.

However, Copilot responses tend to be more formulaic. If you’re looking for an infused personality or some creative punch, it might fall a little flat.

ChatGPT: The Creative Sense-Maker
ChatGPT is where you go when something requires consideration, creativity, or an alternative human approach. It’s much better at engaging with its requested tone and responding to nuanced or complex, multi-faceted prompts.

Good for:

• Writing with personality
• Complex code and troubleshooting
• Back-and-forth with flexibility
• Questions that require emotional intelligence or nuance
• Rendering multiple iterations of creative output

If you need a blog drafted that actually sounds like a human wrote it, or help with a tricky Python script, ChatGPT has you covered. It’s also more proficient in maintaining context of prior responses (especially the longer the conversation goes) which is key for time spent on revisions through reflection.
Yet the downside? ChatGPT doesn’t integrate with the existing tools (unless you’re using the API) and it’s slower to respond to structured prompts.

The Microsoft 365 Factor

This is where Copilot has the distinct advantage. If your company already uses Microsoft 365, Copilot sits natively inside the applications you already use on a daily basis. You can use it to rewrite a paragraph in Word, create a rough outline for a presentation in PowerPoint, and assess sales data in Excel – in just one platform.
For companies who have invested in Microsoft already, this is not only convenient, but also transformative since there will be no need for copying and pasting between products; everything will be in one place. Your IT department will also appreciate Copilot’s enterprise-grade security and compliance, all built within Microsoft’s overarching security blanket.
ChatGPT is a separate entity. You can access it from the web or use the API, but it won’t automatically export your company data or work seamlessly within your already established applications. That’s completely fine for one-off tasks but impractical for daily business needs.

Let’s Talk About Cost

ChatGPT is generally cheaper purely for AI functionality. For a free version, it works surprisingly well and for a Plus subscription (about £20/month), you gain GPT-4o and priority access and features.
As of November 2025, Copilot is priced based on your Microsoft 365 subscription level. Yet this means access to all of the Microsoft 365 applications so return on investment isn’t solely based on Copilot; it’s based on the overall productivity application suite.
Thus for companies already on board with Microsoft 365, adding Copilot is cost effective. For smaller teams or individuals who don’t need the majority of these Microsoft applications, however, ChatGPT would be the better option for AI-only value.

Security and Compliance

If your company works with sensitive information or is in a highly-regulated industry, security matters. With Copilot, security benefits include;
Microsoft’s enterprise-grade security structure,
Data encryption and compliance approval,
Admin controls for IT departments to manage accessibility and monitor usage.
ChatGPT also offers security features, especially for enterprises that invest in the API or ChatGPT Team plans. But if your company already has security policies and controls built around Microsoft 365, then keeping everything in one place makes governance easier.

Can You Use Both?

Yes! Using both services makes sense for many companies. Copilot can handle day-to-day productivity tasks while ChatGPT can lend to creative aspects for content creation, strategy plans, and other higher level problem solving.
The distinction lies in recognising what tool delivers the best features and assigning according to need.
Deciding Between The Two
This is how to practically determine what’s best for your needs:

Choose Copilot if:

• Your team already uses Microsoft 365 regularly.
• You need AI within your existing tools.
• You prefer structure and speed in output.
• You need enterprise-level security and compliance.
• You want everything under one roof.Choose

Choose ChatGPT if:

• You need creative flexibility that caters to your needs.
• You often need code or content.
• You want something more nuanced and conversational.
• You want something without being locked into an ecosystem.

What This Means For Your Business

As AI continues to develop at lightning speed over time, not much has changed at the core levels since inception. Copilot offers speed, structure and comprehensive convenience for Microsoft users. ChatGPT offers creativity, flexibility and strong conversational capabilities for a multitude of tasks.
Therefore we suggest starting with what makes more sense to you and testing it out through real-world workflows. Let’s talk today about what makes sense for your company through QuoStar!