Copilot fits a team that works in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams every day. It works inside those apps, and the paid Copilot seat reads your own mail, files and meetings. ChatGPT fits a team that wants one general assistant for writing, research and analysis, whatever apps it uses. On a business plan, neither one trains on your company's data.
Copilot works inside the Microsoft apps your team already uses
Microsoft Copilot sits in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. Your staff do not open a new app. They press the Copilot button in the app they are already in.
There are two versions, and the difference matters:
- Copilot Chat (free) comes with a work Microsoft 365 account. Staff can upload a file or paste text and ask questions about it.
- The paid Copilot seat also reads each person's own mail, meetings, chats and files, and gets the full features in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
The paid Copilot seat is US$21 a person a month paid yearly, or US$25.20 paid monthly, on top of your Microsoft 365 plan. If you subscribe by 31 December 2026, the first year is US$18 a month. Microsoft bills agent work separately, by use. More details.
ChatGPT is one assistant for any job
ChatGPT is a separate app on the web, on desktop and on phones. Your staff paste in text, upload files, or connect apps such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and Slack through plugins. More details.
For a company, the plan to use is ChatGPT Business. Seats are S$25 a person a month paid yearly, or S$32 paid monthly, from 2 people. More details.
Prices and data rules are close, so where you work decides
| Microsoft Copilot | ChatGPT Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you use it | Inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams | The ChatGPT app, and @ChatGPT in Slack and Teams |
| What it reads | The paid Copilot seat reads your own mail, files and meetings | What you paste or upload, and apps you connect |
| Price for each person | US$21 a month paid yearly, or US$25.20 monthly, on top of Microsoft 365 (Microsoft lists US dollars) | S$25 a month paid yearly, or S$32 monthly (OpenAI's Singapore price) |
| Trains on your data? | No, on a work account | No, on Business and Enterprise |
| Who sets it up | Copilot Chat (free) is on already. Your IT admin assigns paid seats | You sign up and invite your team |
The prices are the ones each company shows in Singapore. Data rules: Microsoft and OpenAI. To check which plans are safe for company data, plan by plan, use our free safe AI check.
When Copilot is the better choice
- Your team lives in Outlook and Excel. Copilot drafts the reply inside the email, and builds the summary inside the spreadsheet.
- Your meetings are in Teams. Copilot writes the recap and the action items for a meeting you missed.
- You already pay for Microsoft 365. Copilot Chat (free) is already there. Start with it before you buy anything.
When ChatGPT is the better choice
- Your team uses Google Workspace, Lark or a mix of apps. ChatGPT works the same whatever the apps are.
- The work is long research or writing. ChatGPT is a general assistant, and many people already know the app.
- Only a few people need AI. Business seats start from 2 people, so a small team can start small.
Many companies use both
A company on Microsoft 365 can give everyone Copilot Chat (free). It can then buy ChatGPT seats for the few people who write or research all day. The rule that matters is the same for both. Staff sign in with their work account, never a personal one, so the company's data stays under the business terms. A one-page staff AI policy says this in writing.
Getting from personal AI to company AI takes 3 steps
You now know which assistant fits each person on your team. Both tools help one person with their own work. Neither one does a shared job across your company's systems, such as the weekly sales report from Xero and the POS. If Claude is also on your list, read Claude vs Copilot. The Copilot comparison and the ChatGPT comparison show where an agent fits beside each.
- Personal AIOne person uses Copilot or Claude for their own emails, files and meetings.
- AI set up for the teamCompany accounts that keep data safe, a staff AI policy, training so everyone uses it the same way, and shared agents. See the Copilot course.
- AI that does a team's jobAn agent connected to your systems, such as Xero, WhatsApp or your stock system. It does a shared job and asks before it acts. See Glimmer.
Someone has to pick the plans, write the staff rules, train the team and connect AI to the company's systems. If nobody in your company has the time, Glints does that setup with you. Book a call about setup.
Questions people also ask
Is Copilot just ChatGPT?
No. Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's own product. It uses models from OpenAI, and also offers Anthropic's Claude models. More details. What makes it different is where it works: inside your Microsoft 365 apps, with your own mail and files.
Is Copilot or ChatGPT safer for company data?
On a business plan, both keep company data out of training. The risk is staff using a personal account for work. Our safe AI check shows which plans are safe, plan by plan.
Can I use ChatGPT if my company has Copilot?
Yes. Use ChatGPT Business with work accounts, and write down which tool is for what in your staff AI policy.
Where to start
This week, ask your team which app they spend most of their day in. If the answer is Outlook and Excel, start with Copilot Chat (free) and see what it does.
To get your managers using Copilot well, register your interest in our Copilot course. To talk about a job no single tool can do, book a call.