Copilot vs ChatGPT: which is better for your business?
A recent trial of AI assistants in the UK civil service found that, on average, users observed a time savings of 26 minutes per day, leading to a potential time savings of 13 working days per year.
For six months, civil servants from twelve departments used Microsoft Copilot, integrated into their existing workflows, to accelerate and automate key tasks.
By the end of the study, 83% of the users in the participating teams had adopted Microsoft Copilot, 82% did not want to return to the pre-Copilot working practices, and 85% said that using Microsoft Copilot added value to their organisation.
Public and private organisations can significantly improve their performance if they effectively use AI assistants such as Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT. A recent IDC study found that, on average, for every $1 an organisation invested in workplace AI, it realised a return of $3.70.
When they hear ‘AI,’ most people think of ChatGPT. While ChatGPT is the best-known AI assistant, it may not be the best choice for all users.
In this article, we compare ChatGPT Plus with Microsoft Copilot 365, the AI assistant integrated into Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, Teams and the Bing search engine.
Both Copilot and ChatGPT are large language models, which are artificial intelligence that can create new, original content based on user input.
Users can tell this type of AI what to do using natural language. No programming skills are required. This is called ‘prompting’.
Based on the user’s instructions, the AI will then create useful original content, such as text, images, video or even computer code.
Using AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT, you can:
Write the first draft of new content, for example, memos or internal reports, to save your team time.
Analyse a sales or operations spreadsheet to clean and deduplicate the data, identify patterns, and sort correlation from causation.
Collate, analyse and summarise research based on data from documents, websites, databases and other sources.
Visualise data, taking a spreadsheet or CSV file and turning it into charts and graphs, viewers will instantly understand.
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: a comparison
ChatGPT is a sophisticated tool, designed to work on complex, open-ended tasks based on detailed, natural-language input. In many fields, this is definitely a strength.
However, one of the most important missing features is tight integration with the core applications businesses use daily. This is something Microsoft Copilot delivers.
Areas in which Microsoft Copilot offers key business features that ChatGPT does not include:
Microsoft Copilot is natively integrated with Microsoft 365 and other Microsoft applications.
Microsoft Copilot offers enterprise data protection, meaning sensitive corporate data will not be fed back into the model by default.
ChatGPT does not integrate natively into Microsoft applications or offer market-standard corporate security, authentication and compliance frameworks.
5 questions to ask if Copilot or ChatGPT is right for you
Here are five questions to ask of your organisation and your key stakeholders and decision-makers. The answers will help you determine whether ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot is the best choice for you.
1. Do you rely heavily on Microsoft 365 and other Microsoft applications?
If your key workflows rely heavily on Microsoft applications, you’ll benefit from Copilot's seamless integration with them.
2. Do you need AI integrated into the applications your teams use in their everyday work?
Microsoft Copilot integrates tightly into apps such as Word, Excel, Teams, Purview and more. ChatGPT is a standalone application.
3. Do you require market-leading, integrated security and compliance?
If you need close control over what information your team uploads to AI and how they use the content AI generates, the granular controls of Microsoft Copilot are best for you.
4. Who will be responsible for AI governance in your organisation?
To centrally manage how teams use Copilot, your IT team can use Microsoft’s enterprise-grade management and governance tools. ChatGPT is managed at a user level.
With the right approach and the right partner, Microsoft Copilot 365 gives you access to advanced AI integrated in a way that is secure, compliant, accountable, and cost-efficient.
Need help with AI in the workplace?
Texaport is one of the UK’s leading Microsoft managed services providers, with extensive experience in supporting organisations to get the best return on their investment in Microsoft 365. Our Microsoft experts can help you train your team to deploy Microsoft Copilot 365 and seamlessly integrate it into your workflows and applications.
Contact ustoday to explore how your business can utilise AI for optimal productivity.
