ChatGPT vs Copilot: for Microsoft 365 users
Choose Copilot if your day runs in Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel and you pay for Microsoft 365: there it drafts documents and summarises your email and meetings where you already work. Choose ChatGPT if you want one assistant that sits outside any office suite and does more on its own, from analysing a sales export to voice conversations and image creation. Both are free to start on the web and mobile, so the deciding question is which apps hold your work.
Which one to pick
You use Google Workspace, a mix of apps or no suite at all, and want one assistant for writing, data files, voice chats and images.
Your team already pays for Microsoft 365 and lives in Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel, so the assistant can work on those files and meetings directly.
Side by side
Questions
Do I need Microsoft 365 to use Copilot?
No. Copilot is free on the web, in Windows and on mobile for chat, writing, images and web search. The work inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams needs a Microsoft 365 subscription. Without one, you are comparing two general chat assistants.
Can ChatGPT work with my Word and Excel files?
Yes, you can upload Word documents and Excel sheets and ChatGPT analyses them, including the data inside. The difference is that you bring the file to the chat. Copilot inside Microsoft 365 works on the open document and your mailbox without the upload step.
Which one summarises my meetings and email?
Copilot, if you use Teams and Outlook with Microsoft 365, since it summarises meetings and mail inside those apps. ChatGPT can summarise a transcript or an email thread you paste in. For a Microsoft office, Copilot saves the copying.
Are both free to try?
Yes. ChatGPT has a free plan, and Copilot is free on the web, Windows and mobile. Paid plans add more usage and, for Copilot, the work inside Microsoft 365 apps. Try both on the same week of real tasks before paying.
I run my business on Google Workspace. Does Copilot make sense?
Not much. Copilot's main extra is its place inside Microsoft's own apps, which you would not use. ChatGPT, or Gemini if you want Google app access, fits a Google office better. Copilot's free chat still works if you like it.