Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: The Business Comparison
The short answer: no, Microsoft Copilot is not the same as ChatGPT, even though both run OpenAI's GPT models. Copilot lives inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and grounds its answers in your Microsoft 365 data, with each person's existing permissions. ChatGPT is a standalone workspace that reaches into Microsoft 365, Google Drive or Slack through connectors each user signs in to. If your company runs on Microsoft 365, Copilot is the default I'd pick. If it doesn't, ChatGPT Business is the faster start.
Below: a side-by-side table with October 2026 prices, data and security terms, where each tool is ahead, and how to decide. Full disclosure: I train teams on Copilot for a living, so this site leans Copilot. I'll still tell you where ChatGPT wins.
Is Microsoft Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. Same engine family, different car.
Both use OpenAI models. In September 2026 Microsoft listed GPT-5.6 as included in the Copilot licence, and ChatGPT Business lists the same model. Copilot also runs Anthropic's Claude models (off by default in the EU, EFTA and UK until an admin turns them on).
Where they part ways is everything around the model: where it reads company data, which apps it sits in, who controls it, and what the contract says.
2 renames to know before you compare anything. Microsoft 365 Copilot (now called Microsoft Copilot) got its new name in August 2026. And ChatGPT Team no longer exists. OpenAI renamed it ChatGPT Business on 29 August 2025. And the free consumer Copilot app carries the same name (this page is about Copilot for work).
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: the differences side by side
US list prices unless stated, from the vendors' own pages (Microsoft checked 28 September 2026, OpenAI 4 October 2026).
| Topic | Microsoft Copilot | ChatGPT (Business / Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|
| Plans for companies | Copilot add-on for enterprise plans, Copilot Business (up to 300 users), included in Microsoft 365 E7. Copilot Chat free with eligible plans. | Business (Standard and Premium seats, from 2 seats), Enterprise, Edu. No free business tier. |
| Price | $30 per user/month paid yearly, or $31.50 paid monthly on an annual commitment. Copilot Business: $21 list, $18 promo (1 July to 31 December 2026, first year, annual), $25.20 month to month. | Business Standard seat: $20 per user/month billed annually, $25 billed monthly. Premium seat: $100 annual, $125 monthly. Enterprise: custom pricing, annual, invoiced. |
| EU and UK price | €26.00 per user/month paid yearly (Germany, Ireland), £23.10 (UK), both ex VAT. | Not published. OpenAI shows a local price based on where you are. |
| Base licence needed | Yes, a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. | No. |
| Training on your data | Prompts, responses and Microsoft Graph data aren't used to train foundation models. | Not by default on business plans. Feedback a user opts in to share can be used. |
| Human review | Microsoft says Copilot services have opted out of human abuse monitoring. | Business: OpenAI staff and specialised third-party contractors may review for abuse. Enterprise: narrower access. |
| Data residency | EU Data Boundary, automatic for EU and EFTA sign-up locations, storage and processing. Exceptions: Anthropic models and web search queries. The UK isn't in it. | Opt-in residency in 10 regions, Europe included, for new Enterprise and Edu workspaces only. Not on Business. |
| Admin features by plan | Microsoft 365 admin center, Purview and sensitivity labels apply. SharePoint Advanced Management and Copilot Analytics come with the licence. | Business: SAML SSO, admin console, admin roles, domain verification, basic analytics. SCIM, key management, role-based access, IP allowlisting and the Compliance API are Enterprise and Edu only. |
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams | Built into all 5, covered by the licence. | Add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint and Word, @ChatGPT in Teams. No Outlook add-in. Add-ins need Microsoft 365 admin approval and use tokens or credits. |
| Company data | Microsoft Graph and Work IQ, with each user's permissions. 100+ Copilot connectors, Google Drive and Salesforce included. | Per-app connectors (SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Google Drive, Slack and more), with a sign-in per user. Company knowledge with citations on Business, Enterprise and Edu. |
| Agents | Researcher, Analyst and Agent Builder for licensed users. Copilot Studio agents used by licensed staff inside Microsoft apps are included too (fair use limits). Cowork needs the licence plus Copilot Credits. | ChatGPT Work, workspace agents, deep research, scheduled tasks and Codex. Agents and add-ins draw on credits after included usage. |
| Certifications | ISO/IEC 42001 (AI management) certified. Other Copilot certifications aren't compared here. | Business: SOC 2 Type 2. ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701: Enterprise yes, Business no. |
Where ChatGPT is ahead, and where Copilot is
Let me be fair to the other side first.
1ChatGPT: faster to start
No base licence, self-serve, paid by card, from 2 seats. Business has true monthly billing at $25 a seat. For a small team outside Microsoft 365, that's the quickest start.
2ChatGPT: starts outside Microsoft
It's at home in Google Drive, Slack and GitHub, and ChatGPT Work can run tasks triggered by new Gmail or Slack messages. Codex, OpenAI's coding agent, comes with Business seats.
3Copilot: already inside the work
It's built into the 5 apps your people open every morning and it reads your Graph data with the permissions you already manage.
4Copilot: data terms that fit Europe
EU Data Boundary by default for EU and EFTA tenants, Copilot opted out of human abuse monitoring, and governance through Purview and SharePoint Advanced Management.
Update your mental model
ChatGPT can't work inside Office? It has add-ins for Excel (May 2026), PowerPoint (July 2026) and Word (September 2026), plus @ChatGPT in Teams. ChatGPT Team at $25 or $30? Renamed, and seat prices dropped by $5 on 2 April 2026. ChatGPT reads your whole Microsoft 365? Only through apps that need Entra admin consent and a sign-in per user.
ChatGPT vs Copilot for businesses: who fits which
My recommendation for any organisation that runs on Microsoft 365 is Copilot. The models are the same family, so the reason is context. Your email, calendar, Teams chats and SharePoint files are what make an answer about your work useful, and Copilot gets them with the permissions IT already set. Start with Copilot Chat (free with eligible plans) and license the people who need it in the apps. Free vs paid is in my Copilot Chat vs Microsoft 365 Copilot breakdown.
ChatGPT Business fits companies that live in Google Workspace or Slack, small teams that want to start this week, and developers who want Codex.
Running both makes sense when a specific team needs something Copilot doesn't cover. Keep Copilot as the company-wide default, give that team ChatGPT Business, and close the real gap: personal accounts. Free and paid personal ChatGPT plans train on content by default unless the user opts out.
Copilot vs ChatGPT security and data
Both vendors say they don't train on business data and respect existing permissions. The details differ.
1Who can read conversations
ChatGPT Business admins can view, export and delete staff conversations. Copilot admins can search stored history with Content search or Purview. Either way, what people type is a company record.
2Where data sits
Copilot's EU Data Boundary covers storage and processing. OpenAI's residency (Enterprise and Edu only) covers listed content at rest, processes in-region only in Europe, the US and the UAE, and lets apps, web search and metadata leave the region.
3The exceptions on Copilot's side
Web search queries and Anthropic models sit outside the EU Data Boundary. Copilot sends Bing a short generated query, not your document, but names and topics can shape it.
4Contracts
Copilot runs under Microsoft's Data Protection Addendum, with Microsoft as processor (generated web search queries are the exception). OpenAI signs a DPA for Business, Enterprise and the API on request.
Before any rollout, read is Copilot safe for confidential information (oversharing is a permissions problem). EU readers: Copilot, GDPR and EU data residency.
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT pricing
On paper ChatGPT Business is cheaper: $20 a seat billed annually against Copilot's $30 paid yearly. But Copilot sits on a Microsoft 365 plan you're probably paying for already, and ChatGPT doesn't replace that plan. Smaller companies get Copilot Business at $21 list, or $18 under the 1 July to 31 December 2026 promo (first year, annual commitment, up to 300 users).
Billing terms matter. Copilot's enterprise $31.50 monthly option still means a 12-month commitment. Copilot Business and ChatGPT Business both offer true monthly billing.
And neither price is the whole bill anymore. ChatGPT's Word and PowerPoint add-ins and workspace agents draw on credits after included usage. Copilot Cowork, for long multi-step tasks, needs the licence plus Copilot Credits at $0.01 each, off until an admin sets a spending policy (my Copilot Cowork guide covers it).
Euro and pound prices: Copilot licence cost in the UK and EU.
How to decide: Copilot vs ChatGPT for work
1Where do your files and email live?
Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive: Copilot. Google Workspace and Slack: ChatGPT.
2Does data location matter?
In the EU, Copilot gives you the EU Data Boundary by default. ChatGPT residency needs Enterprise or Edu and a new workspace.
3Who will govern it?
Copilot runs through the admin tools your Microsoft 365 team already uses. ChatGPT needs its own admin, and its Microsoft apps also need a Microsoft Entra administrator to grant consent.
4Will people actually use it?
Either tool fails if nobody learns it. Budget for training before a second licence.
Questions about Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT
Is Microsoft Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. Both use OpenAI's GPT models, but Copilot is built into Microsoft 365 and grounds answers in your work data with each user's permissions. ChatGPT is a separate workspace that connects to other apps through connectors.
What are the main differences between Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT?
Where they live, what data they read, and the data terms. Copilot sits inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and follows the EU Data Boundary for EU tenants. ChatGPT needs no Microsoft licence and reaches other apps through connectors.
Is ChatGPT or Copilot better for business?
For organisations on Microsoft 365, Copilot. It already has the context and the admin controls. For companies on Google Workspace or small teams that want to start fast, ChatGPT Business.
Does ChatGPT work inside Word, Excel and Outlook?
Since 2026 ChatGPT Business has add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint and Word, and @ChatGPT works in Teams. There is no Outlook add-in. Outlook is reachable only as a connector.
Which is safer for company data, Copilot or ChatGPT?
Neither trains on business data by default. Copilot has opted out of human abuse monitoring and follows the EU Data Boundary automatically for EU tenants (web search and Anthropic models are the exceptions). ChatGPT Business allows abuse review by OpenAI staff and contractors, and data residency is an Enterprise feature.
How much does ChatGPT Business cost compared to Copilot?
As of October 2026, ChatGPT Business is $20 per user/month billed annually, or $25 monthly. Microsoft Copilot is $30 per user/month paid yearly, on top of a Microsoft 365 plan.
Picked Copilot? Now get people using it.
I run live online Copilot workshops for companies in Europe and the US, for groups of up to 20 people, from 1.5 to 4 hours.