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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nChatGPT is a general-purpose tool. It has no direct connection to your work email, your documents, your meetings, or your organisation’s systems. When you interact with ChatGPT, you are working with a capable but contextless AI: it knows an enormous amount about the world in general, but nothing specific about your workplace unless you tell it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ChatGPT is available in several tiers (prices in AUD, current as of July 2026):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant built directly into Microsoft 365, the suite that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote and SharePoint. Rather than being a separate tool you switch to, Copilot lives inside the software you already use every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The critical distinction is that Microsoft 365 Copilot has access to your organisational data, within your existing security permissions, which means it can reference your actual emails, documents, calendar, meeting transcripts and internal content when generating responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft Copilot is available as:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pricing note (July 2026): AI pricing changes often. Microsoft ran a lower promotional rate for its small-business Copilot add-on that ended on 30 June 2026, and Australian Microsoft 365 pricing was adjusting from July 2026. Always confirm the current rate on Microsoft’s official pricing page before budgeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pricing note (July 2026):<\/strong> AI pricing changes often. Microsoft ran a lower promotional rate for its small-business Copilot add-on that ended on 30 June 2026, and Australian Microsoft 365 pricing was adjusting from July 2026. Always confirm the current rate on Microsoft’s official pricing page before budgeting.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Note:<\/strong> when most business professionals refer to “Copilot at work”, they mean Microsoft 365 Copilot, the paid, data-connected version. That is the version this article focuses on.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n ChatGPT<\/span><\/mark> sits outside your workflow: you switch tabs or apps, paste content in, get a response, and paste it back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft 365 Copilot<\/span> is already inside your workflow: a Copilot button in the Word toolbar, in the Outlook reply pane, in your Teams meeting. No switching, no copy-paste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ChatGPT<\/span> knows nothing about your organisation unless you paste it in; every conversation starts from zero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft 365 Copilot<\/span> can see the email thread you are replying to, read the document you have open, search SharePoint for relevant files, and summarise the Teams meeting you just attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ChatGPT<\/span> is stronger for open-ended research, explanation, from-scratch writing, coding across many languages, and image generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft 365 Copilot<\/span> is stronger for anything involving your real files, emails or meetings: drafting Outlook replies with full thread context, summarising Teams meetings, building presentations from existing documents, and analysing your actual Excel data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ChatGPT<\/span>‘s consumer tiers may use your conversations to improve models unless you opt out, a real consideration for confidential information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft 365 Copilot<\/span> operates within Microsoft’s enterprise security and compliance framework, does not use your data to train models, and processes data in Australian data centres (Australia East and Southeast).<\/p>\n\n\n\n *<\/strong> Approximate Microsoft 365 Copilot enterprise add-on pricing as of July 2026. Confirm current AUD pricing with Microsoft.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The most effective AI users are not choosing one tool and ignoring the other; they use each for what it does best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Common workflow:<\/strong> use ChatGPT<\/span> to brainstorm ideas, do background research and draft content from scratch, and use Microsoft 365 Copilot<\/span> for everything that touches your actual work, emails, documents, meetings, presentations and spreadsheet data.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n The practical hurdle is cost. At roughly AUD $45 to $50 per user per month on top of existing Microsoft 365 licences, a 50-person organisation is looking at around $30,000 per year. That makes training critical: an untrained workforce using Copilot generates mediocre outputs and concludes the tool is not worth the investment, while a trained workforce can realistically save hours per person per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
What Is Microsoft Copilot?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Four Biggest Differences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Where they live<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. What they know about your work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. What they are best at<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Privacy and data handling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Side-by-Side Comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Feature<\/th> ChatGPT (Plus)<\/th> Microsoft 365 Copilot<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Access to your emails<\/td> No (unless pasted in)<\/td> Yes (Outlook)<\/td><\/tr> Access to your documents<\/td> No (unless uploaded)<\/td> Yes (Word, SharePoint)<\/td><\/tr> Access to meeting summaries<\/td> No<\/td> Yes (Teams)<\/td><\/tr> Access to your calendar<\/td> No<\/td> Yes<\/td><\/tr> Embedded in Office<\/td> No<\/td> Yes<\/td><\/tr> Internet browsing<\/td> Yes (Plus)<\/td> Limited<\/td><\/tr> Image generation<\/td> Yes (Plus)<\/td> Limited<\/td><\/tr> Data training opt-out<\/td> Opt-out in settings<\/td> No, never<\/td><\/tr> Australian data residency<\/td> No<\/td> Yes (enterprise)<\/td><\/tr> Approx. cost (AUD)<\/td> ~$35\/mo incl GST (Plus)<\/td> ~$45-50\/user\/mo (add-on)*<\/td><\/tr> Best for<\/td> General tasks, research, creative<\/td> Microsoft 365 workflows<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Can You Use Both?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Think of it this way: ChatGPT is a brilliant generalist who knows a lot about everything but nothing about your company. Copilot is a knowledgeable assistant who has read all your emails, attended all your meetings, and knows exactly where your files live.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhich Should Your Organisation Invest In?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For most Australian businesses already running Microsoft 365, the answer is to invest in Microsoft 365 Copilot first, because it delivers value inside tools your team already uses every day, with a security model that meets enterprise requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n