All three now connect to Outlook, SharePoint and the Office apps, and the business plans cost about the same per person, so being on Microsoft 365 leaves the choice open. This guide compares them on the work your team does every week.
Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. Copilot is Microsoft's product, and ChatGPT is OpenAI's. Microsoft runs Copilot on a mix of AI models, including models from OpenAI and from Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Outside the EU and UK, Microsoft switches the Anthropic models on by default for most business customers, and your administrator can turn them off.
What makes Copilot different is where it sits. With the paid licence, the full version works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and can read across everything a person already has access to in Microsoft 365. ChatGPT and Claude are separate apps that connect to Microsoft 365 and add themselves to the Office apps through add-ins.
The three side by side
Checked on 26 October 2026. Claude and ChatGPT prices are as shown to Australian accounts and include GST. Microsoft shows its Australian prices excluding GST, so we've added 10% GST to the Copilot price to make the three comparable, and show Microsoft's ex GST figure in brackets.
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | ChatGPT Business | Claude Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person a month, including GST | A$34.54 paid yearly (A$31.40 ex GST), or A$29.60 (A$26.91 ex GST) for the first year on yearly plans bought 1 July to 31 December 2026, on top of Microsoft 365 | A$28 billed yearly, or A$35 monthly | A$34 billed yearly, or A$43 monthly |
| Free option for your team | Copilot Chat comes with eligible Microsoft 365 plans | No free business plan | No free business plan |
| Reads your Microsoft 365 data | Across email, chats, meetings and files, with the paid licence | Connectors for SharePoint and OneDrive, Outlook and Teams | Connector for SharePoint and OneDrive, Outlook and Teams, after a one-time admin approval |
| Inside the Office apps | Built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams | Add-in for Word, Excel and PowerPoint | Add-ins for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Outlook in beta |
| Trains on your business data | No | Not by default | Not by default |
| Data stored in Australia | Yes, for eligible stored interactions of Australian tenants, under Microsoft's terms. Storage and processing are different, and Anthropic models are excluded from in-country processing | Offered for new Enterprise workspaces. For Business, a storage region choice at checkout is rolling out gradually and isn't available to everyone yet, so check whether Australia is listed | No, Anthropic stores Claude data in the US |
For ten people on yearly billing, including GST, that's roughly A$340 a month for Claude Team, A$280 for ChatGPT Business and A$345.40 for Copilot Business, or about A$296 in the first year on Microsoft's discount. Copilot's cost sits on top of your Microsoft 365 plan.
Which one fits which team
Copilot fits when the hard part is finding things. If people lose time hunting through old email threads, Teams chats and meeting recordings to work out what was agreed, Copilot's reach across Microsoft 365 is what you're paying for. It also helps that nobody needs a new login or a new app.
Claude fits when the hard part is the writing and reading. In our experience, Claude is often the stronger fit for careful drafting in your own style, and for reading and comparing long documents like contracts, leases and policy wording. With the Microsoft 365 connector and the Word and Excel add-ins, it can still work with the files you keep in SharePoint. Our Claude Team guide covers the AUD pricing and setup.
ChatGPT fits when you want one tool for a bit of everything. It has a wide spread of everyday features, including image creation and data analysis, and most people have used it before, which makes the first few weeks easier.
Some teams mix. A common setup is one main tool for everyone, with Copilot Chat left on for quick questions inside Microsoft 365 because it costs nothing extra. Paying for two full tools across the whole team doubles the training and the bill.
A Microsoft 365 business that chose Claude
A commercial property firm of around 70 people runs on Microsoft 365 and had planned a paid Copilot rollout. Before buying, they chose Claude Team as the AI tool for their property management and sales teams, and kept Microsoft 365 for their email and files. A few people were already using AI in patches, and most of the team weren't sure where to start.
We ran a session for everyone, then hands-on workshops for each team using their own emails and leases. Within the first month, staff showed or told us about 18 different ways they were using it, from drafting arrears emails to checking documents against a lease.
That's one firm's answer. A business whose people spend their day searching across meetings and email threads could reasonably land on Copilot.
How to test before you commit
Our rule of thumb is a two-week side-by-side on real work before anyone signs an annual plan.
- Pick three or four people who do different kinds of work, and give each of them access to the tools you're comparing. Copilot Chat costs nothing to try, and the paid tools have monthly options.
- Choose the jobs first. Ask each person for the two or three tasks they repeat every week that take too long.
- Run the same jobs through each tool, using their own documents. Count the time saved once checking is included, because a fast draft that needs rewriting saves nothing.
- Check the connections. Ask your Microsoft administrator to approve the Claude or ChatGPT connectors for the test group, and see whether each tool finds the right files.
- Ask people which one they kept reaching for. That's usually the one they'll still be using in three months.
Before the test, agree what can go in. A one-page AI use policy covers the approved tools, what client information is allowed and who checks work before it goes out.
Common questions
Not necessarily. Copilot Chat comes at no extra cost with eligible plans and handles drafting, summarising files you upload and questions about your Outlook inbox and calendar. The paid licence adds the full Copilot experience inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams and reads across all your Microsoft 365 data. Many teams only buy it for the people who need that.
Yes. Both have connectors for SharePoint and OneDrive, Outlook and Teams, and an administrator switches them on first. Anthropic says Claude's connector only sees what each person can already see in Microsoft 365.
Comparing prices including GST, ChatGPT Business is the lowest at A$28 a seat a month billed yearly. Copilot Business works out at about A$29.60 a seat in the first year on Microsoft's discount and A$34.54 at the standard yearly price, against A$34 for Claude Team, and it sits on top of your Microsoft 365 plan. The gap is a few dollars a seat, so the time each tool saves your team matters more than the price.
With Copilot, Microsoft commits to storing eligible interactions in Australia for Australian tenants, under its terms. Storage and processing are different, though. Microsoft says requests can be processed in other regions, and Anthropic models used in Copilot are excluded from its in-country processing commitments. OpenAI offers Australian storage for new ChatGPT Enterprise workspaces and is rolling out a storage region choice for Business, though not to everyone yet, and it keeps a copy of prompts and responses in the US for a limited time for safety monitoring. Anthropic stores Claude data in the US. If this matters to your clients, confirm it with the vendor before you roll out.
Copilot is built into Excel and can work with your files across Microsoft 365. ChatGPT and Claude both have Excel add-ins too. Try each one on a real spreadsheet your team uses every month.