Introduction
ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are both artificial intelligence technologies that were developed with the intent of helping you accomplish tasks and activities faster and more efficiently. While they may seem similar, there are significant differences between the two.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT works like a chatbot designed to hold a conversation with you. After giving it a question or prompt, ChatGPT uses machine learning algorithms to understand the context of the conversation and generate the appropriate responses. To produce a response, it predicts the next word in a given sequence based on patterns it learned from human language. The more details you provide in your prompts, the more precise answers ChatGPT can offer.
Some capabilities of ChatGPT include: composing essays, emails, and cover letters, creating lists, describing art in detail, writing code, summarizing content, creating poems and song lyrics, building resumes, etc.
ChatGPT for Teams is a paid option of ChatGPT that offers some extra features compared to regular ChatGPT Plus. The main advantage is that Team chats won't be used to train the model by default. Another key benefit is that users can make workspace chats and share them.
What is Copilot for Microsoft 365?
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a digital assistant that uses AI to provide customized help to users for various tasks and activities in Microsoft 365 apps. Copilot doesn't just bring ChatGPT into Microsoft 365; it leverages the power of large language models (LLMs) with your data in the Microsoft 365 environment (such as your calendar, emails, chats, documents, meetings, and more) to increase your productivity inside those tools.
Integrated into the Microsoft 365 apps you use every day, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more, Copilot works with you to help boost your creativity, improve your productivity, and enhance your skills.
For instance, if you use Word, Copilot can assist you with paraphrasing paragraphs or adding more to your writing. It can also recommend some extra topics to include in your article. Another thing that Copilot for Word provides is the capability to “chat with the document”. If you have hundreds of pages and you want to locate the relevant part or paragraph quickly, you can simply ask Copilot for help.
A Comparison of ChatGPT Teams and Copilot for Microsoft 365
Even though both ChatGPT Teams and Copilot use OpenAI's latest large multi-modal model GPT-4 Turbo, they are completely different software products. ChatGPT Team is an all-in-one digital assistant that can handle multiple tasks in the same setting. Copilot, meanwhile, is integrated into the existing apps, aiming to assist you within this scope and environment.
At the same time, they share some key features. For example, they both offer:
- access to the latest AI models by OpenAI,
- data security, meaning your data will not be used for training new models.
Where does Copilot excel?
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is integrated with your Office document space and tools in a way that ChatGPT just cannot be integrated. For example, you can use Copilot chat to search across your document and summarize the findings.
What is ChatGPT's main strength?
Not a single Microsoft 365 Copilot beats ChatGPT’s universality. It allows you to create and analyze anything. ChatGPT data analysis is a feature that Copilots does not offer (for now?).
Another benefit of ChatGPT is that it supports custom GPTs. This is still a new area, but the community is quickly discovering how to integrate different tools with ChatGPT. Again, this is something you won’t find in Microsoft 365 Copilots.
Maturity of products
A different perspective is the product development stage. ChatGPT has been available and used for over a year now. This has given OpenAI a small advantage over the Microsoft teams in terms of the product development stage. Copilot offers are still relatively new, and users may find that they are not very useful yet. A main issue with Copilots is that they do not support multiple languages, which is not an issue for ChatGPT.
Pricing
The products are similar in price.
ChatGPT Teams is $25 per user per month (minimum 2 users) and Copilot for Microsoft 365 is $30 per user per month.
Note that you must pay for a year in advance for both products, and the prices do not include taxes.
Conclusion
ChatGPT and Copilot for Microsoft 365 are both powerful AI assistants that can help you work faster, better, and more creatively. They have different strengths and weaknesses, depending on your needs and preferences.
ChatGPT Teams has the edge in universality, data analysis, and custom GPT support, while Copilot for Microsoft 365 has the advantage of seamless integration with Microsoft apps and services.
The cost is comparable, but you should think about the benefits you get from each product before choosing one. In the end, the only way to know which one suits you is to test them out by yourself. Sadly – neither of them has a free trial offer yet.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you decide which AI assistant is right for you:
- How often do you use Microsoft 365 apps and services, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, etc.?
- Do you use AI assistant for various kinds of tasks or just for one mode (e.g., writing) only?
- Do you need an AI assistant to handle complex tasks and data analysis?
- Do you want to customize your own, or are you happy with the pre-set ones provided by the product?
By answering these questions, you can narrow down your options and find the best fit for your workflow. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to AI assistants, so you must weigh the pros and cons of each product carefully.
P.S. This article was written with the help of Microsoft Word Copilot and Writesonic.
