Explainer
Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude all offer business plans with data protection. Here is how they differ on price, integration and control, and how to decide which one your organisation should standardise on.
By Christopher Fagan, Managing Partner, PEF Consulting Partners
If your organisation lives in Microsoft 365, Copilot’s grounding in your email, files and meetings is hard to beat. ChatGPT and Claude are strong general assistants with their own connectors, and many organisations use one of them alongside Copilot for writing, analysis and coding. Microsoft now uses Anthropic’s models in some Copilot features, so the lines are blurring. The right answer depends on your estate, your data and your use cases, not the latest benchmark.
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | ChatGPT Business | Claude Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published price, excluding tax | £23.10 per user per month on an annual plan; Copilot Business from £16.10 | US$20 per user per month billed annually, or US$25 monthly; minimum two seats | US$20 per seat per month billed annually, or US$25 monthly; two to 150 seats |
| Higher usage seats | Not applicable | Premium seats at US$100 annually or US$125 monthly | Premium seats at US$100 annually or US$125 monthly |
| Where it works | Inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams | Its own app, with connectors to business tools | Its own app, with connectors to business tools |
| Training on your data | Covered by Microsoft’s enterprise data protection | Not by default | Not by default |
| Enterprise tier | Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot with E5 and Agent 365 | ChatGPT Enterprise, priced on request | Claude Enterprise, from US$20 per seat plus usage, minimum 20 seats |
Prices are the vendors’ published business prices as of October 2026; ChatGPT and Claude publish theirs in US dollars.
Yes, and many organisations do, but each tool needs the same governance: an acceptable use policy, approved data sources and someone accountable for usage and spend. Fragmented, unmanaged use is a bigger risk than picking the wrong tool.
Google builds Gemini into its Workspace plans, so for organisations on Google Workspace it is the natural first option, in the same way Copilot is for Microsoft 365.
Related reading: how much Microsoft Copilot costs in the UK, Copilot agents explained, where to start with AI, the AI policy template.
For work inside Microsoft 365, Copilot has the advantage of grounding in your own emails, files and meetings. For general writing, analysis and coding, ChatGPT and Claude are often preferred. Test both on your own tasks.
OpenAI states that business data is not used to train its models by default, and the Business plan includes SSO and admin controls. You still need an acceptable use policy and rules on what data people may share.
Usually Microsoft 365 Copilot, because it works inside the apps and respects existing permissions, provided you fix oversharing first. Some teams add a second assistant for specialist work.
Yes. Some Copilot features already use Anthropic models, and many organisations give specialist teams a Claude or ChatGPT seat alongside Copilot, under one governance framework.
If you are choosing an AI assistant for the whole organisation, a short independent trial design will tell you more than any vendor demo. We take no commission from any of them.