ChatGPT vs Microsoft Copilot vs Claude: which AI to pick?

Which AI do you pick for your business? If you work in Outlook, Teams and Excel every day, Microsoft Copilot is the logical choice. If you want broad help with text and content, ChatGPT is a good start. If you often analyse long documents or contracts, Claude fits best. All three write, summarise and answer questions, but they are not interchangeable.

Below you see per tool what it is good and bad at, what it roughly costs and when a combination makes sense. Prices and features change fast, so always check them with the supplier.

What is the difference between ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude?

ChatGPT (from OpenAI), Microsoft Copilot and Claude (from Anthropic) all work with a question or task you type, to which the AI gives a worked-out answer. One tool shines at creative writing, another at document processing and the third at analysing long texts. How they are built, and who they work best for, also differs a lot.

ChatGPT: versatile and accessible

ChatGPT is the best-known AI tool. It can write text and answer questions, but also analyse images and write code.

Strong for:

• Content strategy, social media and writing emails
• Drafting and personalising customer communication
• Working out quotes, reports and presentations
• Brainstorming and generating ideas

An example: a retail company has ChatGPT rewrite product descriptions in the brand's tone of voice. That is repetitive work an employee would otherwise spend a lot of time on.

Weaknesses:

• No direct link with Microsoft Office environments
• Company data is not kept inside your own environment by default (unless you have a business plan)
• Can sometimes give wrong information with full confidence

Price: ChatGPT Team costs about €23 per user per month. ChatGPT Enterprise is on request.

Microsoft Copilot: ideal if you already work in Microsoft 365

Microsoft Copilot is not a standalone AI tool. It is built into the apps you already use: Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and PowerPoint. Copilot can write meeting minutes, summarise emails, analyse data in Excel and write drafts in Word, all from your familiar Microsoft environment.

Strong for:

• Making meeting minutes automatically in Teams meetings
• Summarising emails and drafting replies in Outlook
• Analysing data and making charts in Excel
• Building presentations in PowerPoint from an outline

An example: a construction company has Copilot process meeting notes and create follow-up actions in Teams, so managers spend less time on it themselves.

Weaknesses:

• Only useful if you actively use Microsoft 365
• Less flexible for creative tasks outside the Microsoft apps
• Needs a Microsoft 365 subscription as a base

Price: Microsoft 365 Copilot costs €30 per user per month, on top of your existing Microsoft 365 subscription.

Claude: strong with long and sensitive documents

Claude, made by the American AI company Anthropic, stands out for handling long texts, careful analysis and a lot of attention to safety.

Claude has a large 'context window': you can upload a whole contract, annual report or technical document in one go. Claude then answers questions about it, summarises it or flags inconsistencies.

Strong for:

• Analysing legal documents, contracts and policy papers
• Summarising and editing long reports
• Answering complex questions based on company documents
• Careful writing and editing

An example: a business services firm has Claude summarise incoming tender documents of dozens of pages, with a list of risk signals. An adviser then reviews the summary instead of the whole document.

Weaknesses:

• Fewer integrations with external tools than some competitors
• Less suited to playful, creative content
• No native integration with Office apps

Price: Claude Team costs about €23 per user per month.

Which tool fits your situation?

Use the table as a starting point and test it in your own practice. For sensitive data this always applies: get a business plan with a data processing agreement and read up on your privacy obligations in ChatGPT and privacy for businesses.

When does combining AI tools make sense?

Many SMEs do not pick one tool but combine. A typical combination:

• Copilot for meetings, emails and Office tasks
• ChatGPT for marketing, social content and customer communication
• Claude for contract analysis, quotes and sensitive documents

Work out yourself what the subscription costs are per employee per month, and set that against the time the tools really save you. Tip: start with one tool and add a second when you notice where the first falls short. That stops staff from being overwhelmed by too much choice.

Standalone chat tools are a good start, but they work when an employee asks them to. If you want AI to run processes on its own, like processing invoices or preparing quotes, look at AI agents. An AI scan shows which processes suit that. A broader overview of tools is in the AI tool stack for SMEs.