Microsoft Copilot
6.6AI built directly into Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams
Best forBusiness users at companies already paying for Microsoft 365 who want AI that works inside their actual Word documents, Excel sheets, and Outlook emails — not in a separate browser tab.
Scores — click any row to see our rationale
Pricing & Value▼5/10
Accuracy & Reasoning▼7/10
Feature Capabilities▼8/10
Context & Memory▼6/10
Content Flexibility & Restrictions▼7/10
Pros
✓Microsoft 365 Copilot works inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams — it can turn a bullet-point email into a formatted report without leaving the app.
✓GitHub Copilot is one of the most widely used coding tools available — integrated directly into VS Code, it autocompletes code inline and explains errors in plain English — it autocompletes code inline in VS Code and explains errors in plain English.
✓Bing search grounding is always on by default, meaning answers to factual questions are checked against live web results automatically — no toggling required.
✓In Teams, Copilot can generate a real-time summary of a meeting you joined late, including a list of decisions made and action items assigned.
✓Excel's Copilot can write complex formulas (XLOOKUP, nested IF statements) from a plain English description — no formula syntax knowledge required.
✓Free tier on Windows 11 and Edge gives access to GPT-4o-powered responses without any sign-up or subscription for basic tasks.
Cons
✕Microsoft 365 Copilot costs $18–$30/user/mo on top of an existing M365 subscription — it is designed for business teams, not individual consumers, and requires a qualifying M365 base license.
✕Most of the compelling features (Outlook, Teams, Excel integration) require the $18–$30/mo M365 Copilot add-on — the free version is essentially a Bing chatbot with GPT-4o.
✕No built-in image generation tool in the core Copilot experience; Designer (formerly Bing Image Creator) is separate and uses DALL-E but isn't deeply integrated.
✕For non-Microsoft-365 users, there's almost no reason to choose Copilot over ChatGPT — the differentiating features only exist inside the Office ecosystem.
✕Copilot in M365 requires IT admin setup for enterprise deployment — individual employees at a company can't just buy and activate it themselves.
✕Creative writing, long-form content, and research tasks are noticeably weaker than Claude or Perplexity — Copilot is optimized for business productivity, not general intelligence.