If Microsoft Copilot is the only AI tool your workplace provides, you might assume that is what AI is. It is not. Copilot is a competent but limited integration of AI into Microsoft's apps. On your own time, on a device that is not managed by your employer, you have access to tools that are more capable, more flexible, and in many cases free. Everything else in this guide works independently of what your employer allows. If you want to use something you have built or drafted with AI at work, you can always email it to yourself.

If you use Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), you may already have access to an AI assistant without realising it. Microsoft has integrated Copilot across its products. But the picture is confusing, so let me clarify what you actually get.

Copilot Options

Copilot Free (copilot.microsoft.com)

Available to anyone through a web browser or the Copilot app. It is essentially Microsoft's version of ChatGPT (it uses OpenAI's models under the hood). You can chat with it, generate images, and get basic AI assistance. It is decent but not as capable as Claude or ChatGPT for writing and analysis tasks.

Copilot in Microsoft 365

This is where it gets interesting, and expensive. Microsoft 365 Copilot embeds AI directly inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It can draft documents from your notes, summarise email threads, create presentations from a prompt, analyse spreadsheet data, and recap meetings you missed.

The catch: it requires a Microsoft 365 subscription plus an additional Copilot add-on at around US$30/user/month (roughly A$48). That is on top of what you already pay for Microsoft 365. For individuals, this makes it one of the most expensive AI tools on this list.

Ken's Honest Take

The free Copilot is fine for quick questions but is not worth switching from Claude or ChatGPT. The paid Microsoft 365 Copilot is powerful if you live inside Microsoft apps all day, but the price is steep and the quality of output in Word and PowerPoint is often behind what you get by using Claude or Gamma directly. My recommendation: use the free Copilot if it is already on your machine, but do not pay for it until you have tried Claude and ChatGPT first. You may find you do not need it.

Try this right now (free)

Go to copilot.microsoft.com and try asking it to help you write something or answer a question. Compare the result to what Claude or ChatGPT gives you for the same prompt. Form your own view on which one you prefer.