Is Microsoft Copilot the same as ChatGPT or Bing AI?

Copilot for Microsoft 365 is Microsoft's enterprise AI assistant integrated into your Microsoft 365 environment, operating under enterprise security standards.

How much does Microsoft Copilot cost per user?

Approximately $30 per user per month as an add-on to a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription.

Does Copilot send my company's data to Microsoft?

No. Copilot does not use your tenant data to train Microsoft's AI models. Your data stays within your Microsoft 365 environment.

Can you deploy Copilot selectively by user or role?

Yes. Copilot licenses are assigned per user and can be enabled selectively by role or department.

Microsoft Copilot for Business: What It Is and Whether Your St. Louis Company Needs It

Michael Hornberger
Jul 7
3 min read

Microsoft Copilot for Business is one of the most discussed—and most misunderstood—technology investments St. Louis companies are considering right now. Some businesses have already rolled it out. Others are waiting to understand what they're actually buying. This article explains what Microsoft Copilot is, how it works inside your existing Microsoft 365 environment, and what questions to ask before deciding whether your St. Louis company needs it. See how Turnkey Technologies supports Microsoft Copilot deployments.

What Microsoft Copilot for Business Actually Is

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant built into Microsoft 365 applications—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more. It uses large language models combined with your organization's own data (through Microsoft Graph) to generate content, summarize information, answer questions, and automate repetitive tasks. It's not a standalone product. It works inside tools your team already uses, surfacing AI assistance in context—inside the email you're drafting, the spreadsheet you're analyzing, the meeting you're attending.

What Copilot Can Do in Each Application

In Outlook, Copilot drafts email replies, summarizes long email threads, and flags action items. In Teams, it summarizes meeting recordings, generates action item lists, and answers questions about what was discussed—even if you missed the meeting. In Word, it drafts documents from prompts or from existing files, rewrites sections for tone or length, and summarizes long documents. In Excel, it analyzes data, generates charts, identifies trends, and answers natural language questions about your data. In PowerPoint, it creates presentations from a text prompt or a Word document. Learn more about Microsoft's Copilot for Microsoft 365 directly.

The Licensing Reality

Microsoft Copilot for Business requires a Microsoft 365 Business Standard or higher subscription as a prerequisite, plus a Copilot add-on license. Pricing has been updated in 2026—confirm current pricing with a Microsoft Solutions Partner before budgeting. Not every employee needs a Copilot license. Many St. Louis businesses are finding the best ROI comes from licensing the roles that generate and process the most content: leadership, operations managers, salespeople, HR, and finance teams.

Does Your St. Louis Company Need It?

The honest answer depends on how your team actually spends time. Copilot delivers the most measurable value for knowledge workers who spend significant hours drafting communications, preparing reports, processing information from meetings, and working in Excel or PowerPoint. For a 20-person company where most staff are in the field or in production, the per-seat cost may not pencil out. For a professional services firm or a business with a significant administrative, sales, or management team, the time savings can be material. The starting question isn't 'Is AI valuable?' It's 'Where does my team spend time on tasks Copilot could accelerate?'

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Microsoft Copilot require any special technical setup?

Yes. Copilot requires properly configured Microsoft 365 tenants, appropriate permissions, and in some cases sensitivity label configuration to prevent Copilot from surfacing information users shouldn't access. Deployment without these configurations can create data exposure risks.

Is Microsoft Copilot the same as ChatGPT?

They use similar underlying language model technology, but Microsoft Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365 and uses your organization's data through Microsoft Graph. ChatGPT is a standalone interface with no connection to your company's files, emails, or calendar.

What data does Copilot access?

Copilot accesses data through Microsoft Graph—the same data a user can already access in Microsoft 365. It does not access files or emails the user doesn't have permission to see. Proper configuration of permissions and sensitivity labels before deployment is essential.

Can we pilot Copilot with a small group before rolling out company-wide?

Yes. Microsoft licenses are added per user, so piloting with a specific team is straightforward. A pilot with 10–15 users over 60–90 days is a common approach for St. Louis businesses evaluating whether company-wide rollout makes sense.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Request a free consultation with a Turnkey Technologies expert. We'll spend 30 minutes understanding your current environment and business goals, then give you a straight answer on the best path forward—whether that's Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft Copilot, or something else entirely.