Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Key points:

  • For a lot of everyday tasks it barely matters which one you pick. Start with the tool you already have access to.
  • ChatGPT is the all-rounder, Claude is strong at writing and long documents, and Copilot is at its best when your organisation runs on Microsoft 365.
  • The three shift every few months. So choose on what they structurally do well, not on the latest benchmark.
  • For a single user the choice is small. For an organisation it has consequences: cost, where your data ends up, and how well it fits your systems.
  • Anyone using AI seriously picks the best tool per task and compares on quality, cost and speed instead of brand name.

Table of contents

  1. For a lot of everyday work it barely matters
  2. ChatGPT: the all-rounder
  3. Claude: writing and long documents
  4. Microsoft Copilot: if your organisation runs on Microsoft
  5. How to choose: three rules of thumb
  6. For organisations the choice is bigger than the tool
  7. Beyond chatting
  8. How we can help
  9. Frequently asked questions
  10. Sources

ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot. They look alike and they can do roughly the same things. So the question of which one you should have is hard to answer without a counter-question: what do you want to use it for? For some work the choice is unimportant, for other work it really makes a difference.

Below we put the three side by side on what they do well in practice, and we give a few simple rules of thumb to help you choose.

For a lot of everyday work it barely matters

Drafting an email, summarising a report, preparing for a conversation: any of the three handles that fine. If you use a tool and you like it, that is a good reason to keep it. The differences we describe below only become noticeable with more specific work.

In other words: do not let the choice be a reason not to start. Take what you already have access to and get going.

ChatGPT: the all-rounder

OpenAI's ChatGPT is the most broadly usable of the three. It handles text, images, voice and web search, and it connects with most external software and small add-ons. If you have many different kinds of tasks and you do not know which tool to pick, ChatGPT is a safe default.

The flip side of that breadth is that it is nowhere the absolute standout. For most work you will not notice that. For very specific work, such as long legal documents or texts where the tone has to be exactly right, there are better choices.

Claude: writing and long documents

Anthropic's Claude stands out at writing and at working with large amounts of text. It produces more nuanced, better-structured texts, and it can work through entire case files or long reports in one go without losing the thread.

That makes Claude strong for work where language and care matter: legal documents, policy texts, analyses, and anything where the tone of a text is important. If you write a lot, or often work with long documents, Claude is worth a try.

Wireframe blueprint of three stacked tiers with diverging turquoise streams, representing Microsoft Copilot as a layer inside Microsoft 365

Microsoft Copilot: if your organisation runs on Microsoft

Copilot is not a separate app but a layer inside Microsoft 365: in Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams. The big difference with the other two is that Copilot knows your business context. It can pull in your own emails, files and meeting notes when you ask something, within the permissions you already have. Having a Teams meeting summarised with action points is where Copilot is at its best.

If your organisation already runs on Microsoft 365, Copilot is often the logical first step for the whole team. It works in the programs you use anyway, and your data stays inside your own Microsoft environment. If you do not use Microsoft, the main advantage falls away.

How to choose: three rules of thumb

You do not need to make a study of this. Three rules of thumb get you a long way:

  1. Does your organisation run on Microsoft 365? Start with Copilot. It fits your work and your data stays in your own environment.

  2. Do you do a lot of writing or work with long documents? Go with Claude.

  3. Do you have a broad mix of tasks and want to connect a lot? Choose ChatGPT.

And if you still cannot decide: start with what you have. You learn fastest by doing, and you can always switch later.

For organisations the choice is bigger than the tool

For a single user the choice is small. For an organisation that is going to use AI structurally, it is not about which brand feels smartest. Your work, your data and your systems decide the choice, not the name on the tool. That means the same question can get a different answer at two organisations, and that is fine. Then extra questions come into play:

  • Cost. The difference per user seems small, but across a whole company and with intensive use it adds up. The right model for the right task saves money.

  • Where your data ends up. For some data you want it to stay within Europe, or not to go to a US server. That is a choice you make in advance, not afterwards.

  • Fit with your systems. The value often is not in the model itself, but in the connection with your own processes, knowledge and software.

One option that is often forgotten in this list is open source. Alongside the well-known three, you can also deploy an open model that you run in your own environment or within Europe, so your data does not go to a US server. That takes more setup, and in return it gives you the most control over your data. For organisations with sensitive data that is often the serious alternative.

That is why, for organisations, we do not look at one favourite but compare models per task on quality, cost and speed. Which model gives the best answer to your kind of question, at what price, and how fast. Sometimes the answer is a combination: one model for writing, another for analysis, and for sensitive data an open model that keeps the data in house. The choice follows from your situation; we only map out what each model delivers there.

Wireframe pipeline of four distinct stages with a turquoise stream flowing through, representing AI carrying out tasks step by step beyond chatting

Beyond chatting

The comparison above is about chatting: you ask a question, you get an answer. The three can do more than that by now. They carry out tasks on your files themselves, write and run code, generate images, and make a plan based on how you have set up a project. That is a different way of working: you set a goal and the AI fills in the intermediate steps.

There is a lot of time to be gained there, and it raises new questions: which tasks do you trust the AI with, and how do you keep a grip on what happens. For now it is good to know that the choice between ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot is not only about chatting, but also about what you will let it do on its own later.

How we can help

If you want your people to simply learn to work with it, the workshop Claude as your daily work partner is the starting point. In an afternoon you work with your own tasks and naturally notice which approach fits your work.

If you want to set it up properly at organisation level, we help with the choice of which model for which task, how to keep costs under control, and how to set it up within the rules and within your own systems. That way you choose not on brand name, but on what it delivers for your organisation.

Read more in this guide: how to use ChatGPT or Claude in your daily work and what can AI do beyond chatting.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot?

ChatGPT is the broadest all-rounder, Claude is strong at writing and long documents, and Copilot knows your business context within Microsoft 365. For everyday work they overlap largely; the differences count with more specific work.

Which is best for writing?

Claude often produces the most nuanced and best-structured texts, certainly with longer pieces. ChatGPT is a fine second. For writing in Word with your own company documents alongside, Copilot can be handy.

Do I need more than one?

For most people, no. For organisations it happens that a combination works best: for example Copilot for the whole team and Claude or ChatGPT for those doing heavier analytical work.

What about our data?

That depends on the tool and the version. With Copilot your data stays within your Microsoft environment. With ChatGPT and Claude, business accounts are not used for training by default, free versions sometimes are. For sensitive data it is wise to decide in advance where the data ends up.

The models change so fast, is choosing even worth it?

The ranking does indeed shift every few months. That is why you are better off choosing on what a tool structurally does well and on how it fits your work and your systems, rather than on the latest test score. That choice is more stable than the models themselves.

Sources