Microsoft Copilot: Review & Top 4 Alternatives in 2025

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated across Microsoft products to enhance productivity and usability through natural language interactions.

Using advanced generative AI models, including GPT-4, Copilot provides assistance in tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and GitHub. It enables tasks such as data analysis, presentation creation, email management, and real-time collaboration.

Dive in for a detailed overview of Microsoft Copilot including its key functionalities and its top 4 alternatives.

Comparing top 4 alternatives to Microsoft Copilot

*Sorting in the table is based on number of reviews gathered from B2B review platforms: G2 and Capterra. Pricing information is obtained from vendor websites.

Copilot overview

Figure 1: An example conversation with Copilot.

Microsoft Copilot is an advanced AI-powered assistant that uses generative AI models, particularly the GPT-4 series, to deliver accurate assistance across Microsoft products.

Launched in 2023, Copilot initially appeared as Bing Chat within Bing and Edge, later expanding across Microsoft 365 apps to offer enterprise customers new ways to work efficiently. Embedded within widely-used tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, Copilot leverages natural language prompts and allows users to interact with the software in a conversational manner to enhance usability and productivity.

In Microsoft 365, Copilot features like “Business Chat” enable Copilot users to gather insights from sources such as emails, calendars, and documents, by simply entering a natural language prompt. This feature allows users to generate summaries, notifications, and detailed updates.

For example, users can instruct Business Chat with prompts like “Update my team on the product strategy,” which then produces a comprehensive status update based on recent data.

Copilot’s integration with GitHub Copilot provides developers with AI-driven code suggestions to manage coding and enhance productivity.

These suggestions are backed by AI models trained on extensive datasets, with a focus on responsible AI practices, including human review and abuse detection. This approach supports ethical use and provides a secure experience for users across industries.

Accessible from Microsoft 365.com, Bing Search, and Teams, Copilot integrates into workflows, helping users and teams change their approach to daily tasks, harness data, and expand their potential in today’s digital world.

Access to data

Integrated within Microsoft’s suite of applications, Copilot leverages data from the Microsoft Graph, which includes user emails, documents, meetings, and chats. This integration allows Copilot to provide context-aware assistance, such as drafting emails or summarizing meetings, by accessing and processing user-specific data within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Copilot solutions across Microsoft 365

Data analysis in Excel

Copilot’s generative AI capabilities in Excel assist users with data analysis by automating tasks such as data formatting, creating graphs, generating pivot tables, identifying trends, and summarizing information.

With these Copilot features, users can utilize natural language prompts to complete complex data tasks and receive personalized insights. Copilot also provides guidance with Excel commands and suggests relevant formulas to support both individual and enterprise customers with tools to automate analysis and enhance data-driven decision-making.

By generating visuals that highlight key trends, Copilot enables users to customize data presentations to meet professional standards.

Presentation creation in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, Copilot supports presentation creation processes by automating content curation and layout. Users don’t need to start from scratch or go through documents for relevant information. Instead, Copilot can pull content from previous presentations, reports, or notes and adapt it to fit the user’s current needs.

This automation helps speeding up presentation development and ensures continuity and relevance across projects, as Copilot retrieves content that has already been curated or reviewed.

Users can simply provide Copilot with prompts, such as requesting a particular format or slide style, and receive an initial draft that they can refine to suit their objectives.

Email management in Outlook

In Outlook, Copilot provides users with AI-powered summaries of lengthy email threads, allowing them to reach the main points without reading each message in detail. This is particularly useful for enterprises handling a high volume of emails.

Additionally, Copilot can generate suggested replies based on previous responses or similar inquiries, to enable users to respond faster and more consistently.

By helping users prioritize important messages and clearing less urgent ones, Copilot helps freeing up time for higher-value tasks.

Real-time collaboration in Teams

In Teams, Copilot supports collaboration by providing real-time assistance during meetings and group discussions.

As conversations unfold, Copilot can capture key points, identify areas of agreement or dissent, and summarize complex discussions into actionable insights. This includes tracking action items, assigning responsibilities, and noting important follow-up tasks.

This feature ensures that team members remain aligned and informed, even in complex discussions or when balancing differing viewpoints. For larger teams or cross-departmental meetings, Copilot can create real-time summaries and track key decisions.

Code assistance and productivity with GitHub Copilot

Microsoft Copilot integrates with GitHub Copilot to provide developers with AI-driven code suggestions that support efficient coding and code refinement. This integration helps developers automate repetitive coding tasks, recommends relevant code snippets, and identifies potential errors to enhance productivity within the development workflow.

The code suggestions are powered by advanced AI models trained on large datasets, allowing GitHub Copilot to offer real-time support and contextually relevant feedback as developers work.

Microsoft emphasizes implementing responsible AI principles in developing Copilot, especially in its integration with GitHub Copilot. The AI systems used in Copilot undergo detailed human review and incorporate abuse detection mechanisms to ensure ethical application and user data protection.

These processes align with Microsoft’s commitment to security and privacy standards, which are critical for enterprise customers. Copilot’s AI models are trained on varied data sources with a focus on compliance and privacy with the aim to provide a secure and responsible experience for developers across industries.

This integration aids individual developers in their coding tasks and also promotes a secure, privacy-conscious, and compliant approach to AI-supported development.

Top 4 alternatives to Copilot

Google Gemini

Google Gemini is an artificial intelligence platform developed by Google, designed to work with multiple types of data, including text, images, video and audio. It builds on the research and advancements of DeepMind, focusing on handling complex tasks such as generating detailed responses, creating visual content, and combining information from diverse inputs into an output.

The platform is integrated with Google’s ecosystem, such as Search and Workspace tools like Docs, Sheets, and Gmail to enable users to utilize AI directly within these environments.

Gemini also incorporates advanced features for contextual understanding and reasoning to ensure its outputs align with user needs and intended uses.

Additionally, it emphasizes safety, reliability, and minimizing bias and reflecting Google’s approach to responsible AI development and deployment.

Access to data

Gemini integrates with Google’s ecosystem, accessing data from services like Search, Gmail, and Drive to provide personalized responses and assistance. It does not have off-the-shelf access to private data unless configured.

Figure 2: Google Gemini chatbot example.¹

ChatGPT

Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is an adaptable AI assistant that generates human-like text and supports various tasks, including coding. With a user-friendly interface, ChatGPT can be integrated into different applications to enhance productivity across workflows.

ChatGPT offers natural language generation and coding assistance, suitable for developers needing an AI that supports both text and code generation. Its flexibility and ease of integration across applications allow it to function as a general-purpose tool alongside coding support.

Access to data

ChaGPT doesn’t have access to personal user data or real-time information unless shared during the interaction. It generates responses based on patterns learned during its training phase, without accessing external databases or personal user information.

Figure 3: An idea brainstorming example from ChatGPT.

IBM watsonx Assistant

IBM watsonx Assistant is a virtual assistant platform that uses natural language understanding and machine learning to facilitate automated interactions, delivering accurate and consistent responses across digital and voice channels.

IBM watsonx Assistant provides tools for automating customer interactions, making it suitable for teams needing AI support for internal and external communications. Its adaptability to automate processes can be useful in environments where customer-facing or extensive communication support complements development tasks.

Access to data

IBM’s watsonx Assistant is tailored for enterprise use and capable of fine-tuning large language models with client-specific data. It allows businesses to integrate their proprietary data to ensure that the AI provides relevant and accurate responses based on the organization’s unique information. However, it does not have off-the-shelf access to private data.

Figure 4: IBM watsonx Assistant Demo dashboard.²

Amazon Q

Amazon Q is a generative AI assistant focused on productivity, supporting task automation, information summarization, and secure data management within enterprise systems. It integrates with platforms like Microsoft 365 and Salesforce to manage workflows across enterprise data sources.

Amazon Q supports task automation and secure integration with enterprise data, making it suitable for developers working within enterprise environments. Its capabilities for summarizing and managing data securely make it a useful option for development projects involving extensive data handling within larger enterprise systems.

Access to data

Amazon Q can process enterprise data to perform tasks like answering questions, summarizing information, and generating content by accessing Amazon Kendra and other various data sources such as Amazon S3, Microsoft SharePoint, and Salesforce. It requires explicit configuration and does not have default access to private data.

External Links

• 1. KI-Tools für Unternehmen | Google Workspace.
• 2. IBM watsonx Assistant Lendyr Demo Site.