Employees at many Swiss companies have been using AI for some time, often through private free accounts with no control over company data. The real question, therefore, is which platform allows your teams to use AI securely every day. This article compares the two approaches based on the questions that management teams at medium-sized businesses are actually asking.
The key difference lies in the approach. Microsoft 365 Copilot is an assistant within Microsoft applications. It operates in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and uses Microsoft Graph to access your emails, files, chats and calendar appointments. Its strength is precisely this integration into everyday work. Anyone who wants to summarise an email, create minutes from a Teams meeting or generate an initial presentation draft from a Word document can stay within the familiar application.
CompanyGPT takes the opposite approach. It is a standalone browser-based platform, similar to ChatGPT in how it is used, but operated as an isolated corporate environment. The platform brings several AI models together in one interface, integrates your company knowledge through knowledge bases and works regardless of which Office licences an employee has. We explain the fundamentals in our article CompanyGPT: Why Businesses Need Their Own Secure AI Environment Today.
Put simply, the two tools answer different questions. Copilot asks, “How can I get my Office work done faster?” CompanyGPT asks, “How can I give all employees controlled access to powerful AI?”
For a long time, Microsoft 365 Copilot primarily used OpenAI models. According to Schneider IT Management, Anthropic models such as Claude have also been available since September 2025, and AI agents from Microsoft and its partners have been available through the Agent Store since early 2026.
The range of models is expanding but remains tied to the Microsoft ecosystem. In its GDPR guide, CodeKlar also notes that requests to Anthropic models may leave the EU Data Boundary.
CompanyGPT was designed from the outset as a multi-model platform. Available models include Apertus, Llama, Mistral, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, provided through Swiss or EU infrastructure depending on the model. An orchestration system automatically distinguishes between simple, medium-complexity and complex requests and selects the appropriate model. Simple requests run on cost-effective standard models, while only complex ones use the more expensive leading models. Users can manually select a particular model at any time. New versions of Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini are generally available five to ten days after their release.
In terms of usability, there is no need for concern. Copilot Chat provides a chat interface that feels similar to ChatGPT. Employees ask a question and receive an answer; in the paid version, answers can also draw on their emails and documents. The underlying difference is that Microsoft determines which model responds, and Gemini is not available at all.
From our projects and ongoing discussions with businesses, we know the pattern that tends to follow. Employee A prefers ChatGPT, employee B relies on Claude for writing, and employee C uses Gemini for research. Understandably, the company initially wants to provide just one tool, often Copilot because Microsoft contracts are already in place. But employees’ preferences do not disappear; they simply shift elsewhere.
The Microsoft and LinkedIn Work Trend Index shows where. Worldwide, 78% of AI users bring their own AI tools to work; in Europe, the figure is as high as 80%. For companies, this means that business data ends up in private accounts, without control over security, data usage or retention. The seemingly obvious solution of officially licensing every team’s preferred tools merely replaces one problem with another. Individual subscriptions to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini quickly add up to substantial costs per employee, and every tool comes with its own security settings, data processing agreement and invoice. In practice, oversight is lost.
Hardly any medium-sized company operates entirely within a single software ecosystem today. A typical technology stack includes an ERP system such as Abacus, SAP, Bexio or KLARA for orders, inventory and finance; Microsoft 365 for email, documents and collaboration; a CRM such as HubSpot for marketing, sales and service; and a project management tool such as ClickUp, Monday or Asana. Team knowledge is therefore distributed across at least four systems. This is precisely where the everyday usefulness of an AI tool is determined.
The pricing models differ fundamentally, and that is exactly what makes the comparison interesting for management teams.
Microsoft charges per user. According to the Copilotenschule pricing overview (as of September 2026), Microsoft 365 Copilot Business costs EUR 18.20 per user per month for companies with up to 300 users (currently a promotional price of EUR 15.60), while the Enterprise version costs EUR 26.00. Both prices are based on annual billing and require an eligible base Microsoft 365 licence.
According to bluebatch, the basic Copilot Chat interface is included at no additional charge with eligible Microsoft 365 licences, but without access to the user’s own emails, documents or Teams chats. The same analysis calculates that total first-year costs, including base licences, tenant preparation, governance and training, are considerably higher than the add-on prices alone. The Fraunhofer FIT study “Is Microsoft 365 Copilot Worth It?” also emphasises the need to assess internal costs and benefits before implementation.
CompanyGPT charges per company. Depending on company size, the subscription costs between CHF 380 (up to 15 employees) and CHF 2,274 (up to 250 employees) per month and covers platform operation, maintenance, security, updates and support.
There is also a one-time setup fee of CHF 2,968 for companies with up to 15 employees and CHF 4,968 for companies with 16 or more employees. Integration of internal knowledge sources and SSO are excluded and billed according to the work involved. The minimum term is twelve months, followed by a three-month notice period. The subscription includes Swiss-hosted standard models and integration of up to 5 GB of company knowledge via RAG. Leading models incur usage-based token costs, with a guideline of CHF 0 to CHF 80 per employee per month depending on intensity of use. Budgets can be capped per company and per person, and a dashboard shows costs in real time.
Start with a brief assessment based on four questions.
1. Which of our data needs protection, from personal information and customer contracts to trade secrets?
2. Which data residency and security requirements apply to us, for example under the Swiss Data Protection Act, customer NDAs or industry regulations?
3. Which systems do our teams actually work in?
4. And how are they already using AI, whether officially or through private accounts?
Anyone who has answered these four questions will usually quickly recognise which of the two approaches is the right fit, or whether a combination of both makes sense.
The good news is that there is little chance of making the wrong decision, as long as it is a conscious one. Both approaches bring AI into the company in a controlled manner. The only risky option is the third one: choosing neither, while employees are already using private free accounts.
All prices and features mentioned in this article reflect the situation as of September 2026. All amounts are list prices and gross prices. Microsoft regularly adjusts list prices, promotional discounts and the functionality of Copilot. CompanyGPT prices may also change in response to changes in the AI models used; any changes will be communicated in advance.