Is it just me, or does Copilot feel a bit… pants compared to ChatGPT?

Comparing Microsoft Copilot with GPT-4o, you’ll find definite overlap — they’re powered by the same AI family (OpenAI’s GPT models). But they’re not the same beast.

So what’s going on?

In enterprise environments, Copilot will almost certainly be restricted — and for good reason. It’s not about stifling innovation; it’s about containing risk and maintaining control.

Here’s why organisations lock it down:

1. Data Security and Confidentiality Copilot can access your SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive — whatever you have permission to see. That’s powerful… and risky. Unrestricted use could surface sensitive data where it shouldn’t be. Or worse leak it.
2. Regulatory and Compliance Requirements Think GDPR, HIPAA, SOX. Compliance isn’t optional. Restrictions help align AI use with internal policy and legal frameworks.
3. Auditability and Accountability If Copilot misfires — who’s responsible? Guardrails reduce the chance of AI-generated chaos.
4. Preventing Over-Reliance or Misuse Copilot might summarise beautifully… but it can still hallucinate. Especially risky in legal, financial, or clinical domains.
5. Productivity vs. Distraction Early-phase rollouts often throttle features to stop users playing “prompt bingo” all day. Training first, scale later.
6. Plugin and Third-Party Exposure Plug-ins can leak data. Restrictions stop non-approved integrations from opening the wrong doors.
7. Role-Based Enablement Not everyone needs (or wants) Copilot everywhere. Finance may want it in Excel. Legal? Maybe not in Word just yet. See points 3 and 4 above.

Think of it like this……

• Copilot = GPT in a suit and tie. Corporate-ready. Embedded. Secure. Task-focused.
• GPT-4o = GPT in a creative hoodie. Freedom-focused.

Conclusion

If you’re living inside Microsoft 365 and want AI to speed up everyday tasks and allow corporate to sleep at night — Copilot is perfect. If you want creative control, multimodal input, or developer flexibility — GPT-4o wins.

Note: Multimodal = AI understanding and working with multiple types of input and output, not just text.

• #AIProductivity – for the Copilot and M365 crowd
• #GPT4o – highlights the model at the heart of the comparison
• #EnterpriseAI – for the corporate and IT governance angle
• #AICompliance – reflects the risk/regulation thread
• #TechComparison – helps position the post as a practical breakdown
• #GhostGen.AI