What #?&!!! We Rolled Out Microsoft Copilot —And Employees Still Use ChatGPT?

Some enterprises are standardizing on one secure employee chatbot, and a subset are switching from Microsoft Copilot Chat to OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise/Teams after initial rollout. The main drivers are user preference, feature depth, and perceived productivity differences.

What this post covers:

• Why standardization is happening (to reduce shadow AI)

• Why some users still prefer ChatGPT

• What to evaluate (features, speed, governance, adoption)

Our mission is to be an indispensable partner for you and your company as you drive value from AI. I write today about a trend we have seen in the last 4 months.

More companies are switching to OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise or Teams after rolling out Microsoft Copilot to employees.

We have been supporting multiple organizations with GenAI 101 training. Many companies are standardizing on one of two secure employee chatbot products: Microsoft Copilot Chat or OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise (or Teams).

Both platforms have their strengths, but ChatGPT clearly offers more features and is the product employees are most familiar with.

To reduce “shadow IT”, the use of unapproved AI tools, organizations are standardizing on a single AI tool and implementing company-specific GenAI Employee Use Policies. However, some employees, including top performers and senior executives, continue to prefer ChatGPT, seeking the best digital intelligence and productivity tool.

As a result, several companies have rolled out Microsoft Copilot Chat, only to switch to OpenAI ChatGPT as their company standard within weeks.

While Microsoft’s Copilot offering is powered by the OpenAI GPT-5 model, its performance is slower, and it lacks several key features compared to the fully featured OpenAI ChatGPT. Both allow connection with Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive, but Copilot is missing key features like memory and a larger context window.

For knowledge work, the productivity gap between a “good enough” AI assistant and the “best available” option can be significant, and your best employees know it.

If your company is serious about being an AI-forward company, ensuring that your top executives and employees have their preferred AI productivity tool is essential. The goal is to make AI use the cultural norm at your company, not a parlor trick.

AI systems can’t succeed if they only work with structured databases or unstructured documents in isolation. The real breakthrough comes from uncovering structure within unstructured information and combining it with existing structured data. 

"What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure" -- Samuel Johnson

FAQ: Copilot Chat vs ChatGPT Enterprise/Teams 

1. Why are companies standardizing on one enterprise chatbot?
   To reduce shadow AI, simplify governance, and make AI usage consistent with company policy and security controls.

2. Why do some employees still prefer ChatGPT after Copilot rollout?
   Many users are already familiar with ChatGPT and perceive higher flexibility for general knowledge work, writing, and synthesis tasks.

3. Is Microsoft Copilot powered by GPT-5?
   Microsoft states GPT-5 is available in Microsoft 365 Copilot and that Copilot can route across models depending on the prompt. 

4. Do Copilot and ChatGPT both connect to Microsoft content (SharePoint/OneDrive)?
   Copilot is designed to ground responses in Microsoft 365 content a user has permission to access, and enterprises should validate integrations and access controls for their chosen tool. 

5. How do we reduce shadow AI without blocking productivity?
   Standardize an approved tool, publish simple usage policies by role, train employees on safe prompting, and provide “approved use case” templates.

6. What is the fastest way to choose between Copilot and ChatGPT?
   Run a structured pilot: 10 common tasks × 30 users × 2 tools, then compare speed, quality, adoption, and governance fit with a clear scoring rubric.

Onward,
Paul

.