Does Copilot Use ChatGPT?

Author: Dominic Kent

Freelance content marketer for the unified comms and contact center industry.

If you’ve been researching AI for your business, you’ve probably asked yourself one of the most common questions in the Microsoft ecosystem:

Does Microsoft Copilot use ChatGPT?

The answer is both yes and no.

Microsoft Copilot can use OpenAI’s GPT models, including models from the same GPT family used by ChatGPT. However, Copilot is not ChatGPT, and describing it as “ChatGPT with a Microsoft logo” is a major oversimplification.

Microsoft Copilot is a family of AI products built by Microsoft. It combines large language models (LLMs) from OpenAI and other providers with Microsoft’s own applications, security controls, business data, search capabilities, orchestration technologies, and enterprise infrastructure.

For Microsoft 365 Copilot, the AI model is only one part of the experience.

Understanding this distinction is important if you’re trying to determine:

• How Copilot works
• Whether Copilot is the same as ChatGPT
• What happens to your data
• Why Copilot and ChatGPT sometimes produce different answers
• Whether Copilot is worth investing in for your organization

Does Copilot Use ChatGPT? The Direct Answer

Yes and no.

Microsoft Copilot can use GPT models from OpenAI, including models from the same family used by ChatGPT. However, Copilot is not ChatGPT.

Microsoft combines AI models with Microsoft 365, Microsoft Graph, enterprise identity, security controls, business data, search capabilities, and application integrations to create a different experience.

Short answer: Copilot can use GPT models. Copilot is not ChatGPT.

Why People Think Copilot Is ChatGPT

The confusion is understandable.

Many Copilot experiences use OpenAI’s GPT models. But Microsoft 365 Copilot is increasingly multi-model, with Microsoft supporting models from OpenAI and Anthropic across different Copilot experiences.

From a user’s perspective, Copilot and ChatGPT can also feel similar because:

• You type questions into a chat interface
• Both generate natural language responses
• Both can summarize information
• Both can write content
• Both can help solve problems

As a result, it’s easy to assume Microsoft simply created its own version of ChatGPT.

The reality is that the AI model is only one component of the overall Copilot system.

Microsoft layers business context, permissions, compliance controls, data access, application integration, and what Microsoft refers to as Work IQ around the models it uses. These additional layers fundamentally change what the assistant can do.

ChatGPT vs. GPT vs. Copilot

The easiest way to understand the relationship is to separate the model from the application.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is OpenAI’s AI application.

Users interact with ChatGPT through OpenAI’s website, desktop apps, and mobile apps.

It provides a conversational experience built around OpenAI’s models, alongside features such as reasoning, web access, file analysis, image generation, and connections to external applications.

GPT

GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.

It refers to a family of AI models developed by OpenAI.

Importantly, using a GPT model does not automatically mean you’re using ChatGPT.

Think of GPT as the engine.

ChatGPT is one product built using that engine.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft’s family of AI assistants and AI-powered experiences.

This includes:

• Microsoft Copilot
• Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Copilot Chat
• GitHub Copilot
• Copilot Studio

These products are not identical and may not use identical models or architectures.

Microsoft 365 Copilot, for example, combines AI models with Microsoft’s work context, applications, enterprise controls, and Microsoft 365 data that the user already has permission to access.

That makes it fundamentally different from simply opening ChatGPT in a browser.

Copilot vs. ChatGPT at a Glance

One important update here is that ChatGPT can connect to Microsoft services through supported integrations and connectors.

So the distinction is no longer that Copilot can access Microsoft services and ChatGPT can’t.

The more accurate distinction is how deeply each product is built into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

The model may be similar, but the surrounding ecosystem is very different.

So Which Models Does Microsoft Copilot Use?

There isn’t a single model powering every Copilot experience.

Microsoft 365 Copilot increasingly uses a multi-model approach. Microsoft has expanded Copilot beyond OpenAI models to include Anthropic models, with different models available or selected for different experiences and workloads.

Microsoft’s own description of this strategy is that Microsoft 365 Copilot is “model diverse by design.”

That means the question:

Does Copilot use GPT?

has a straightforward answer:

Yes, Copilot can use GPT models.

But if someone asks:

Does Copilot always use the same GPT model?

The answer is no.

In fact, some Copilot experiences don’t necessarily need to use a GPT model at all.

For example, Microsoft has introduced Anthropic models into parts of the Microsoft 365 Copilot ecosystem. Microsoft’s Researcher agent can be powered by either OpenAI or Claude models in supported scenarios, and Anthropic models are also available in Copilot Studio.

The model used can therefore depend on the specific Copilot product, feature, workload, configuration, and Microsoft’s orchestration decisions.

Is Microsoft Copilot the Same as ChatGPT?

No.

This is probably the single most important takeaway from this article.

Two AI assistants can use related model families and still operate very differently.

That’s because the model is only one piece of the puzzle.

Consider this prompt:

“Summarize all emails relating to the Acme project received this week and identify outstanding actions.”

Microsoft 365 Copilot can work with Microsoft 365 content the user is authorized to access, allowing it to use organizational information as context.

ChatGPT can also access information from Microsoft services when appropriate apps and permissions have been configured through supported integrations and connectors.

The difference is that Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed from the outset around Microsoft 365 work, identity, applications, and enterprise context.

ChatGPT is a broader AI platform that can connect to Microsoft services alongside many other tools.

That’s a different operating model.

Why Can Copilot and ChatGPT Give Different Answers?

Even when they use related GPT technologies, they can produce different outputs.

There are four main reasons.

1. They Have Different Sources of Information

Microsoft 365 Copilot can ground responses using business information available through the Microsoft 365 environment.

ChatGPT can work with information supplied directly by the user and, where configured, information retrieved through connected apps and other tools.

The information available to each assistant can therefore be very different.

Different context often leads to different answers.

2. They Use Different Instructions

Every AI product wraps its model with additional instructions, controls, and orchestration layers.

The model is not simply receiving your prompt in isolation.

This influences how the assistant responds and prioritizes information.

3. They Can Use Different Models

This distinction is becoming increasingly important.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is no longer best understood as a product tied exclusively to OpenAI models.

Microsoft has expanded model choice across Copilot to include Anthropic models, and particular experiences can use different models depending on the task.

ChatGPT and Copilot can therefore produce different results simply because the underlying model isn’t necessarily the same.

4. They Use Different Tools

An AI model becomes considerably more useful when it can retrieve information, search, interact with applications, or perform actions.

Microsoft 365 Copilot’s capabilities come from the combination of:

• AI models
• Microsoft 365 applications
• Organizational data
• Enterprise identity and permissions
• Security and compliance controls
• Microsoft’s orchestration layer

That’s why comparing Copilot and ChatGPT solely by asking which AI model they use misses a large part of the picture.

Does Microsoft 365 Copilot Use ChatGPT?

This question requires a little nuance.

If by “ChatGPT” you mean OpenAI’s ChatGPT application, then no.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is not simply connecting your company’s Microsoft 365 environment to a public ChatGPT account.

If by “ChatGPT” you mean the GPT technology that powers ChatGPT, then yes, there is a relationship.

Microsoft 365 Copilot can use OpenAI GPT models.

However, Microsoft has moved toward a multi-model architecture. Depending on the Copilot experience, models from providers including Anthropic can also be available.

The most accurate answer is:

Microsoft Copilot can use OpenAI GPT models, including models from the same family used by ChatGPT, but Microsoft Copilot is not ChatGPT.

Does Microsoft Copilot Use Azure OpenAI?

Historically, many explanations of Copilot focused on Azure OpenAI.

That made sense for earlier generations of Copilot.

Today, Microsoft’s architecture is more flexible.

Microsoft distinguishes between different ways external AI models can be incorporated into its services and now supports external AI providers as subprocessors for some Microsoft 365 Copilot experiences.

Microsoft has also expanded Copilot Studio to support models from additional providers.

As a result, the old explanation that “everything runs through Azure OpenAI” is no longer a complete description of the platform.

Does Copilot Send My Microsoft 365 Data to ChatGPT?

Not in the way most people mean when they ask that question.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is not simply exporting company information into someone’s consumer ChatGPT account.

Copilot operates as a Microsoft service with its own enterprise data, identity, security, privacy, and compliance architecture.

However, the increasing use of third-party models means organizations should understand which models and subprocessors they have enabled.

This is why organizations should distinguish between:

• ChatGPT as an OpenAI product
• OpenAI models being used within Microsoft services
• Other third-party models being used within Microsoft services

They are not the same thing.

Does Microsoft Train AI Models on My Copilot Data?

Microsoft states that prompts, responses, and customer data in commercial Copilot experiences are not used to train the underlying foundation models.

Organizations should still review Microsoft’s enterprise data protection commitments, licensing terms, compliance requirements, data residency requirements, enabled AI providers, and product-specific documentation.

This becomes particularly important as Copilot becomes increasingly multi-model and organizations gain greater control over which AI providers and services are enabled within their environment.

Is Copilot Better Than ChatGPT?

There isn’t a universal winner.

The better question is:

Which tool is better for the task you’re trying to complete?

ChatGPT is excellent for:

• Research
• Brainstorming
• Writing
• Coding
• Learning
• General-purpose AI assistance
• Working across connected applications and information sources

Microsoft 365 Copilot excels when work is centered around:

• Microsoft Outlook
• Teams
• SharePoint
• OneDrive
• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Organizational knowledge
• Microsoft 365 workflows

For example:

“Give me five ideas for improving our sales presentation.”

Either tool can help.

But consider:

“Review the customer emails, proposal documents, Teams meeting transcripts, and SharePoint files, then prepare an executive summary.”

Both platforms may be able to help with this type of request when the appropriate data sources are connected.

But Microsoft 365 Copilot’s fundamental advantage is that it is designed specifically around the Microsoft 365 work environment.

ChatGPT takes a broader approach, allowing users to connect Microsoft services alongside other external tools and data sources.

Which is better therefore depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.

The Simplest Way to Think About It

If all the terminology is becoming confusing, use this model.

OpenAI
↓
Develops GPT models and ChatGPT

GPT Models
↓
AI models that can power many different applications

ChatGPT
↓
OpenAI’s AI assistant

Microsoft Copilot
↓
Microsoft’s AI ecosystem that combines AI models with Microsoft applications, data, security, identity, and business context

The two products can share underlying technology without being the same product.

And increasingly, Microsoft Copilot doesn’t have to rely solely on OpenAI technology at all. Microsoft has explicitly expanded Microsoft 365 Copilot to support models from other providers, including Anthropic.

Does Copilot Use ChatGPT? The Final Answer

Yes, Copilot can use OpenAI GPT models, including models from the same GPT family used by ChatGPT.

No, Copilot is not ChatGPT.

Microsoft Copilot combines AI models with Microsoft 365 applications, enterprise security, identity, permissions, organizational data, and orchestration technologies to create a different experience.

And Copilot is increasingly multi-model.

Microsoft has expanded Microsoft 365 Copilot beyond OpenAI models to include Anthropic models, with different models available for different Copilot experiences and workloads.

So when someone says:

“Copilot is just ChatGPT with a Microsoft skin.”

The reality is more nuanced.

A far more accurate description would be:

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft’s AI ecosystem, and OpenAI’s GPT models are among the technologies that can help power it.

The model matters.

What truly differentiates Copilot is everything Microsoft builds around that model.

Planning a Microsoft 365 Copilot Rollout?

Understanding the technology behind Copilot is only the first step.

Before you invest in Copilot, it’s worth checking whether your Microsoft 365 environment is ready to support it.

Cloud Revolution’s Microsoft 365 Copilot Readiness Checker helps you assess your environment and identify potential areas to address before deployment.

Check your Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness