Guide

ChatGPT Enterprise vs Microsoft Copilot vs Claude for Australian organisations

By Brett Raven, APAC Lead & Board Member, AIREUpdated 30 September 2026

If your organisation already runs on Microsoft 365, start with Microsoft Copilot. It works inside Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams on the email, files and meetings each person can already open. As at September 2026 it costs A$31.40 per user per month on Copilot Business (up to 300 users) or A$44.90 on the enterprise plan, billed annually and excluding GST, on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. Choose ChatGPT when you want one general-purpose assistant for everyone, whatever software they use: Business is A$28 per user per month billed annually for 2 to 200 people, and Enterprise can keep your data at rest in Australia. Choose Claude when the work is reading and writing long documents. Anthropic quotes its prices in US dollars and stores business data in the United States. Whichever you pick, training decides the return more than the licence does.

Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude side by side

All three are sold per person, per month, and none trains its models on your business data by default. They differ most in where the work happens and where your data is kept. The table compares the plans a mid-market organisation would actually buy: Microsoft Copilot Business or the enterprise Copilot plan, ChatGPT Business or Enterprise, and Claude Team or Enterprise.

Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude for Australian organisations, as at September 2026
What you're comparing	Microsoft Copilot	ChatGPT	Claude
Price as at September 2026	Copilot Business: A$31.40 per user per month billed annually, or A$37.68 monthly. Enterprise plan: A$44.90 per user per month billed annually. Excludes GST, and sits on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan.	Business: A$28 per user per month billed annually, or A$35 monthly, for a Standard seat. Premium seat A$140 billed annually. Enterprise: custom price from OpenAI's sales team.	Team: US$20 per seat per month billed annually, or US$25 monthly, as published for US customers. Enterprise: a US$20 seat billed annually, plus all usage at API rates.
Seats	Licensed per user. Copilot Business is for organisations of up to 300 users.	Business: 2 to 200. Enterprise: not published.	Team: 2 to 150. Enterprise: at least 20 bought online, or 50 through Anthropic's sales team.
Where it works best	Inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, grounded in the email, chats, files and meetings each person can already open.	One general-purpose workspace for everyone, with connectors to Google Workspace, Slack, GitHub and Microsoft 365.	Long documents and careful writing, in shared projects that hold a team's files and instructions.
Training on your data	No. Prompts, responses and data read through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation models.	Not by default on Business or Enterprise.	Not by default on Team or Enterprise. Chats a user rates with the thumbs up or down can be used, and an owner can turn rating off.
Where data is stored	At rest in Australia for a tenant signed up here, under Microsoft's product terms. Processing can happen overseas. Microsoft expects to offer local processing in Australia by the end of 2026.	Enterprise: at rest in Australia for new workspaces, at no extra cost. Processing can happen overseas. Business: region choice is still rolling out.	In the United States for Team and Enterprise. Anthropic offers storage and processing in Australia for Claude's models through AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Foundry.
Admin and SSO	Your Microsoft 365 sign-in (Microsoft Entra ID), the Microsoft 365 admin centre, and Microsoft Purview for retention and search. Admins choose which agents are allowed.	Business: SAML SSO, MFA and an admin console. Enterprise adds SCIM, enterprise key management, role-based access, a compliance API and custom retention.	Team: SSO, domain verification and admin controls for connectors. Enterprise adds SCIM, audit logs, a compliance API, custom retention and customer-managed encryption keys.
Agents	Researcher, Analyst and Facilitator come built in. Build your own in Agent Builder or Copilot Studio; publishing one outside the organisation needs a standalone Copilot Studio plan.	Workspace agents, custom GPTs and ChatGPT agent on Business and Enterprise.	Claude Code and Cowork come with Team and Enterprise seats, and skills can be deployed across the organisation.

Microsoft's prices exclude GST. OpenAI's pricing page doesn't say whether its Australian prices include it. Anthropic publishes Team prices for US customers and says currency and tax vary by region. Microsoft also lists Copilot Business at A$26.91 for the first year on annual orders placed between 1 July and 31 December 2026. Microsoft now calls Microsoft 365 Copilot simply Microsoft Copilot, but its Australian price list still uses the old name. See the sources.

When Microsoft Copilot wins

Copilot wins when your team's work already lives in Microsoft 365. It sits inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and it reads through Microsoft Graph: the email, chats, documents, calendars and meetings a person already has permission to open. Microsoft says it combines that content with what the person is doing, such as the meeting they are in or last week's chat on the same topic, so nobody has to paste the background in.

ChatGPT and Claude both connect to Microsoft 365, and both reach into some of its apps: OpenAI lists extensions for Excel and PowerPoint, and Anthropic lists Claude for Microsoft 365 and for Outlook. Copilot is the one built in, and it is managed from the same admin centre as the rest of your Microsoft 365 tenant.

Fix your permissions before you switch it on

Copilot only shows people what they could already open, and Microsoft tells customers to get their SharePoint permissions right for exactly that reason. If a folder of salary reviews is shared with the whole company, Copilot will find it for anyone who asks. Tidy the permissions first.

What the paid licence adds

Eligible Microsoft 365 plans already include Copilot Chat at no extra cost. It answers from the web, works in Outlook, and can use agents your organisation builds on a metered basis. The paid licence adds answers grounded in your work data, Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams, and Microsoft's built-in Researcher, Analyst and Facilitator agents. Run a pilot group on the free tier before you buy seats for everyone.

Agents

Licensed users can build agents in Agent Builder or Copilot Studio for use inside the organisation, and admins decide which agents are allowed. Publishing an agent to a website or another outside channel needs a standalone Copilot Studio plan, billed on credits, and an Azure subscription.

Our Microsoft Copilot training covers the rollout in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, and building agents in Copilot Studio.

When ChatGPT wins

ChatGPT wins when you want one assistant for everyone, whatever software they use. It isn't tied to one vendor's apps: Business connects to Google Workspace, Slack, GitHub and Microsoft 365, among others. For an organisation that runs on Google Workspace, or on a mix, that counts for a lot.

It is also the simplest of the three to buy in Australia. Business is self-serve and priced in Australian dollars: sign up with a card and buy from 2 seats to 200, with SAML SSO, an admin console and no training on your data by default. Standard and Premium seats can sit in the same workspace, so the few heavy users get five times the usage without lifting everyone's price.

Enterprise is the step up once you pass 200 people, or need SCIM provisioning, invoicing, custom retention or your data stored in Australia. OpenAI sets the price through its sales team.

Our guide to ChatGPT for business in Australia covers the plans, AUD prices and GST in detail, and ChatGPT training covers the rollout.

When Claude wins

Claude wins when the job is reading and writing at length: a contract, a tender response, a board paper, a policy checked against the legislation it answers to. Anthropic pitches the Team plan on room for long documents and long, multi-step conversations.

Projects hold the context

A project is a workspace with its own chat history, files and instructions. Upload the style guide, the templates and last year's reports once, and every chat in that project starts from them. On paid plans, when a project's files approach the context limit, Claude switches to retrieval, which Anthropic says expands capacity up to ten times. On Team and Enterprise, a project can be shared with named colleagues or the whole organisation, with view or edit rights.

Team and Enterprise also connect to Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack and GitHub, so Claude can search existing documents and email without anyone uploading them.

How Claude is priced

Team suits 2 to 150 people. Anthropic lists a Standard seat at US$20 a month billed annually, or US$25 monthly, and a Premium seat with five times the usage at US$100 or US$125. Those are its prices for US customers. It says pricing, currency and tax vary by region, and shows the price for your location on its upgrade page.

Enterprise is billed differently. The seat is US$20 a month billed annually and covers access only. Every chat and task is billed on top at API rates, and admins set spend limits for the organisation and for each person. Enterprise bought online needs 20 seats and is billed in US dollars only. Through Anthropic's sales team the minimum is 50 seats, with invoicing and other currencies available. Budget for usage as well as seats.

Our Claude training covers setting up projects and connectors for the work your team repeats.

Running two tools side by side

Two tools can make sense: Copilot for the work inside Microsoft 365, and ChatGPT or Claude for drafting and analysis that happens outside it. Before you buy a second licence, check what the first already gives you.

Microsoft offers Anthropic's Claude models inside Copilot, and for most commercial customers outside the EU and UK they are on by default. In Researcher, and when editing with Copilot in the Microsoft 365 apps, people can choose Claude. That puts Claude's models inside Microsoft's apps. It isn't the Claude app with its shared projects, but it may be enough for the occasional user.

A second tool also means a second bill. One person on Copilot Business and ChatGPT Business, both billed annually, lists at A$59.40 a month (derived from the two list prices: A$31.40 for Copilot Business, which excludes GST, plus A$28 for ChatGPT Business, where OpenAI doesn't say).

If you run two

Give each tool a job. Copilot for email, meetings and files in Microsoft 365; the second tool for named work, such as tender drafts or data analysis.
Buy the second licence for the roles that use it. Nobody needs two assistants to write the same email.
Turn on SSO for both, so a leaver loses access to both on the same day.
Write one policy for both: which tool is approved for what, and what stays out of either. Our one-page AI policy template is a starting point.

Data handling for Australian organisations

General information, not legal advice. Check how the Privacy Act applies to your organisation before you decide.

Training on your data

None of the three trains its models on your business data by default. Microsoft says prompts, responses and data read through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation models. OpenAI says it doesn't train on ChatGPT Business or Enterprise data unless you opt in. Anthropic says it won't use inputs or outputs from its business plans unless a user sends feedback with the thumbs up or down, or you otherwise agree. An owner of a Claude Team or Enterprise plan can turn that feedback button off.

Where your data is kept

Microsoft Copilot: for a tenant signed up in Australia, Microsoft's product terms cover Copilot's prompts and responses stored at rest in Australia. Processing can happen elsewhere: Microsoft says customers outside the EU may have queries processed in the US, the EU or other regions. It expects local processing for Copilot in Australia to be available by the end of 2026.
ChatGPT: a new Enterprise workspace can store its content at rest in Australia at no extra cost. Inference residency, which keeps processing in-region, is offered only in Europe, the United States and the UAE. For Business, choosing a storage region is rolling out gradually, and OpenAI keeps a copy of prompts and responses in the United States for a limited time for abuse monitoring.
Claude: Anthropic says data from its business plans is stored in the United States, and that traffic may be routed to the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. Enterprise can keep processing inside the United States. Anthropic offers storage and processing in Australia when Claude's models are used through AWS Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI or Microsoft Foundry, which means building on those platforms rather than using the Claude app.

One catch for Copilot tenants: Microsoft says Anthropic models used inside Copilot are excluded from its in-country processing commitments where those apply. An admin can limit or switch off Anthropic as a subprocessor in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.

Your obligations still apply

The vendor's commitments don't discharge yours. The OAIC asks organisations adopting an AI product to check its data flows, including whether the developer or other third parties can see what you put in, and lists cross-border disclosure (APP 8) among the obligations to consider. As a matter of best practice it recommends not entering personal information, and particularly sensitive information, into publicly available AI tools. A business plan with training switched off changes the risk. It doesn't remove the need for a written rule on what staff may paste in.

What decides the return

The licence is the smallest part of the decision. Any of the three can earn its cost if people use it on real work. None will if they don't.

The failure looks the same for all three: seats bought, a launch email sent, and most of the team still using the assistant like a search box, if they open it at all. Before you spend another month comparing features, get four things done.

Pick the tool that matches where your team's work already happens.
Switch on SSO and set retention before anyone is invited.
Write a one-page rule on what staff may paste in, and what stays out.
Train people on their own documents, then read the usage reports a month in. All three give admins usage analytics.

That is the work we do. We train teams on Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude on the work they already do, and 96% of participants said they were likely to apply what they learned (Post-training survey, n=220, October 2025 to September 2026). Team workshops start from $5,500 + GST for groups of 5 or more.

Not sure which assistant suits your team? The discovery call is free and takes 30 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Is Copilot better than ChatGPT for business?

Neither is better across the board. Microsoft Copilot works inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams on the email, files and meetings your people can already open, so it suits organisations that run on Microsoft 365. ChatGPT is a separate workspace that connects to Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack and others, so it suits teams that want one assistant whatever software they use. Pick the one that matches where your team's work already happens.

Can we use more than one?

Yes. One sensible split is Copilot for work inside Microsoft 365 and ChatGPT or Claude for drafting and analysis outside it. Check what you already have first: Microsoft offers Anthropic's Claude models inside Copilot, switched on by default for most commercial customers outside the EU and UK. Buy the second licence only for the roles that need it, turn on single sign-on for both, and write one policy that covers both tools.

Which one keeps our data in Australia?

Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT Enterprise can both store your data at rest in Australia. For a Microsoft 365 tenant signed up in Australia, Microsoft's product terms cover Copilot's prompts and responses, and a new ChatGPT Enterprise workspace can choose Australian storage at no extra cost. Neither guarantees yet that processing stays here: Microsoft expects local processing for Copilot by the end of 2026, and OpenAI offers inference residency only in Europe, the United States and the UAE. Anthropic stores data from Claude Team and Enterprise in the United States, and offers Australian storage and processing for Claude's models through AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Foundry.

Do Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude train on our data?

Not by default on their business plans. Microsoft says prompts, responses and data read through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation models. OpenAI doesn't train on ChatGPT Business or Enterprise data unless you opt in. Anthropic doesn't train on Claude Team or Enterprise data unless a user sends feedback with the thumbs up or down, and an owner can switch that off. Keep work on the business plans, where these commitments apply.

How much do Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude cost in Australia?

As at September 2026, Microsoft lists Copilot Business at A$31.40 per user per month and its enterprise Copilot plan at A$44.90, both billed annually and excluding GST, and each needs a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. ChatGPT Business is A$28 per user per month billed annually, or A$35 monthly, and ChatGPT Enterprise is priced by OpenAI's sales team. Anthropic quotes US prices: Claude Team at US$20 per seat per month billed annually, and Claude Enterprise at a US$20 seat plus usage billed at API rates. Its public pages say local pricing varies by region.

Is Microsoft 365 Copilot the same as Microsoft Copilot?

Yes. Microsoft now calls Microsoft 365 Copilot simply Microsoft Copilot, and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is now Microsoft Copilot Chat. It says some licences and screens will carry the old names during the changeover, and its Australian price list still uses them. Microsoft says the rename changes nothing about security, compliance or privacy.

Is Claude better than ChatGPT?

It depends on the work. Claude suits long documents and careful writing, and its projects keep a team's files and instructions in one place. ChatGPT suits teams that want one general-purpose assistant, and it is simpler to buy in Australia: self-serve Business seats are priced in Australian dollars. Try both on the same real task before you decide.

Sources

Every price and policy on this page comes from Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic or the OAIC. We read each source on 30 September 2026. Prices and plans change, so check them before you buy.

Microsoft Learn, Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot. Read 30 September 2026.
Microsoft Learn, License Options for Microsoft Copilot. Read 30 September 2026.
Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Copilot Plans and Pricing: AI for Business (Australian prices, excluding GST). Read 30 September 2026.
Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Copilot Plans and Pricing: AI for Enterprise (Australian prices, excluding GST). Read 30 September 2026.
Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Copilot Pricing: AI Agents, Copilot Studio. Read 30 September 2026.
Microsoft Learn, Data Residency for Microsoft 365 Copilot Offerings. Read 30 September 2026.
Microsoft, Microsoft offers in-country data processing to 15 countries to strengthen sovereign controls for Microsoft 365 Copilot (editor's note of 3 April 2026). Read 30 September 2026.
Microsoft Learn, Anthropic models in Microsoft Online Services. Read 30 September 2026.
OpenAI, ChatGPT pricing (Australian prices as shown to a visitor in Australia, business tab). Read 30 September 2026.
OpenAI, Business pricing: compare features across plans. Read 30 September 2026.
OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Business overview. Read 30 September 2026.
OpenAI, Enterprise privacy at OpenAI (updated 8 January 2026). Read 30 September 2026.
OpenAI Help Center, Data residency and inference residency for ChatGPT. Read 30 September 2026.
OpenAI Help Center, Where your ChatGPT Business content is stored. Read 30 September 2026.
Anthropic, Claude plans and pricing. Read 30 September 2026.
Claude Help Center, What is the Team plan?. Read 30 September 2026.
Claude Help Center, What is the Enterprise plan?. Read 30 September 2026.
Claude Help Center, What are projects?. Read 30 September 2026.
Anthropic Privacy Center, Is my data used for model training? (commercial customers, 18 August 2026). Read 30 September 2026.
Anthropic Privacy Center, Where are your servers located? (commercial customers, 15 June 2026). Read 30 September 2026.
Anthropic, Regional compliance. Read 30 September 2026.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products (updated 17 January 2025). Read 30 September 2026.

ChatGPT for business in Australia: plans, pricing and GST
Which ChatGPT plan suits an Australian business: AUD prices as at September 2026, GST with and without an ABN, and how each plan handles your data.
A one-page AI policy template for Australian organisations
Copy a one-page AI policy for Australian organisations: approved tools, what data may go in, who checks output, who owns AI risk, and how to roll it out.

Related services

Microsoft Copilot training: Hands-on Copilot sessions in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, and agents in Copilot Studio.
ChatGPT training: Rolling ChatGPT Business or Enterprise out so people use it on real work.
Claude training: Projects, connectors and careful writing with Claude for Australian teams.

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