By Phil Gee · AI Academy, Southport
If your business runs on Microsoft — Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams — you have probably heard about Copilot. And if you have been looking into AI, you have probably heard about Claude too.
The question I keep getting is: "Phil, we have Copilot through our Microsoft subscription. Do we still need Claude? What does Claude do that Copilot does not?"
It is a great question. And the answer is more nuanced than the marketing from either side would have you believe.
The Short Version
Copilot is built for the Microsoft world. It lives inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. If your business runs on Microsoft 365, it is the most integrated AI you can get.
Claude is a standalone AI that specialises in writing and thinking. It is not tied to any software ecosystem. It is better at long-form writing, complex analysis, and producing output that sounds human.
Both are excellent. They just live in different places and suit different workflows.
Microsoft Copilot: The Office Assistant
Copilot is Microsoft's AI, and it is built directly into the tools you already use. You do not go to a separate website. You do not open a new app. It is right there in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
Where Copilot wins:
- Drafting emails directly in Outlook
- Summarising long Word documents
- Building PowerPoint presentations from scratch
- Analysing data in Excel — ask it questions about your spreadsheet in plain English
- Summarising Teams meetings you missed
- It is already included if you have the right Microsoft 365 plan
Where Copilot is weaker:
- Writing quality is decent but not as polished as Claude
- It is locked into the Microsoft ecosystem — not much use if you use Google
- Less flexible for creative or strategic work
- Can feel like a feature rather than a proper thinking partner
Best for: Businesses that live in Microsoft 365 and want AI that works where they already work — no new logins, no new tools, no new habits to build.
Claude: The Standalone Thinker
Claude, made by Anthropic, is a standalone AI. You use it through its own website or app. It is not embedded in Word or Excel — but what it does, it does better than anything embedded anywhere.
Where Claude wins:
- The most natural, human-sounding writing of any AI
- Long documents — it holds context across hundreds of pages
- Complex strategy and "help me think this through" work
- Analysing PDFs and documents you upload
- Writing that consistently sounds like you, not a robot
- Not tied to any ecosystem — works for Google users, Apple users, anyone
Where Claude is weaker:
- Not integrated into your daily tools — it is a separate destination
- No image generation
- Cannot summarise your Outlook inbox or Teams meetings
- You have to actively go to it, rather than it being there when you need it
Best for: Business owners who do serious writing, complex thinking, or work with long documents — regardless of whether they use Microsoft or Google.
The Real-World Comparison
Here is how they actually stack up for common business tasks.
Drafting an email: Copilot does this without you leaving Outlook. Claude writes a better email — but you have to copy it across. For quick replies, Copilot wins on convenience. For important emails, Claude wins on quality.
Building a presentation: Copilot can build a PowerPoint deck from a prompt. It is not perfect, but it is a genuine first draft in seconds. Claude cannot do this — it gives you the content and structure, but you build the slides yourself.
Writing a proposal: Claude, comfortably. The writing quality is in a different league. Copilot can draft something in Word, but it will read more like a machine wrote it.
Analysing a spreadsheet: Copilot. It can see your Excel data and answer questions about it directly. Claude can analyse data you paste in, but Copilot's live integration is smoother.
Writing a blog post or article: Claude, by a mile. This is what it was built for.
Summarising a meeting: Copilot. If the meeting was on Teams, Copilot can summarise it automatically. Claude has no access to your meetings.
Do You Need Both?
For some businesses — yes. And it is not as expensive as you might think.
If you have Microsoft 365 with Copilot included, you already have it. Adding Claude Pro at around £17 a month gives you the best of both worlds — Copilot for the quick, integrated stuff inside Microsoft, and Claude for the serious writing and thinking.
But if you are a one-person business watching every penny, pick the one that matches how you work:
- If you live in Microsoft 365 → Copilot is probably enough to start
- If you do a lot of writing or complex thinking → Claude is worth adding
- If you use Google, not Microsoft → Copilot is not for you; look at Gemini or Claude
The Common Mistake
The biggest mistake I see is businesses assuming that because they have Copilot, they are "doing AI." Copilot is a tool. If nobody on your team actually knows how to use it well, it sits there unused — like a gym membership you never use.
The businesses that get real value from AI are the ones where someone actually learns how to use the tool properly. Whether that is Copilot, Claude, or both — the learning matters more than the licence.
My Honest Recommendation
Choose Copilot if:
- Your business runs on Microsoft 365
- You want AI where you already work — no new tools to learn
- Your team needs AI across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
- You want it included in your existing subscription
Choose Claude if:
- You write a lot — proposals, content, reports, client communications
- You want output that sounds human, not robotic
- You work with long documents or complex analysis
- You are not locked into Microsoft
Want Help Setting It Up?
If you want to actually get your team using Copilot properly — or set up Claude for your business — book a free chat with me. I will look at how you work and tell you honestly which one will give you the most value.
Or come to an AI Foundations workshop at The Arch in Southport. We cover Copilot, Claude, and the rest — plain English, hands-on, no jargon.
Phil Gee is the founder of AI Academy, based at The Arch, Crossens, Southport. He helps businesses across Merseyside and the North West cut through the AI noise and get real, practical value from the right tools — without the overwhelm.