Copilot vs ChatGPT vs Claude vs Grok: 2026 Guide for Australia and NZ

If your business runs on Microsoft 365, start by evaluating Copilot. It works inside the documents, email and permissions you already have, and Microsoft commits to storing Copilot data in Australia. ChatGPT Business and Claude Team are strong general assistants for drafting, analysis and long documents, and both connect to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Grok Business is priced in US dollars and includes real-time web and X search.

Our advice is not to bet the business on any one of them. Models change every few months, and the tool that leads on writing or analysis this quarter may not lead next quarter. Choose what fits your people now, and set things up so you can switch.

None of the four business plans uses your data to train models by default. The bigger differences for Australian and New Zealand businesses are price, where your data is stored and how well each tool fits the way your people already work. We checked every price below on vendor pages and pricing data on 28 September 2026.

ELab AI builds a Xero integration that works with Claude. We've kept that in mind and stuck to what each vendor publishes.

The Short Answer

• Stay platform-agnostic. The best tool changes often, so avoid building your business around one vendor. Keep your knowledge and data and your instructions portable.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot suits businesses that live in Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel and want AI inside those tools, with the least change to how people work. It's the only one with an Australian data storage commitment on its standard business plans.
• ChatGPT Business is the most widely known general assistant, with connectors for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Slack and a large range of features.
• Claude Team is strong on writing, analysis and long documents. It runs inside Excel, Word and PowerPoint and connects to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
• Grok Business includes real-time web and X search and a no-training commitment. xAI publishes less about where business data is stored, and single sign-on is an Enterprise feature.
• If you use Google Workspace, Gemini is already included in most business plans, so test it before buying another tool.

Business Plan Prices

Prices are per user, excluding GST.

Claude's pricing page shows Team prices including GST: A$34 a month billed annually or A$43 billed monthly in Australia, and NZ$40 or NZ$50 in New Zealand. We've removed GST here so every row compares on the same basis.

Pro, Max and Other Individual Plans

Individual plans are shown as each vendor displays them in Australia and New Zealand, including GST. Grok lists US dollar prices without stating tax.

Sources: Microsoft's Australian and New Zealand Copilot pages, ChatGPT pricing and OpenAI's Pro tiers article, Claude pricing and xAI pricing. ChatGPT and Claude show local prices based on where you're browsing from; we read the Australian and New Zealand figures from each vendor's own pricing data.

Pro and Max plans are for individuals. They suit people who use AI all day, but they don't have the admin controls of a business plan. Their default settings also differ: ChatGPT and Claude individual plans use your content for model training unless you opt out. For staff who need heavy usage at work, a premium business seat gives similar headroom with admin controls and no training by default.

A few other things change the real cost:

• Microsoft discount. Microsoft is discounting the Copilot Business add-on to A$26.91 and NZ$29.14 a month for the first year on annual plans bought between 1 July and 31 December 2026.
• Copilot Chat. Copilot Chat is included with eligible Microsoft 365 plans. For some staff, that's enough to start without buying a licence.
• US dollar pricing. Grok and Claude Enterprise are priced in US dollars, so the local cost moves with the exchange rate.
• Usage beyond the plan. ChatGPT, Claude and Microsoft all sell extra usage or credits on top of seat prices for heavier or newer models.

Where Your Data Is Stored

This is where the tools differ most for Australian and New Zealand businesses.

Sources: Microsoft's data residency overview and in-country processing announcement, OpenAI's data residency help article, Anthropic's data residency documentation and xAI's pricing page.

Two details are easy to miss. First, content that passes through connected apps can be stored outside your chosen region, which OpenAI notes in its residency article. Second, Microsoft states that Anthropic models used inside Copilot are excluded from its in-country processing commitments.

Data residency isn't a legal requirement for most private businesses in either country. Privacy law still applies wherever your data goes, so the question is whether your clients, contracts or regulator expect it. New Zealand businesses should know that none of these vendors offers New Zealand storage on standard plans.

Training, Security and Admin Controls

Training on your data. Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI all state that their business plans don't use your data to train models by default. Google says the same for Workspace. Individual plans are different, as covered above.

Admin controls.

• Microsoft 365 Copilot follows your existing Microsoft 365 permissions, sensitivity labels, retention policies and audit, and uses Microsoft Entra for sign-in.
• ChatGPT Business includes single sign-on, an admin console, admin roles and SOC 2 Type 2. SCIM user provisioning, customer-managed encryption keys and the Compliance API are Enterprise features.
• Claude Team includes single sign-on, domain verification and admin controls for connectors. SCIM, audit logs, custom retention and the Compliance API are Enterprise features.
• Grok Business includes seat management, role-based access, domain verification, custom data retention and SOC 2 Type I and II. Single sign-on, SCIM and customer-managed encryption keys are Enterprise features.

Certification. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic list ISO/IEC 42001, the international standard for AI management systems, and ISO/IEC 27001 for information security in their compliance documentation. xAI lists SOC 2 Type I and II for Grok. Check each vendor's trust centre for the products each certificate covers.

How Each Fits Into Daily Work

Inside Microsoft 365. Copilot is built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and draws on your Microsoft 365 content. Claude has add-ins for Excel, Word and PowerPoint on all paid plans, with Outlook in beta. ChatGPT Business includes extensions for Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Google Sheets.

Connecting to other systems. Copilot uses Microsoft Graph connectors and Copilot Studio. ChatGPT and Claude both support connectors and the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard for linking AI assistants to business software. Grok Business includes connectors, and its real-time web and X search is built in.

Model choice. Microsoft now offers models from both OpenAI and Anthropic inside Copilot. Choosing Copilot doesn't lock you out of Claude or GPT models, although the full range of features differs from each vendor's own app.

Which Suits Your Sector

Professional Services: Accounting, Legal, Consulting and Engineering Firms

Most of the work is in Word, Excel, Outlook and a practice or project system. Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude all work inside Word and Excel, so the deciding questions are:

• Client confidentiality. Where client material will be stored, and whether your engagement terms or professional body guidance say anything about it. Law firms should check their professional conduct guidance before putting client material into any AI tool.
• Practice systems. Which tool connects to the systems you use.

For accounting firms, Anthropic has announced a multi-year partnership with Xero, and Xero data can already be connected to Claude through MCP. Our guide to connecting Xero to Claude explains how.

For a firm already standardised on Microsoft 365, Copilot is the lower-change option. For heavier analysis and long document review, test Claude or ChatGPT on the same files and compare the results. Recruitment firms have one extra check: ranking or screening candidates is a higher-risk use that needs human review and, in Australia, privacy policy disclosure of automated decisions from 10 December 2026.

General Business: Operations, Sales, Admin and Customer Service

Most everyday AI use is drafting emails, summarising meetings, preparing reports and answering routine questions. For a business on Microsoft 365, Copilot Chat is included and covers much of this for everyone. Paid seats of Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude then go to the people who use AI most.

The next step is usually connecting AI to your CRM, job or finance system so it works from your own records. All four tools support connectors, so check the systems you use before choosing. If customers deal with AI directly, tell them. Australia's national guidance includes disclosing AI use in its six essential practices.

Industrial and Field Teams: Manufacturing, Logistics and Construction

Industrial businesses often run Microsoft 365 and Teams across sites, with field staff on mobile devices and information spread across forms, manuals and maintenance systems. Copilot's fit with Teams and SharePoint, and its Australian storage commitment, make it a common starting point.

The value usually comes from connecting AI to your own procedures and maintenance records, not from the assistant alone. In one industrial maintenance engagement, we built a form-processing workflow inside Microsoft Teams for an operator across Australia and New Zealand. Our guide to shadow AI in industrial operations covers what happens when teams adopt tools before the business provides approved ones.

Investment and Financial Services: Fund Managers and Family Offices

Investor information, deal material and portfolio data are confidential, and your regulator may expect records of how decisions were made. That puts more weight on where data is stored and what you can audit.

• Records and audit. Copilot inherits Microsoft Purview retention and eDiscovery. Audit logs, custom retention and the Compliance API are Enterprise features for ChatGPT and Claude.
• Where data lives. Check each tool's residency options against your investor agreements and your regulator's expectations.
• Keep a person on every decision. Use AI to prepare analysis and reporting, with a person accountable for anything that goes to investors.

Our guide to AI for fund managers covers where to start, and our investment management case study shows the work across operations and CRM.

Stay Flexible: Avoid Locking In

The tools in this guide change every few months. Copilot now runs models from both OpenAI and Anthropic, and in September 2026 OpenAI paused new sign-ups to its top ChatGPT Pro tier. Whatever you choose today, set it up so you can move.

• Keep your knowledge and data in systems you own. Your documents, procedures and records should live in SharePoint, Google Drive, your CRM or your practice system, with the AI tool connecting to them. Anything that exists only inside one vendor's projects or memory has to be rebuilt if you move.
• Keep instructions in your own documents. The prompts, templates and skills your team relies on should be written down where you control them, so they can be used in another tool.
• Prefer open connections. ChatGPT and Claude support MCP, and Copilot Studio supports it for agents, so an integration built on MCP can serve more than one assistant.
• Weigh the contract term. Annual billing is cheaper but commits you for a year. ChatGPT Business costs A$28 a month billed annually or A$35 billed monthly, and Claude Team A$30.91 or A$39.09. Monthly billing in the first year keeps your options open while you learn what works.
• Review every six months. Re-run your trial workflows against the alternatives. Switching is straightforward when your knowledge and data and instructions are already portable.

A common pattern is Copilot Chat for everyone on Microsoft 365, plus business seats of a second tool for the people who use AI heavily. Watch for overlapping licences and staff paying for personal Pro or Max accounts because the approved tool doesn't suit their work.

What matters more than the tool is having one approved option per use, clear rules on what information can go into it and training for the people using it. Our guide to training employees to use AI covers that.

How to Choose: A Four-Week Trial

1. Pick three real workflows, such as a monthly report, a proposal and an inbox triage task. Use permitted examples.
2. Give a small group access to two tools on business plans, not personal accounts.
3. Measure the same things for each tool: time saved, rework needed and how often people went back to doing it by hand.
4. Check the data questions against your privacy obligations and client contracts before scaling up.

Keep the workflows and results. They become your test for the six-monthly review. Our guide on how to run an AI pilot sets out the steps in more detail.

Privacy and Governance Checklist

• Use business plans with admin controls for any business information.
• Don't put personal information into public or personal AI accounts. The OAIC recommends against entering personal information into publicly available generative AI tools.
• Record which AI tools are approved and who owns each one.
• Check whether your use involves automated decisions about people.

Our guide to Australia's AI Safety Standard and the six essential practices covers the Australian framework and the New Zealand guidance in more detail.

How ELab AI Helps

We're platform-agnostic, so you're never locked into one vendor. We start with the workflow, the people involved and the knowledge and data the tool needs, then choose the technology. We build so your knowledge and data and instructions carry over when models change, and we manage those changes as the technology moves.

Our AI enablement approach covers selection, setup, training and ongoing management. For owners and senior managers, our AI training for business builds practical capability on your own work.

Getting Started

If you're not sure which tool fits, take our AI Readiness Assessment. It looks at your people, process, knowledge and data, then technology, so the tool choice comes last.

If you'd like help choosing and setting up a tool for your team, tell us about your business. If you'd prefer to choose a time, book a conversation.