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AI ASSISTANTS · MIGRATION GUIDE

Switching from ChatGPT to Microsoft 365 Copilot

For a Microsoft 365 company, replacing ChatGPT seats with Copilot moves AI into Word, Excel and Outlook. Nothing imports, so custom GPTs are rebuilt as Copilot agents.

Heads up: AI assistants change their plans, prices, models and usage limits almost daily. Everything on this page is accurate as of September 19, 2026, the date we checked each vendor’s pricing page and documentation. Confirm current terms on the vendor’s own site before you buy.

Quick verdict: Start by checking what your people already get: every eligible Microsoft 365 work account includes Copilot Chat for free. Buy the Copilot Business add-on ($21 a user a month on annual billing) or a Business Standard or Premium with Copilot bundle for people who need Copilot inside the Office apps. Export ChatGPT data as an archive, then rebuild custom GPTs as agents in Copilot Studio. Microsoft documents no import from other assistants.

Estimate · your inputs

Switching Cost & Friction Estimator

Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.

25,000
10

Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.

Estimated Migration Time
Data Friction Rating
Total Hidden Switching Cost $0

    Why teams move from ChatGPT to Microsoft 365 Copilot

    AI inside Office

    Copilot works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, grounded in your work data.

    One vendor, one bill

    Copilot Business sits on your Microsoft 365 subscription, and bundles cost less than buying the parts.

    Compliance in Purview

    Copilot chats live in Exchange mailboxes, so Purview retention and eDiscovery apply.

    How the migration actually works

    Roll out free Copilot Chat to everyone first. Buy paid Copilot licences for the people who need it inside the Office apps.

    StepWhat you do
    1Export what you can from ChatGPTOn a personal plan, go to Settings, then Data controls, then Export data; a ZIP of your chat history arrives by email within up to 7 days, and the link expires after 24 hours. Business and Enterprise members have no self-service export: ask the workspace owner.
    2Turn on Copilot ChatCopilot Chat is included for users with an eligible Microsoft 365 work subscription; confirm it is enabled in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
    3Buy and assign Copilot licencesCopilot Business is $21 a user a month annual ($25.20 monthly) for up to 300 users; bundles are Business Standard with Copilot ($23.50) or Premium with Copilot ($32). Assign licences in the admin center.
    4Rebuild custom GPTs as agentsRecreate each custom GPT as an agent in Copilot Studio, with the same instructions and knowledge sources in SharePoint.
    5Set retention in PurviewApply Microsoft Purview retention policies to Copilot interactions before rollout.
    6Cancel ChatGPT seats at renewalRun both for a few weeks, then reduce ChatGPT Business seats.

    What this path doesn’t do for you:

    Nothing imports: Microsoft documents no import from other assistants. Copilot Business lists no coding agent and no published usage limits, and users cannot export their own Copilot history. Copilot Studio agents are billed by usage for people without a Copilot licence.

    Pricing side by side

    PlanChatGPTMicrosoft 365 Copilot
    Free planYes — individualsCopilot Chat with eligible Microsoft 365
    Team planBusiness Standard seat — $20/mo annual, $25 monthlyCopilot Business add-on $21/user/mo annual ($25.20 monthly)
    Heavier usePremium seat — $100/mo annual, $125 monthlyBundles: Business Standard with Copilot $23.50, Premium with Copilot $32
    Team size2–200 seatsUp to 300 users (Business)
    EnterpriseCustom pricingMicrosoft 365 Copilot add-on $30/user/mo paid yearly
    SSO / SCIMSSO on Business; SCIM on EnterpriseMicrosoft Entra ID sign-in; SCIM not stated

    Prices checked on chatgpt.com/pricing and Microsoft’s Copilot business pricing page on September 19, 2026 (US). The Copilot add-on also needs a Microsoft 365 plan. AI plans change often; confirm current rates before you buy.

    Feature parity check

    CapabilityChatGPTMicrosoft 365 Copilot
    Import from the other toolNone documentedNone documented
    Reusable assistantsCustom GPTs and workspace agentsAgents built with Copilot Studio
    Works inside Office appsNo — connects to Microsoft 365Yes
    Coding agentCodexNone listed
    Chat exportThrough the workspace ownerAdmins, via Purview eDiscovery
    Verified data

    Security & access: what changes when you switch

    Security, offline and access rules that differ between ChatGPT and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Rows where both tools are the same (4) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot.

    What changesChatGPT (today)Microsoft 365 Copilot (after)
    SOC 2 reportSOC 2 Type IIsourceNot published
    Other certificationsISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, ISO/IEC 42001, SOC 3, PCI DSS v4.0.1, CSA STAR, FedRAMP 20x, TX-RAMPsourceISO/IEC 42001source
    HIPAA (BAA)BAA availableEnterprisesourceBAA availablesource
    Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YesBusinesssourceYesAny eligible Microsoft 365 plan (sign-in via Microsoft Entra ID)source
    SCIM user provisioningYesEnterprisesourceNot published
    Two-factor authenticationYessourceYesEnforcement: All Microsoft 365 plans via Entra ID security defaults; Conditional Access policies need Entra ID P1 (included in Business Premium)source
    Admin audit logYesEnterprisesourceYesCopilot Chat (included)source
    Data residency choicesUS, EU, UK, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia, UAEEnterprisesourceNot published
    EncryptionAES-256 at rest; TLS 1.2+ in transitsourceBitLocker and per-file encryption at rest; TLS and IPsec in transitsource
    IP allowlistingYesEnterprisesourceYesMicrosoft 365 Business Premium (Entra ID P1 Conditional Access)source
    Device & session controlsYesEnterpriseEnterprise: Intune for iOS (pricing table) and Workspace Blocking via a ChatGPT-Allowed-Workspace-Id HTTP header on the corporate network; not ticked for Business.sourceNot published
    Office & room hardwareCopilot in Teams Phone works on VoIP and PSTN calls; no Copilot-specific room hardware is documented.source
    Editorial assessment

    Before you cut over

    • Set up single sign-on in Microsoft 365 Copilot on Any eligible Microsoft 365 plan (sign-in via Microsoft Entra ID) before you invite the team, so accounts are created through your identity provider rather than by hand.

    Checked September 19, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site — it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can Copilot import my ChatGPT history?

    No. Microsoft documents no import from other AI assistants. Keep your ChatGPT export as an archive.

    Do my users already have Copilot?

    If they have an eligible Microsoft 365 work subscription, they have Copilot Chat at no extra cost. Copilot inside Word, Excel and Outlook needs a paid licence.

    What replaces custom GPTs?

    Agents built with Copilot Studio, which are included for licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot users and otherwise billed by usage.

    Is Copilot cheaper than ChatGPT Business?

    Copilot Business is $21 a user a month on annual billing plus a Microsoft 365 plan; ChatGPT Business is $20. The bundles (Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50) include Microsoft 365 itself.

    Will my old chats be searchable in the new assistant?

    No official path moves chat history between these assistants for business accounts. Keep your export as an archive, and move the knowledge that matters (instructions, reference files, prompts) into the new tool’s projects or custom assistants.

    Sources

    Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

    Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

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    About the author

    Bill Belcamino

    Founder and author, HelpCompare

    Bill has worked in software and digital marketing for more than 20 years. He spent nine years as an engineer at HP, served as COO scaling a platform past 200,000 users, and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

    “I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

    Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 19, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.