AI assistants
Chat tools that do the work in the browser or inside your apps, nothing to install.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
✓ no installThe safe default for Microsoft-shop employees, free with most M365 plans and covered by Enterprise Data Protection the moment you sign in with your work account.
Microsoft 365 Copilot (in Excel/Outlook/Teams)
✓ no installThe ~$30/user/mo upgrade that grounds in your work data: Excel cleans data and builds PivotTables, Outlook triages and drafts replies, human-in-the-loop.
ChatGPT (Projects, GPTs, Tasks)
✓ no installThe most flexible no-install assistant; Projects are free and Tasks run prompts on a schedule, use Temporary Chat or a Business workspace for sensitive data.
Claude (Projects, Artifacts)
✓ no installStrongest for long-document analysis and on-brand, reusable output, Projects hold your style guide so every draft matches house voice.
Google Gemini in Workspace
✓ no installThe native assistant for Google shops, drafts email, builds and cleans Sheets from plain English; Gems are reusable custom assistants.
NotebookLM
✓ no installUpload your own docs and get answers grounded only in those sources, with citations, the beginner-safe way to digest a policy pack without hallucination.
Guides using ai assistants
Build a Daily AI Briefing With ChatGPT Tasks (No Server, No Code)
Wake up to a short briefing written by ChatGPT every morning. Use the built-in Tasks feature to run a prompt on a schedule, no automation tool, no server, no code.
Clean a Messy CSV and Build a PivotTable with Excel Copilot, in Plain English
No formulas, no macros, nothing to install. Use Microsoft 365 Copilot in Excel to clean a messy export and build a PivotTable just by describing what you want, plus the free fallback if you don’t have a Copilot license.
Answer Questions From a 100-Page Policy Pack With NotebookLM (Cited, No Guessing)
Stop scrolling through PDFs for one answer. Upload your documents to NotebookLM and ask questions in plain English, with answers grounded only in your sources and linked to the exact page. Free, no install.
Triage Your Flooded Outlook Inbox with Copilot, and Draft Replies (No Auto-Send)
Open your inbox to a prioritized, summarized list and one-click reply drafts. How to use Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook to triage email and draft responses in your style, inside Outlook, nothing to install, and it never sends without you.
Which AI Chat Is Safe for Work Data? Copilot vs ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini
Before you paste company data into an AI chat, read this. A plain-English guide to which AI assistant is safe for work, Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, and the free-tier trap that trains the model on your chats.