Artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere now. From smart TVs and high-powered laptops to everyday smartphones, countless websites, and even the PDF editor you use, AI’s influence is undeniable. A significant catalyst for this boom is the widespread success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Microsoft, not one to be left behind, has vigorously responded with its own AI chatbot, Copilot. Both ChatGPT and Copilot are adept at providing answers to a variety of questions, generating text in diverse styles, creating images from prompts, and engaging in interactive conversations. A significant draw for many users is that the basic versions of both are available for free.
However, both OpenAI and Microsoft offer premium, paid versions of their AI chatbots: ChatGPT Plus and Copilot Pro, respectively. This raises a crucial question: Why would anyone pay for a premium subscription when perfectly functional versions are freely accessible? Are the additional features and capabilities truly worth the cost?
If you’re considering investing in a premium AI chatbot experience and are trying to determine which option best suits your needs, let’s dive into a detailed comparison of ChatGPT Plus and Copilot Pro, examining their respective features and drawing upon real-world experiences of using each.
Copilot Pro is priced at $20 per month and promises "priority access to [Copilot’s] latest AI models, higher usage limits, and early access to new features." In essence, Copilot Pro aims to be a more advanced and more powerful rendition of the standard, free Copilot AI chatbot.
Since its launch in January 2024, Copilot Pro has seen a number of updates, incorporating new GPTs and rolling out fresh functionalities as they become available. For instance, in May 2024, it gained support for OpenAI’s GPT-4o model. Since then, Microsoft has built upon this integration with additional training designed to further differentiate Copilot Pro from ChatGPT’s own offerings.
Subscribing to Copilot Pro unlocks priority access to the newest AI models. This allows subscribers to leverage enhanced generative AI capabilities, which lead to more useful and pertinent results. Free users, on the other hand, might face limitations or restricted access to the latest AI models, particularly during periods of peak usage (when a large number of individuals are simultaneously using Copilot).
Beyond the access to advanced models, Copilot Pro subscribers can utilize the Copilot Voice feature to interact with the AI chatbot in a more natural, conversational manner. They also receive 100 daily credits for generating images with Copilot, significantly more than the 15 credits given to free users. Furthermore, Copilot Pro allows users to craft their own custom GPTs, which can be beneficial for handling more specialized tasks or for having the AI chatbot behave in a specific way based on the prompts.
However, arguably the most compelling feature of Copilot Pro is its seamless integration with Microsoft 365 applications. In Word, Copilot can assist in drafting, rewriting, and summarizing lengthy documents. In Excel, it can generate complex formulas, analyze extensive datasets, and create insightful visualizations. In PowerPoint, it can help generate compelling slides and structured outlines. In Outlook, Copilot can draft emails that match the intended tone and summarize long and convoluted email threads. In OneNote, it can summarize notes, create detailed to-do lists, and assist in future planning.
Microsoft has indicated that they plan to further expand Copilot Pro integration across the Microsoft 365 suite of applications in the near future. However, to truly harness the full power of Copilot Pro, a Microsoft 365 subscription is practically essential.
ChatGPT Plus, also priced at $20 per month, unlocks a number of valuable capabilities within OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI chatbot.
To begin with, it grants enhanced access to the cutting-edge GPT-4o model, as well as improved overall access to the ChatGPT service. If there are instances of server downtime or heavy usage, free users are more likely to experience limitations, while Plus subscribers generally maintain uninterrupted access.
ChatGPT Plus subscribers can also build custom GPTs for a wide range of applications. Users can create their own, or they can leverage a variety of third-party GPTs available for tasks like coding assistance, travel planning, working with complex spreadsheets, language learning, and more.
ChatGPT Plus can effectively handle a variety of data formats. Users can upload documents, images, and PDF files, allowing ChatGPT to analyze and process the information. It can summarize documents, answer questions based on the uploaded content, and, in the case of images, edit the images or even generate new images based on specific prompts.
ChatGPT Plus demonstrates an understanding of multiple programming languages and offers a Canvas editing tool, enabling users to work on documents and code within the ChatGPT interface while discussing it with the AI chatbot.
ChatGPT Plus boasts Advanced Voice, a feature that enables direct conversational interaction with ChatGPT in a fluid, realistic style. Users can choose from a variety of voice options, both male and female, from different regions around the world. The AI can adjust its tone and pacing, and can even exhibit sarcasm at appropriate times.
ChatGPT Plus also includes memory functions, enabling it to remember past conversations and thereby provide improved contextual understanding of prompts.
In practice, both Copilot Pro and ChatGPT Plus can be effective and capable AI assistants. Each has unique features, and each sometimes excels at certain tasks better than the other.
In terms of software integration and overall availability, Copilot Pro holds a clear advantage. It is readily accessible on mobile devices, on the web, within Windows, in Microsoft Edge, and across Microsoft 365 applications (provided the user has a Microsoft 365 subscription). If you spend significant portions of your day working within Word, Excel, or Outlook, Copilot Pro may prove to be exceedingly useful for finding valuable insights within your data, quickly drafting emails and documents, and summarizing information that would otherwise require a large amount of reading time.
ChatGPT Plus tends to perform better at math and coding tasks. While both tools can be useful and both can make mistakes at times, ChatGPT Plus seems to be more accurate.
As an example, when asked to calculate the odds of a certain outcome from a specific set of dice rolls in a game, Copilot Pro initially provided an incorrect answer. ChatGPT Plus did not make the same mistake and offered a detailed breakdown of the probabilities involved. While Copilot Pro eventually worked correctly after being corrected, the initial error highlights a significant issue: users who lack the expertise to identify the error might be misled.
When prompted to perform more complex tasks, Copilot Pro initially declined until "Think Deeper" mode was enabled, at which point it completed the task, albeit slowly.
Both premium AI chatbots include capable voice modes. However, ChatGPT Plus feels more refined. It provides a wider selection of voices and speaks with a more natural inflection. Both services can adjust their tones and speaking styles and can use sarcasm. However, Copilot still sounds somewhat robotic. ChatGPT Plus more closely resembles a real person. It even interrupts in pauses, which can be annoying but is also more realistic.
Copilot Pro can be somewhat self-referential, often using phrases like "As a [role]: I am [name]…" instead of simply assuming the role.
On the other hand, Copilot Pro responds more quickly. While ChatGPT Plus’s response times have improved, its latest GPT-4o model still pauses briefly to process information. Copilot Pro is almost instantaneous, despite relying on the same underlying language model.
Regarding image generation, both tools are effective, and Copilot Pro can even search for free stock images within Microsoft 365 applications.
Ultimately, Copilot Pro and ChatGPT Plus are both imperfect tools that must be used appropriately in order to be beneficial. They can be great for augmenting work, but neither can operate independently without editing. For some users, ChatGPT is the preferred choice, and for others, Copilot Pro is a better option.
ChatGPT Plus is generally more accurate and capable, particularly when using its Advanced Voice mode. However, for users heavily invested in the Microsoft Office ecosystem, Copilot Pro may be a better choice, particularly if they are already paying for M365.
