Whether you’re looking for a simple way to get started with AI or ready to build custom agents, there’s a Copilot for you. For small and midsize businesses (SMBs), Copilot Chat is the easiest way to get started, offering instant productivity gains without the need for complex setup or licensing. Let’s break down the differences between Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio so you can find the right fit for your clients.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat—Your Daily Assistant
If you’re new to AI or just beginning your Copilot journey, M365 Copilot Chat is the perfect place for your clients to start. It is the most accessible and impactful way for MSPs to introduce clients to AI. It’s intuitive, easy to deploy and immediately useful, making it the perfect entry point for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) looking to explore AI without heavy investment or complex setup.
Think of it as a daily assistant that helps users:
- Brainstorm ideas
- Draft emails and proposals
- Summarize documents and meetings
- Answer questions and solve problems in real time
M365 Copilot Chat is available across multiple platforms—on the web, in Bing and Edge, in Windows via the Copilot sidebar and as an add-on in Microsoft Teams. If enabled in Teams, it appears alongside chat, calendar and calls, making it seamlessly integrated into everyday workflows.
What sets Copilot Chat apart from similar AI chatbots is its security features. With secure Microsoft 365 login, it’s one of the safest AI options available, especially compared to consumer-grade alternatives. IT admins can manage access, enforce data protection policies and ensure that sensitive business information stays secure.
For MSPs, Copilot Chat offers a powerful way to help clients:
- Start using AI immediately, with no licensing barriers
- Learn how to interact with AI in a business context
- Build confidence and familiarity before scaling to more advanced solutions like Microsoft 365 Copilot or Copilot Studio
Whether you’re supporting a small team or a growing organization, Copilot Chat is the ideal first step in their AI journey, delivering real value from day one.
Microsoft 365 Copilot—Build in Your Workflow
Once you’re comfortable with Copilot Chat, the next step is Microsoft 365 Copilot. Imagine the same intelligent AI tool, but incorporated into the apps you use every day, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams. Not only is it convenient to have this powerful tool located within individual apps, but its value grows exponentially when you realize that it retains information across all the apps and accesses your organization’s data, if enabled. With context awareness, it can help you draft and summarize emails, analyze data in Excel, create presentations in PowerPoint and recap meetings in Teams. Think of it as your AI-powered coworker that knows your files, calendar and conversations, but does so securely and privately while increasing your productivity 51.8% faster on a difficult task or analysis.1
According to a recent study, equipping 1,000 employees with Copilot enhances productivity to such a degree that it’s like adding 120 new employees.1
Copilot Studio—Create Your Own Bots and Agents
For businesses ready to take Copilot to the next level, Copilot Studio is a powerful way to tailor AI to your specific business needs and is central to the rise of the Managed Intelligence Provider (MIP), which is an evolution of the MSP model that uses AI agents to deliver strategic business outcomes.
Copilot Studio lets you create your own chatbots and workflows with minimal coding. Security is built in, with only the data you want to share available to others. Currently, 67% of leaders are familiar with agents with 41% of them planning on training their own agents in the next 12-18 months.2 With Copilot Studio you can:
- Create custom chatbots that answer questions using your internal data.
- Automate tasks and workflows using Power Automate and Microsoft Dataverse.
- Integrate with business systems like Dynamics 365, SharePoint or third-party APIs.
- Control the behavior and personality of your copilots to match your brand or department needs.
Discover the Possibilities of Copilot with Pax8
Copilot is transforming how we work—from quick chats to deep document insights and custom-built AI solutions. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to scale your productivity, there’s a Copilot for you, and Pax8 is here to help you find it.
