With hundreds of millions of active users, ChatGPT has become a go-to tool for drafting emails, analyzing spreadsheets, researching solutions, solving problems and more. Chances are, your customers’ employees are using it right now.
As an MSP, this should be a major concern. It’s not just about organizational data being used to train models, it’s about security, visibility and control. You work hard to secure your customers’ environments, but that is put at risk if employees upload sensitive data to ChatGPT or similar tools. Surveys show nearly half of users have uploaded sensitive business data to ChatGPT and it’s highly likely this is happening within your customer base right now.
What happens if ChatGPT is accessed on a malware-infected personal device? Or if a user’s account is breached, or the platform itself suffers a data leak? Recently, users were even sharing ChatGPT conversations publicly that were indexed by Google and showing in search results. While OpenAI has since removed the ability for shared chats to be indexed by Google, it highlights the unpredictable risks these tools introduce.
The Cyber Risks Are Real
AI tools are transforming how businesses operate and increasing employee productivity, but they’re also enabling cybercriminals to operate on an unprecedented scale and in ways not previously possible. AI-powered spear phishing, deepfake scams and other forms of AI-powered cyberattacks are all becoming increasingly common and sophisticated. Sensitive data leaks through any AI chat providers present a significant and ever-increasing threat should that data be used against your customers.
And it’s not just the data itself being leaked, but also the thought process behind the data or the context surrounding it within the chat, offering insights far greater than ever before to bad actors should they gain access. A generic phishing email can now become a highly targeted attack without much effort from bad actors. With AI, cybercriminals can easily reference real business data, making scams more convincing and dangerous while at a scale never seen. Just last year, a company lost $25 million dollars after an employee fell for deepfake versions of their colleagues on video calls.
Leaked data has always been a risk, but the difference today is employees are relying on and trusting third-party AI tools with more and more organizational tasks, exposing sensitive and confidential information while doing it. When employees upload company data to these unmanaged platforms, you’re relying on the end users to secure their personal accounts and devices to protect that data, which could ultimately introduce significant risks that are best avoided.
These AI tools are here to stay, but so are the risks. Ignoring them won’t make them disappear. Helping customers transition to secure, managed AI today sets the stage for smarter, safer and more scalable innovation tomorrow.
So, What Can You Do About It?
Start positioning Microsoft Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot with your end customers today.
Now powered by GPT-5, Microsoft Copilot Chat delivers performance on par with, or better than, ChatGPT in almost any business scenario, with features tailored specifically for SMB business users. Both tools use the same underlying AI model, but Microsoft has optimized Copilot Chat for business use:
- Lower “Temperature” Setting on Average: Responses are more predictable and business-focused, reducing hallucinations and delivering higher-value answers.
- Personalization: Features like Copilot Memory let users customize how chat responds to them.
- Seamless Integration: Copilot Chat is now being embedded in Microsoft 365 apps with context awareness, free for all users.
And for you, as their technology expert, it brings confidential data back within your control and field of view, offering:
- Enterprise-Grade Security: Copilot Chat runs behind the same Entra ID accounts you already protect, with Microsoft’s enterprise security safeguards.
- Reduced Risk: Keeping conversations within Microsoft’s ecosystem strengthens your existing security measures and reduces attack surface exposure.
Furthermore, positioning Copilot Chat now helps you evolve from a traditional MSP to a managed intelligence provider, guiding customers through the next wave of AI transformation and creating new revenue opportunities with your clients. As customers adopt Copilot Chat as their main AI tool of choice, there will be opportunities to generate more revenue such as providing:
- Paid Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses
- Copilot readiness assessments
- Security add-on SKUs
- Custom agents
Together, these advantages make the free Copilot Chat offering from Microsoft a win-win for everyone involved.
Copilot Chat has come a long way since it was originally released and is now not only safer, but in nearly any scenario, better for business users. With GPT-5 access, integration into Microsoft 365 apps, personalization and enterprise-grade security, Copilot Chat is no longer a compromise — it’s the clear and strategic choice for SMB customers.
Get Started with Copilot Chat
Start positioning Copilot Chat with your customers today. Download these helpful, white-labeled resources to get started and show immediate value:
