Guide for consultants · AI
Copilot, ChatGPT Business or a fixed AI workflow: what fits a consultancy with about 20 employees?
Many consultancies and professional services firms face the same question: buy Microsoft Copilot licenses, give everyone ChatGPT Business or wait? The question is often framed the wrong way. Copilot and ChatGPT are tools that each person has to operate themselves. A fixed AI workflow, by contrast, handles one specific task the same way every time, for the whole team. This guide explains what Copilot, ChatGPT Business and a fixed workflow each do, why licenses alone often change little and what a sensible start looks like for a company with about 20 employees.
Microsoft Copilot Chat: what you already have without an add-on license
If you use Microsoft 365 with work accounts, you usually already have Microsoft Copilot Chat, without an additional license. According to Microsoft, Copilot Chat on the web and in the app works mainly with information from the web, files you upload and content you paste in. Outlook goes further: there, Copilot Chat can answer questions about your inbox, calendar, meetings and chats to a limited extent, even without an add-on license.
What matters for data protection: Copilot Chat with a work account is covered by Microsoft's enterprise data protection terms. Prompts and responses are not used to train foundation models, and Copilot only sees what the person already has access to. Web searches that Copilot sends to Bing are the exception. According to Microsoft, they are not covered by the Data Protection Addendum or the EU Data Boundary. More in the guide Can our team put client data into ChatGPT?
The Copilot license: when Copilot needs access to your work data
The paid add-on license is now called Microsoft Copilot, formerly Microsoft 365 Copilot. It is licensed per user. Some licenses and admin pages still use the old name during the transition. With it, Copilot can work across a much larger part of your Microsoft 365 data: emails, meetings, calendars, chats, documents and SharePoint sites, always within the person's permissions. It also adds the full feature set in Word, Excel and PowerPoint with priority access, plus advanced agents such as Researcher and Analyst.
The benefit depends heavily on how well organized your files are. If client documents are scattered, permissions are too broad or important information only sits in personal folders, Copilot finds either too little or too much.
ChatGPT Business: the general-purpose assistant
ChatGPT Business, formerly ChatGPT Team, is a business workspace for ChatGPT. OpenAI says it does not train on your data there by default and offers a data processing addendum. Your team can create and share custom GPTs for recurring tasks. Internal sources can be connected through apps, provided administrators allow it.
The difference from Copilot: ChatGPT runs outside Microsoft 365. It only sees your emails, appointments and documents if you connect them or paste them in. For teams that do not work with Microsoft or mainly draft text, that can be exactly right.
Why licenses often change little
Licenses solve a tool problem. The real problem is usually a workflow problem. A typical pattern:
• Everyone starts from scratch. Each person writes their own prompts, and nobody knows what works for the others.
• The tasks are too vague. “Help me prepare for the meeting” produces something different every time.
• The data is missing or in the wrong place. The AI cannot see what is in another mailbox, a personal folder or another system.
• Nobody reviews systematically. Whether a result is correct is left to each person's judgment.
Service providers who support Copilot rollouts also warn against treating Copilot as a pure license purchase: without a clear use case, employees try the tool briefly and then leave it alone.
The fixed AI workflow: one task, the same way every time
A fixed AI workflow takes on one recurring task and defines everything each person would otherwise have to decide themselves:
• Trigger: When does the workflow start, for example with a new calendar appointment or a new inquiry through the contact form?
• Information: Which sources does it use, such as earlier emails with the client, notes and open points?
• Result: What comes out, for example a briefing with fixed sections or a reply draft?
• Review: Who checks it before use, and how does that person spot errors?
Such a workflow can run on Copilot, on ChatGPT or on other services. What matters is not the tool but that the task is clearly described and the result looks the same for everyone. More on the difference between automation, AI assistance and AI agents is in our resources.
Decision guide
You use Microsoft 365, and AI is hardly used so far
Use Copilot Chat with work accounts and introduce an AI policy before buying licenses
Some people work all day with email, meetings and documents in Microsoft 365
Test the Copilot license for those people, with defined tasks and a review after a few weeks
Your team does not use Microsoft 365 or mainly writes text
ChatGPT Business with shared GPTs for recurring tasks
One task costs the team many hours every week, such as proposals, meeting preparation or inquiries
Implement that task as a fixed workflow, regardless of the tool underneath
Employees already use personal AI accounts with client data
First provide a business tool and define what may go into it
A sensible start for a consultancy with about 20 employees
1. Baseline: One business tool for everyone, usually either Copilot Chat (if you use Microsoft 365) or ChatGPT Business, plus a one-page AI policy.
2. Pick one task: The task that comes up most often and costs the most time, such as client meeting preparation or proposal drafts.
3. Implement and test it as a fixed workflow: With representative examples from your day-to-day work, a defined review step and criteria for measuring the benefit.
4. Only then add licenses: For the people who demonstrably benefit from Microsoft 365 work data.
That way you only spend money on additional Copilot licenses once it is clear what they are needed for.
Where aenuma fits
aenuma first clarifies which use case is the best first candidate in your team and assesses benefit, effort and requirements. If you commission the implementation, we set up the agreed workflow in the tools you already use, connect the information it needs and test it with representative examples. Approvals, incorrect inputs and exceptions are part of the implementation.
A new system or additional licenses are only part of the project if they appear in the proposal. Whether additional licenses are needed is part of assessing the requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Does every employee need a Copilot license?
No. Copilot Chat is available to work accounts with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions without an add-on license. The license pays off mainly for people who work a lot with email, meetings and documents in Microsoft 365 and who have clearly defined tasks for it.
Can we use Copilot and ChatGPT Business side by side?
Technically, yes. But it means two tools with their own rules, their own data processing agreements and twice the onboarding effort. For a team of about 20 people, one tool as the baseline is usually simpler.
What is the difference between an AI workflow and an AI agent?
A fixed workflow follows predefined steps and delivers a specific result. An AI agent decides within its task which steps to take and which tools to use. For most recurring tasks at a consultancy, a fixed workflow with human review is the safer start.
Sources
Overview of Microsoft Copilot Chat (Microsoft Learn)
How Copilot Chat works with and without a Microsoft Copilot license (Microsoft Support)
Enterprise data protection in Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Copilot Chat (Microsoft Learn)
Enterprise privacy at OpenAI (OpenAI)
Lohnt sich Microsoft 365 Copilot im Mittelstand? (implec, experience report from a service provider, in German)
By Joshua Schütt, founder of aenuma. Last updated: October 2026.
Which task costs your team the most time?
If you want to know whether a Copilot license, ChatGPT Business or a fixed workflow fits your task best, we are happy to discuss your use case. Not sure where to start? The Time Sink Check shows which task makes a good first workflow.
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