Jun 15, 2026

8 Best Microsoft Copilot Alternatives in 2026

Microsoft 365 Copilot is genuinely useful if your whole working life lives inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. But three things push people to look elsewhere: it costs $30 per user per month on top of an existing Microsoft 365 license (a price that can force a base-plan upgrade before Copilot even turns on), it only sees Microsoft data, and it can’t act across the tools outside that ecosystem — your Gmail, your Salesforce, your Slack, your Notion. For a Microsoft-only shop that’s fine. For everyone whose work spans more than Office, Copilot’s value drops the moment you step outside it.

One honest distinction before the list. If you want AI inside Office documents — Copilot writing your Excel formulas and PowerPoint slides — most options below (or Copilot itself) are your lane. But if your real friction is an assistant that does work across your inbox, calendar, and other apps regardless of whether they’re Microsoft, that’s a different kind of tool, and it’s where Carly fits. Here are eight alternatives worth knowing.

1. Carly — the assistant that acts across all your tools, not just Microsoft

Carly isn’t a chatbot bolted onto Office — it’s an AI assistant you email like a colleague, with agents that have their own email address and actually do the work. Where Copilot drafts inside Microsoft apps and stops, Carly replies to people, books meetings, sends follow-ups, and updates your records on its own.

Why it belongs here: Copilot’s biggest limitation is that it’s locked to Microsoft data and can’t reach your other tools. Carly works with both Outlook and Gmail, and connects to 200+ integrations across 40+ categories — CRM, project management, accounting, file storage, messaging, video conferencing. So a forwarded email becomes a booked meeting or a CRM entry, no matter which stack you’re on. You don’t need an enterprise license to start, and you set it up by describing what you want in plain English rather than rolling out agents in Copilot Studio.

Best for: Anyone who wants an assistant that acts across their whole toolset — not just one that drafts inside Office.

Pricing: starts at $35/month

2. ChatGPT

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the default general-purpose alternative — strong writing, reasoning, data analysis, and a large ecosystem of custom GPTs and connectors. ChatGPT Enterprise and Team add admin controls and keep your data out of training.

What makes it different from Copilot: ChatGPT isn’t wired into your Office documents the way Copilot is, but it’s a more capable general model for most drafting, analysis, and brainstorming — and it isn’t tied to a Microsoft license.

Best for: Teams that want the strongest general-purpose AI without ecosystem lock-in.

Pricing: Plus from $20/month; Team and Enterprise priced per seat

3. Google Gemini for Workspace

If your frustration with Copilot is really “I’m on Google, not Microsoft,” Gemini is the mirror image — AI built into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet, grounded in your Google Workspace data.

What makes it different from Copilot: Same idea, opposite ecosystem. Gemini does for Google Workspace what Copilot does for Microsoft 365. See Gemini alternatives if you want to compare further.

Best for: Google Workspace teams who want in-app AI on their side of the fence.

Pricing: Included in most Google Workspace Business and Enterprise plans

4. Claude

Anthropic’s Claude is a standout for nuanced reasoning, long-document analysis, and careful writing, with Team and Enterprise tiers and a growing set of connectors and tools.

What makes it different from Copilot: Claude isn’t embedded in Office, but it’s often preferred for thinking through complex problems, analyzing long documents, and producing careful, on-tone writing — without any Microsoft dependency.

Best for: Knowledge workers who want a strong reasoning model as a thinking partner.

Pricing: Pro from $20/month; Team and Enterprise priced per seat

5. Glean

Glean is enterprise AI search plus an assistant grounded in your company’s data across all its apps — Microsoft 365, Google, Slack, Confluence, Jira, and more — answering work questions with citations from internal sources.

What makes it different from Copilot: Copilot grounds answers in Microsoft data; Glean grounds them in everything your company uses, regardless of vendor. For organizations whose knowledge is spread across many tools, that breadth is the whole point.

Best for: Larger organizations that want a work assistant indexing all their apps, not just Microsoft’s.

Pricing: Enterprise — contact sales

6. Notion AI

Notion AI brings writing, summarization, and Q&A into the Notion workspace where many teams already keep their docs, wikis, and projects — and it can answer questions across your Notion content.

What makes it different from Copilot: It’s AI for your Notion workspace rather than for Office files. If your team’s knowledge lives in Notion, this puts the assistant where the work already is.

Best for: Teams that run on Notion and want AI inside it.

Pricing: Included in Notion’s Business and Enterprise plans

7. Perplexity

Perplexity is an answer engine — ask a question and get a sourced, cited response, with deep-research modes and file analysis. Its Enterprise tier adds internal-data search.

What makes it different from Copilot: Copilot helps you produce documents; Perplexity helps you find answers with citations, pulling from the web and (on Enterprise) your own files. It’s the research half of the job, not the drafting half.

Best for: Anyone whose main need is fast, sourced research rather than in-app document drafting.

Pricing: Pro from $20/month; Enterprise priced per seat

8. Microsoft Copilot Studio

If you like Copilot but want it to do more than draft, Copilot Studio is Microsoft’s own agent builder — you assemble custom agents and workflows with governance and audit trails, aimed at IT and enterprise teams.

What makes it different from Copilot: It’s the build-your-own-agent layer rather than the in-app assistant, so it trades turnkey simplicity for control. It’s still Microsoft-centric, so it doesn’t solve the cross-ecosystem problem — but it’s the right tool if you need governed custom agents inside Microsoft.

Best for: IT teams that want to build governed custom agents within the Microsoft stack.

Pricing: Usage-based; requires Microsoft licensing

Microsoft Copilot Alternatives Compared

Tool	Best for	Works beyond Microsoft	Acts on its own	Starting price
Carly	Doing work across all your tools	Yes — Outlook + Gmail + 200 more	Yes — replies, books, updates	$35/mo
ChatGPT	General-purpose AI	Yes	No — you drive it	$20/mo
Gemini for Workspace	Google-based teams	Google ecosystem	No	Included in Workspace
Claude	Reasoning & long docs	Yes	No	$20/mo
Glean	Company-wide work search	Yes	Limited	Contact sales
Notion AI	Notion-based teams	Notion workspace	No	Included in plans
Perplexity	Sourced research	Yes	No	$20/mo
Copilot Studio	Governed custom agents	Microsoft-centric	Yes (built agents)	Usage-based

FAQ

What is the best alternative to Microsoft Copilot? It depends on what’s missing. For the strongest general AI, ChatGPT or Claude; for a Google-side equivalent, Gemini for Workspace; for company-wide search, Glean; for sourced research, Perplexity. If your real problem is wanting an assistant that acts across Gmail, Outlook, and your other tools rather than drafting inside Office, Carly is the closest fit.

Why do people look for Microsoft Copilot alternatives? Three reasons come up most: the $30/seat price on top of an existing Microsoft 365 license, the fact that it only sees Microsoft data, and that it can’t act across non-Microsoft tools like Gmail, Salesforce, or Slack. Teams that aren’t all-in on Microsoft tend to feel those limits quickly.

Is there a Copilot alternative that works with Gmail, not just Outlook? Yes. Carly works with both Gmail and Outlook and acts across 200+ other tools, so you’re not locked to the Microsoft ecosystem. Google’s own Gemini is the in-app option if your team is fully on Google Workspace.

Do I need a Microsoft 365 license to use these? For Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio, yes — they require qualifying Microsoft licensing. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Glean, and Carly are independent and don’t require a Microsoft 365 subscription.

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See what people say

"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.

Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.

On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."

Gus Ibrahim, Founder & Director, IHR