Copilot Cowork, Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work are the same kind of tool: an agent you hand a multi-step task, which comes back with finished documents, emails or research. Choose by where your work lives. Copilot Cowork suits companies whose work sits in Outlook, Teams and SharePoint and who already pay for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work can also work with files on your computer and with tools outside Microsoft. Codex is OpenAI's coding agent, so it belongs in a different comparison.
ATI Lab builds client automations on Claude and runs its own operations on scheduled Claude routines, so we are not neutral. This page sticks to what each vendor documents and says plainly when the other two are the better pilot. Every product fact below was checked on Microsoft's, Anthropic's and OpenAI's own pages on 8 October 2026.
What has changed since the first comparisons were written?
Three changes in 2026 affect any comparison written before them.
- Copilot Cowork is generally available and runs on Claude as well as OpenAI models. Microsoft made it generally available worldwide on 16 June 2026, running on Anthropic models at launch. Microsoft's Cowork FAQ now lists a model picker set to Auto by default, with GPT and Claude models to choose from.
- Claude Cowork now runs in the cloud. Anthropic's help center says Cowork runs sessions on Anthropic's servers (in beta), so tasks continue after you close the laptop. On 16 September 2026 Anthropic began merging Cowork and chat into one Claude for Pro and Max plans. Team and Enterprise organizations keep chat and Cowork separate for now.
- OpenAI retired ChatGPT agent. OpenAI's help center now says ChatGPT agent "is no longer available" and points users to ChatGPT Work for longer, multi-step tasks. Codex stays dedicated to software development.
Two of the comparisons ranking for this query, published in March and June 2026, describe Claude Cowork as a desktop app that runs on your own machine. If you read them, check the dates.
Copilot Cowork vs Claude Cowork: what is the difference?
The difference is where each agent lives, what it can reach and how it is governed and billed. Copilot Cowork can run on Claude models, so model quality is a weak reason to pick one over the other.
Copilot Cowork works inside your Microsoft 365 tenant. According to Microsoft's documentation, it sends emails through Outlook, schedules meetings, builds Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, posts in Teams and manages files in OneDrive and SharePoint. It asks for approval before sensitive actions such as sending an email. It can also drive Microsoft Edge on your device for web tasks, using sites you are already signed in to. Microsoft lists limits by design: it can't access or edit files stored on your device, it can't delete files or folders in OneDrive or SharePoint, and it can't read encrypted files.
Claude Cowork lives in your Claude account. It works with connectors, plugins and Claude in Chrome, and when a task needs a local file or your browser, it reaches them through the Claude Desktop app, limited to the folders you have connected. Microsoft 365 is one connector among many. Anthropic's pricing page lists Claude for Microsoft 365 and Claude for Microsoft Outlook on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans.
| Copilot Cowork | Claude Cowork | ChatGPT Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where tasks run | Microsoft cloud, inside your Microsoft 365 trust boundary | Anthropic's servers (beta), or locally through Claude Desktop | OpenAI's cloud on web and mobile; locally in the ChatGPT desktop app |
| Files on your computer | No. Works with OneDrive and SharePoint | Yes, folders you connect in Claude Desktop | Yes, in the desktop app with your permission |
| Main reach | Outlook, Teams, calendar, SharePoint, OneDrive; Edge on your device; plugins from the Microsoft 365 App Store | Connectors, plugins, a built-in browser and Claude in Chrome | Connected apps, plugins, a built-in browser |
| What you need | A Microsoft 365 Copilot user license, plus Copilot Credits | A paid Claude plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise | A paid ChatGPT plan (not Free or Go) |
| How usage is billed | Per task in Copilot Credits; pay-as-you-go is $0.01 per credit | Draws on the plan's usage limits; Cowork tasks use more than chat | Shares one allowance with Codex; extra usage on credits |
| Recurring work | Scheduled prompts and event-driven tasks | Scheduled tasks that run in the cloud | Scheduled and event-triggered tasks (Gmail, Slack, GitHub) |
| Models | Auto by default; GPT and Claude models in the picker | Claude models | OpenAI models |
Claude Cowork vs ChatGPT: which fits a business team?
For most office tasks, Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work do the same job, so the better pilot is usually the one your company already pays for and administers. Both take a task such as "research these five suppliers and build a comparison spreadsheet," work through it in steps and return files you can edit. Both run scheduled work, and both pause for approval on important actions.
The differences that matter show up in administration:
- ChatGPT Work splits access into separate permissions for Work Cloud, Work Local and Codex Local, and event-triggered tasks stay off in Enterprise and Edu workspaces until an admin turns them on. Work and Codex share one usage allowance, so heavy coding use and heavy Work use draw from the same pool.
- Claude Cowork is on by default for Team and Enterprise organizations, and an owner can turn it off. Running it in the cloud is a separate setting, on by default for Team and off by default for Enterprise until an owner enables it and grants it to a group.
Running both across one company means two admin consoles, two sets of connector permissions and two places where data goes. If your team already holds seats for one of them, start there.
Claude Cowork vs Codex: are they the same kind of tool?
No. OpenAI describes Codex as "an AI agent that helps you write, review, and ship code." It works with repositories, terminals and developer tools. The OpenAI product that matches Claude Cowork is ChatGPT Work. The Anthropic product that matches Codex is Claude Code. If you are choosing between Anthropic's own surfaces, our comparison of Claude Cowork, Claude Code and chat covers which job goes where.
What should admins check before a pilot?
Each vendor has one setting that is easy to misread. All three are in the vendors' own documentation.
In Copilot Cowork, a spending policy grants access
Copilot Cowork access comes from usage-based billing. Microsoft's access-control page says a spending policy "is an access control, not only a budget." Any user inside a policy that selects Cowork can use it, even if the policy's limit is one credit. Credit limits are also checked asynchronously, so a user can start a task or two after reaching the limit. To run a pilot for one team, keep Cowork out of any tenant-wide policy and scope it to the pilot group only.
In Claude Cowork, cloud sessions run outside your endpoint tools
Anthropic's architecture overview states that endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools can't observe Cowork's cloud sessions or its local virtual machine. Team and Enterprise owners can stream Cowork events to a SIEM through OpenTelemetry instead. Anthropic's Team and Enterprise guide adds that "Automatically approve" mode is available to members by default until an admin turns it off, and that local-session history is stored on users' computers, where admins can't centrally delete it.
In ChatGPT, Work Cloud, Work Local and Codex Local are separate switches
Turning on Work Local without Work Cloud lets members work on their own computers but blocks cloud tasks. Codex Local has its own permission, so changing Work settings leaves coding access unchanged. Check all three for each role before the pilot starts, or some members will see a different product from the rest.
Which one should you pilot first?
Answer three questions in order. The first "yes" decides.
Whichever you choose, run the pilot on one recurring task with a number attached. Count how many times the task happens and how long it takes for two weeks before the pilot, keep approvals on, then compare. That is the same baseline we use before building any client workflow, described in our write-up of shipped automations. A pilot without a baseline ends with opinions about the agent instead of a number.
When is Claude Cowork the wrong choice?
We build on Claude, so here is where we would point a client elsewhere:
- Your company runs on Microsoft 365, users already hold Copilot licenses, and the work is mostly email, meetings and SharePoint documents. Copilot Cowork reaches that data without a connector and works only with the files and emails each user can already access.
- Your company already runs ChatGPT Enterprise with roles, apps and data rules set up. Adding a second agent platform means building that governance again.
- Your security model depends on EDR seeing everything that runs. Anthropic's own documentation says cloud sessions and the local VM are outside that view, so plan for OpenTelemetry monitoring or choose another tool.
Claude Cowork is the stronger pilot when the work crosses tools outside Microsoft, needs files on users' computers, or when your team already uses Claude for chat or Claude Code. If you are planning a company-wide rollout, our Claude Enterprise rollout guide covers the decisions to make before buying seats, and Claude for business describes how we run a rollout with a pilot first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Copilot Cowork use Claude?
Yes. Microsoft launched Copilot Cowork on Anthropic models, including Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6. Its model picker now defaults to Auto and also offers GPT models, and admins can turn off Anthropic models for their organization. Access to Anthropic models through Cowork is limited to the regions Anthropic supports.
Do I need a separate license for Copilot Cowork?
No separate Cowork license is needed. Each user needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot user license, and tasks are billed in Copilot Credits. Pay-as-you-go credits cost $0.01 each, and admins set spending limits at tenant, group and user level.
Can Copilot Cowork work with files on my laptop?
No. Microsoft lists this as a limit by design. Copilot Cowork works with files in OneDrive and SharePoint. You can attach files under 200 MB to a conversation.
Is ChatGPT agent still available?
No. OpenAI's help center says ChatGPT agent is no longer available and directs users to ChatGPT Work for longer, multi-step tasks.
Is Claude Cowork free?
No. Claude Cowork is available only on the paid Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Cowork tasks use more of a plan's usage allowance than chat does.
Claude Cowork vs Codex: which should a developer use?
For code, compare Codex with Claude Code. Claude Cowork is for documents, research and office tasks, and Codex is OpenAI's coding agent.
How this article was produced
Written by the ATI implementation team. Product, plan and admin details were checked on 8 October 2026 against Microsoft Learn and the Microsoft 365 blog, Anthropic's pricing page, blog and help center, and OpenAI's help center. These products changed several times in 2026, so confirm any detail on the vendor's page before you sign. AI assistance was used in research and drafting; a human owns every claim and recommendation in it.