In short
Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude? Start with what you already license, match the tool to the work, check the data controls, then train well.
Your team should learn the AI tool your business already pays for and controls. If you run on Microsoft 365, start with Copilot, because it works inside the apps your staff use all day. If you've already chosen ChatGPT Business or Claude Team, start there. Then check the tool fits the work and the data controls, and train properly, because the skills carry across to the others.
That's the short answer. The longer one depends on three things about your business: what you already license, what kind of work your team does, and how much control you need over data and accounts.
Why start with the tool you already have?
Because the hardest part of getting value from AI isn't picking the cleverest tool. It's getting people to use one well, every day, inside the rules.
A tool you already pay for has a head start. Your IT team or supplier already manages the accounts, staff already sign in with their work login, and there's no new contract, no new supplier to vet and no new budget to approve. Training can start as soon as you're ready, not after a procurement process.
It also stops the quiet problem of staff picking their own tools. If the approved tool is the one people have been trained on and can get good results from, they've no reason to open a personal account somewhere else.
What if your business runs on Microsoft 365?
Then Copilot is the natural first tool. Microsoft's own documentation, updated in 2026, describes Microsoft Copilot as working with "Content in Microsoft Graph, such as emails, chats, and documents that you have permission to access", inside apps such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Your team doesn't have to move work into a new window. Copilot comes to the email, the spreadsheet and the meeting they're already in.
There's one thing to sort before training. The same Microsoft page says that "Microsoft Copilot only surfaces organizational data to which individual users have at least view permissions." That protects you, but it also means a folder shared with everyone is open to Copilot for everyone. Tidy your permissions first, and Copilot works from the files each person should see.
Our Microsoft Copilot for Business training covers exactly this situation. It's for teams already using Microsoft 365, organisations rolling out Copilot licences, and managers and administrators who want to save time, with hands-on work in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
What if your work happens outside Microsoft's apps?
Then look at what the work is, not at which name is in the headlines.
Some teams spend their day writing and reworking long documents: proposals, reports, policies, tenders. Others research, summarise and pull information together from many sources. Others need a shared space where the whole team works from the same reference material. Write down the five tasks that eat the most time in each team, and test each tool you're considering against those tasks, with your own documents.
ChatGPT and Claude both come with business plans built around teams. OpenAI's help article on ChatGPT Business (2026) describes it as "a collaborative environment, but each user has their own chat history and chooses what to share." Anthropic's plans page in 2026 sells Claude Team and Enterprise to organisations, separately from its individual plans. Either can be the right first tool. The test is which one handles your five tasks best, for your people.
Which data and admin controls should you check first?
This is where the choice gets serious, and where business plans differ from the free and personal versions of every tool.
Ask four questions of any tool before your team is trained on it. Does the provider train its models on your content? Who controls the accounts? How do people sign in? And which other systems can it connect to?
The vendors answer the first question in their own documentation. Microsoft states that "Prompts, responses, and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation LLMs, including those used by Microsoft Copilot." OpenAI's help article says that "OpenAI won't train on your workspace's data." Anthropic's plans page lists the Claude Team plan with "No model training on your content by default", along with central billing and administration and single sign-on.
Those commitments apply to the business plans. A member of staff on a personal account is on that account's terms, which is why the rule for any business is the same whichever tool you pick: work goes in the work account. Before you train anyone, ask your IT lead or supplier to confirm which of these terms cover the licences you hold.
Does it matter which one your team learns first?
Less than you'd think, as long as the training is good. The skills that make someone effective with AI aren't tied to one product.
Briefing the tool properly, with the context, the reader and what a good result looks like, works the same way in Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude. So does breaking a big job into steps, pushing back on a weak first draft and checking every figure against its source before it's used. Knowing what data never goes into a prompt is the same rule everywhere.
Teach those habits well on one tool and your team starts the next one with a head start. Train badly and the tool doesn't matter, because people won't trust it or won't use it.
What if you use more than one tool?
Running two tools, say Copilot for everyday Microsoft 365 work and ChatGPT or Claude for particular teams, works fine as long as you decide which tool is for which job and write it into your AI policy, so staff aren't guessing.
Train people on their main tool first. Once they're confident, a shorter follow-up session covers the second tool and when to use it.
How does DLR Programmes help you decide and train?
We run hands-on sessions on Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude, and on the other AI tools your business has approved, together or on their own. Every session is built around your team's real tasks and your data rules, for groups of up to 12, at your premises anywhere in the UK, at a venue or live online. Each group gets a fixed price, confirmed before you book, and attendees rate our workshops 5/5.
If you haven't chosen a tool yet, we help with that too, from tool selection and set-up to responsible AI guidance. We've signed the Responsible AI Use Campaign's 10 principles. See how our sessions work on our AI training for staff page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. They're separate products from separate companies. Copilot comes from Microsoft and works with your Microsoft 365 content, ChatGPT comes from OpenAI, and Claude comes from Anthropic.
Should we let staff choose their own AI tool?
No. Choose the tools your business approves, make sure staff use them with work accounts, and train people on those. That way you know where your data goes.
Do we need Copilot licences before Copilot training?
Yes. Attendees get the most from the session when they can use Copilot on their own work. If you're still deciding whether to roll it out, we also run an introduction for teams weighing it up.
Can one training session cover more than one tool?
Yes. We can cover Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude in the same programme, built around the tools your teams actually use.
Find the right starting point for your team
Tell us which tools you already license and what your teams spend their time on, and we'll recommend where to start and send a fixed price. Call +44 1382 699595 or tell us about your team.
