AI tools are no longer optional extras — they’re becoming part of how businesses operate. For most businesses running Microsoft 365, the question isn’t whether AI will affect your workplace, but how quickly, and whether you’re prepared for it.
Over the last two years, artificial intelligence has moved from something you read about in tech news to something sitting inside the tools your staff use every day. Microsoft 365 now includes AI features across Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams. Standalone AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT and Google Gemini are being used by employees — often without any formal policy, guidance, or oversight from their employer.
This isn’t a future problem. It’s a present one. And the businesses that manage it well — with clear policies, the right tools, and a thoughtful approach — will be the ones that benefit most from what AI has to offer.
The AI market has fragmented quickly. There are now several serious tools competing for business adoption, each with different strengths, pricing models, and relationships to your existing technology stack. Here’s how the main players compare:
| Tool | Made by | Best for | M365 Integration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft CopilotM365 | Microsoft | Summarising emails, drafting documents, generating insights from your own Microsoft data — Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Excel | Deep native integration — reads your emails, calendar, files and chats with appropriate permissions |
| ClaudeExternal | Anthropic | Long document analysis, complex writing, nuanced reasoning, coding. Can be connected to M365 via SSO and the Microsoft 365 connector for email and file access | Available via connector — read-only access to Outlook, Teams, SharePoint with admin consent. Also available as an Outlook add-in |
| ChatGPTExternal | OpenAI | General purpose writing, research, coding, image generation. Widely used, highly capable, broad feature set | No native M365 integration. Enterprise version available with data privacy controls |
| Google GeminiExternal | Research, summarisation, Google Workspace integration. Strong if your business uses Google tools | No native M365 integration. Works well alongside Google Workspace |
For most businesses already running Microsoft 365 — which covers the majority of our clients — Microsoft Copilot is the natural starting point. It sits inside tools your staff already use, requires no new login, and can access your actual business data (emails, documents, meeting notes) rather than working in isolation. The addition of Copilot licences to an existing M365 tenancy is straightforward and something Technicalities can manage on your behalf.
That said, Copilot and Claude serve different purposes and many businesses will end up using both. Copilot excels at working with your Microsoft data — summarising a long email thread, extracting action items from a Teams meeting, or drafting a document based on a SharePoint file. Claude tends to be stronger for deep analysis, long-form writing, and tasks that require more nuanced reasoning or a larger amount of text to work through at once.
The four platforms above are general-purpose AI tools — useful across a wide range of tasks but not designed with any specific industry in mind. Increasingly, AI is being built directly into the software that industry-specific businesses already run. For many businesses, the most immediately useful AI won’t come from a new subscription — it will come from an update to software they’re already paying for.
LEAP AI is now embedded directly into LEAP’s practice management platform, covering document drafting, matter summaries, and time entry automation — meaning firms already on LEAP may have AI capabilities they haven’t yet explored. Lexis+ AI and Westlaw Precision offer AI-powered legal research and case law analysis tailored to Australian law, while Smokeball has also been adding AI capabilities to its platform.
Platforms already in widespread use — including AgentBox and PropertyMe — have been rolling out AI-assisted features. Realtair is gaining traction for AI-powered appraisals and listing presentations, and Arli is specifically designed to generate listing descriptions, client emails, and social content from property details.
The pattern is consistent across sectors — Xero, MYOB, medical platforms like Genie, Best Practice and Medical Director, and construction tools like Procore are all adding AI features to their existing platforms. Before subscribing to something new, it’s worth checking what’s already available in the software your business uses today.
The most practical AI for your team may already be included in your existing software — or coming soon. Technicalities can help you assess what’s available in your current stack and where additional tools would genuinely add value.
In conversations with clients across Australia, we’re consistently hearing the same thing: employees are using free AI tools — ChatGPT, Claude’s free tier, Gemini — to help with work tasks. Often without their employer’s knowledge. Often pasting in customer data, internal documents, or confidential information to get a faster answer.
This isn’t a criticism of staff — AI tools are genuinely useful and it’s natural to reach for them. But without clear guidance, the risks are real. Customer data entered into a free AI tool may be used to train that tool’s model. Confidential business information shared with an external AI service may be stored and processed in ways you haven’t consented to. And the output of AI tools — however convincing — can be wrong.
The solution isn’t to ban AI. That approach will fail, and it will put you at a competitive disadvantage against businesses that are using it well. The solution is to get ahead of it — with the right tools, the right access controls, and a clear policy that gives staff guidance on what they can and can’t do.
An AI policy doesn’t need to be a lengthy legal document. For most small and medium businesses, a clear, practical one-page policy is more effective than an exhaustive compliance framework nobody reads. Here are the elements that matter most:
Specify which tools staff are permitted to use for work purposes — for example, Microsoft Copilot via your M365 tenancy, and Claude via the company’s Team account. Any tool not on the approved list requires management sign-off before use.
Establish a clear rule: customer names, contact details, financial information, and confidential business data must not be entered into any AI tool that is not specifically approved for that purpose. Use placeholders (e.g. [Customer Name]) when AI assistance is needed for customer-facing tasks.
Any content generated by AI that will be sent to customers, published externally, or used to make decisions must be reviewed and approved by a staff member before use. AI can be wrong, and responsibility for accuracy rests with the person who sends or acts on it.
Common exclusions: finalising legal or contractual documents without review, making financial decisions, generating external communications that haven’t been checked, and accessing or processing sensitive HR information.
If a staff member accidentally shares sensitive information with an AI tool, or is unsure whether a particular use is appropriate, there should be a clear process for raising it. Early reporting allows you to act before a minor mistake becomes a significant problem.
AI is evolving faster than almost any other technology area. A policy written today may need updating in six months. Commit to reviewing it at least annually — or when a significant new tool or capability emerges.
Australian businesses are subject to the Privacy Act 1988. Personal information about customers — names, contact details, health information, financial data — must be handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. Entering this information into an AI tool that processes data offshore, without appropriate safeguards, may constitute a privacy breach. Enterprise versions of tools like Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT offer stronger data privacy controls and are worth the investment for this reason alone.
The shift toward AI-assisted work isn’t a trend that will plateau — it’s a permanent change in how businesses operate. The organisations that benefit most will be those that approach it deliberately rather than reactively. Here’s where to start:
If your business runs Microsoft 365, you’re already paying for a platform that includes AI capabilities. Before adding new tools, understand what Copilot can do for your team and where it adds genuine value. For most businesses, this means email management, document drafting, meeting summaries, and data analysis in Excel.
Tools like Claude and ChatGPT complement rather than replace Copilot. Consider where the gaps are — long-form writing, complex analysis, customer communication drafts — and introduce tools that address those specific needs, with appropriate access controls and policies in place from the start.
AI tools are only as useful as the people using them. Time spent helping staff understand how to write effective prompts, how to critically review AI output, and what the boundaries are is time well spent. A short internal session — even an hour — can dramatically improve how confidently and effectively your team uses AI.
The time to build an AI policy is before something goes wrong, not after. It doesn’t need to be complex, but it does need to exist — and staff need to know about it.
Technicalities works with businesses across Australia to assess their current AI exposure, recommend the right tools, and build practical policies that protect the business while enabling staff to get the most out of AI. Get in touch to start the conversation.
Get in Touch