You already run on Microsoft 365 and want help writing, summarising and finding things inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams.
Certant vs Microsoft Copilot
Copilot helps inside Word, Outlook and Teams. Certant answers from your documents with the paragraph attached, and can run on hardware you control.
Which one fits you
Your work depends on long documents, scans and tables, answers have to cite the paragraph, or your data must be processed in Australia or inside your own network today.
Compare them line by line
What each vendor publishes about the things regulated buyers ask first. Where a vendor doesn't say, we say so.
| Question | Microsoft 365 Copilot | Certant |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI assistant inside Microsoft 365 apps, with Researcher and Analyst agents and Copilot Studio | Reads your documents and data into one model, with a knowledgebase, chatbots, agents, analytics and Strata on top |
| Where it runs | Microsoft's cloud | Certant's cloud, your own cloud account, or air-gapped on your own hardware |
| Australian data | In-country processing of prompts in Australia is expected by the end of 2026, per Microsoft (April 2026) | Australian region on Certant's cloud, or in-country on infrastructure you run |
| Citations | Inline citations and a sources pane listing the files and emails used | Every answer opens the source document at the paragraph it came from |
| When the documents don't answer | Not documented on the public pages we checked | Says it can't find the answer and offers to pass the question to a person |
| Connects to | Microsoft 365 natively; Copilot connectors for outside services, which need a Copilot licence | SharePoint, Confluence, Google Drive, Box, S3 and your website; Slack and Teams apps; an API and an MCP server |
| Scans and tables | Not a stated focus | A separate reader for each kind of file keeps tables as tables, and Strata turns them into data you can query |
| Agents and actions | Researcher, Analyst and custom agents; Copilot Studio | Agent Builder for multi-step workflows with approvals; Strata monitors act only after a second person approves |
| Certifications listed | Microsoft 365 assessed under IRAP to PROTECTED (March 2026); Copilot is not named in that announcement | SOC 2-aligned controls. On a sovereign deployment Certant is assessed inside your own boundary |
| Pricing | US$30 per user a month on an annual plan, plus a qualifying Microsoft 365 licence. In Australia the Business add-on is A$26.91 a month ex GST until 31 Dec 2026 | Published: free trial, then plans from $49 a month billed annually. Sovereign deployments are an annual licence |
Prices in US dollars unless marked. Competitor details come from their own pages or the third parties named here, checked 2 November 2026; check the vendor before you rely on them. Sources: Microsoft 365 Copilot enterprise pricing (US), Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (Australia), Microsoft: in-country data processing for Copilot, Microsoft IRAP announcement, March 2026, Copilot Chat sources and citations, Copilot connectors. Certant details: pricing, security, deployment options.
Where Microsoft 365 Copilot leads
A fair comparison says what the other product does better.
- It works inside the apps people already use all day: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
- It reaches email, meetings and chats as well as files.
- It comes under your existing Microsoft agreement, on a Microsoft 365 platform already assessed under IRAP.
What you get with Certant
Answers you can check
Every answer shows the paragraph it came from, and one click opens the page. When your documents don't cover a question, Certant says so instead of guessing.
Runs where your data must stay
The same product runs in our cloud, in your cloud account, or on a box in your office with the network cable unplugged. We published the packet captures.
Turns tables into data
Strata reads the tables inside your reports and agreements into data you can query and monitor, and every number traces to its page.
Most organisations that use Certant also use Microsoft 365. Certant's chatbots run inside Teams, and it reads SharePoint with its permissions intact, so the two sit side by side.
Questions buyers ask
Short answers. If yours isn't here, ask us.
Is Certant an alternative to Microsoft Copilot?
For document-heavy and regulated work, yes. Copilot is a general assistant across Microsoft 365. Certant answers from your documents, including scanned agreements and rate tables, cites the paragraph, says when the documents do not hold an answer, and can run fully air-gapped.
Does Microsoft 365 Copilot process data in Australia?
Microsoft announced in-country processing of Copilot prompts for 15 countries in November 2025, and its April 2026 update says it is expected in Australia by the end of 2026. Check Microsoft's current status before relying on it.
Can I use Certant with SharePoint and Teams?
Yes. Certant reads SharePoint and respects its permissions at the time of each question, and Certant chatbots can run as Teams and Slack apps.
Try it on your own documents.
Bring twenty real questions and see which answers come back with the paragraph attached.