Insights · Agentrix

By Agentrix · Updated 21 October 2026

Copilot or Gemini? How a UK small firm should choose (and set it up safely)

Short answer: use the AI built into the suite you already run. If your firm lives in Gmail, Docs and Meet, that's Gemini in Google Workspace. If it lives in Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel, that's Microsoft 365 Copilot. What matters more is how it's set up: who can see what, which data goes in, and who checks the output.

Why the suite you already use usually decides it

Both assistants work inside their own apps and draw on your own email, files and meetings. Gemini works with Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Drive and Meet. Copilot works with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams (Microsoft, Copilot for small business, checked 21 Oct 2026; Google Workspace pricing and plans, checked 21 Oct 2026).

What does each cost a UK small firm?

Check the vendor pages before you buy. As a guide:

What can each one see?

This is the question we'd spend most time on. Microsoft says Copilot follows your organisation's existing Microsoft 365 security settings and permissions (Microsoft FAQ), so loose permissions on shared files carry straight over. Before switching anything on:

• Tidy permissions. Check who can open HR, payroll and client folders.
• Use business accounts, not personal ones. Microsoft says that with enterprise data protection, prompts and responses stay inside the Microsoft 365 service boundary and are not used to train the underlying models (Microsoft FAQ). Google lists enterprise-grade security and privacy for Gemini on its business plans (Google).
• Check admin settings. Decide who gets a licence, whether meeting notes are switched on, and how long prompts are kept.

Which processes suit which?

• Gemini works well for firms that mostly work in email, shared documents and video calls: drafting replies, summarising long threads, meeting notes and first drafts in Docs.
• Copilot makes the most sense where Excel, Teams or SharePoint are central: analysing spreadsheets, Teams meeting recaps, and work across SharePoint libraries.
• Claude is worth a look alongside either for long documents and careful drafting, on a business plan rather than a personal account.

Whichever you use, start with one repetitive process, not "AI for everything". See a safe first AI project for a small firm.

The safety basics, whichever you pick

1. An AI policy that says which tools staff may use and what data must never go in.
2. A DPIA where personal data is involved.
3. A named person who checks AI output before it counts.
4. Training so staff know the rules and how to get good results.

On our five-stage AI maturity scale, a process only reaches stage 4 (Agent-assisted) once those basics are in place.

What this looks like in practice

GK Healthcare, a UK recruitment company, had a Director of Finance spending about two days a week on reconciliation. We mapped the process, built it with fixed rules plus AI, and kept the Director of Finance checking the output. It's now one 30-minute run a week, moving from stage 2 (Digitised) to stage 4 (Agent-assisted). Read the case study.

Where to start

The £450 Payback Check is a two-hour session. We look at how your team uses Gemini, Copilot or Claude today, and time and score one real process. You get a written report and a fixed quote, and the £450 is credited if you book a build within 30 days.