Glean vs Copilot (2026): Which Enterprise AI Fits Your Stack?

In the Glean vs Copilot decision, pick Microsoft 365 Copilot if your company runs on Microsoft 365, and pick Glean if your knowledge is scattered across dozens of non-Microsoft apps and finding it is the main problem. Copilot is the AI assistant built into Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams; Glean is an enterprise search and assistant platform with 275+ connectors that sits across every app you use.

Both are good products, and they answer different questions. Copilot is built to make Microsoft 365 work harder. Glean is built to find and use everything a company knows, wherever it is stored. I read Microsoft's and Glean's own pricing pages and documentation on October 12, 2026, and every fact about either product below links to its source.

There is also a third shape of company this post covers: teams whose day runs on Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira and Google Workspace, who want AI agents that update those systems, and who already use Claude or ChatGPT. For that team, I will explain where Coworker fits and where it does not.

Glean vs Copilot at a glance

What is the difference between Glean and Microsoft 365 Copilot?

The difference is where each product starts. Microsoft 365 Copilot starts inside Microsoft 365. Glean starts from search across every app.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on license that puts AI into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. Microsoft says the Copilot license includes Copilot Chat, Copilot in those apps, the Work IQ context engine, prebuilt Researcher and Analyst agents, and custom agents built with Agent Builder (Microsoft 365 blog, June 16, 2026). Its context comes from the Microsoft Graph: your mail, meetings, chats and files. Data from outside Microsoft 365 arrives through Copilot connectors that an admin configures.

Glean began as enterprise search and grew into a full assistant and agent platform. It indexes your apps through 275+ out-of-the-box connectors, builds a company knowledge graph on top, and serves answers in its own app and inside Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GitHub and Miro (Glean Enterprise Flex docs). Glean passed $300M in annual recurring revenue in May 2026 (Business Wire), so it is a mature, well-funded vendor, not an experiment.

Both products now describe themselves as a context layer for AI. Microsoft calls Work IQ "a workplace intelligence layer" (Microsoft Learn), and Glean frames its index and graph as enterprise context. The real question is which data that layer sees by default, and how much setup it takes to see the rest. For a deeper look at the category, see what a context layer is and how a context graph differs from a knowledge graph.

Is Glean better than Copilot?

Glean is better than Copilot for searching across many non-Microsoft apps. Copilot is better than Glean for doing work inside Microsoft 365 documents, email and meetings. Neither is better across the board.

Where Microsoft 365 Copilot is stronger

• Native in the apps people already use. Copilot drafts in Word, builds formulas in Excel, summarizes Teams meetings and triages Outlook. Glean can create Word documents and draft Outlook emails through its Microsoft 365 integration, but it works alongside the apps rather than inside them.
• No new vendor if you already run Microsoft 365. Copilot Chat is included at no additional cost for users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription (Microsoft pricing), so many companies can try the basics before buying seats.
• Same security and compliance boundary. Copilot runs inside your Microsoft 365 tenant, and Copilot Cowork, generally available since June 16, 2026, runs long multi-step tasks within that same trust boundary.
• Predictable list price. $30 per user per month is public. Glean does not publish a price.

Where Glean is stronger

• Breadth of connectors. 275+ connectors against Microsoft's 100+ prebuilt Copilot connectors, and Glean's include Slack natively.
• Search quality across apps. Search is Glean's original product, with personalized ranking and permission-aware results across every connected source.
• Permission changes show up fast. Glean says permission changes in the source app are "reflected immediately in results" (Glean connectors page). Some Copilot connectors only refresh group permissions on full crawls (more on that below).
• Works in more places. Glean runs in Slack, Teams, Zoom and GitHub, and its MCP server brings Glean into Claude, ChatGPT and other AI clients. See Glean MCP explained for how that works.

Can Copilot search Slack and Salesforce?

Yes, but only after an admin sets up a connector, and Slack depends on a partner connector.

Microsoft lists more than 100 prebuilt Copilot connectors, including Salesforce, ServiceNow, SAP, Workday, Zendesk, Jira, Google Drive and Confluence. An admin turns each one on in the Microsoft 365 admin center, provides credentials, and the connector indexes the data into your tenant.

Slack is not on Microsoft's own list. The Slack connectors in Microsoft's gallery are partner-built, from RheinInsights and ServiceNow (partner connector gallery). That works, but it is another vendor to evaluate, and for a company where most decisions happen in Slack threads it is the most important source of context.

Glean connects to Slack and Salesforce out of the box, which is a big reason Slack-first companies shortlist it. If your company has no Microsoft 365 at all, this post on enterprise AI without Microsoft 365 covers the options.

How do Glean and Copilot handle permissions?

Both vendors say users only see what they could already open in the source app. The difference is in how permission changes travel.

Microsoft's connector model attaches an access control list to every item it indexes, and "Search and Copilot only show items to users who have access in the source system" (Microsoft Learn). Two details matter in practice. First, the admin chooses each connector's visibility: the Jira Cloud connector, for example, can show indexed data to "Everyone" or only to people with access. Second, on that same connector, "updates to groups that govern access permissions are synced in full crawls only," so a permission change in Jira can lag in Copilot until the next full crawl.

Glean states that all permissions are inherited and strictly enforced and that permission changes sync in real time (Glean). Its MCP server runs every tool call as the signed-in user and cannot elevate privileges beyond what that user has in Glean (Glean MCP security docs).

Glean's own comparison page calls Copilot's permission enforcement across third-party connectors "disjointed" (glean.com). That is a vendor claim about a competitor. The fair version is this: inside Microsoft 365, Copilot's permissions are native and mature. Outside it, permission behavior depends on each connector's settings, so test the specific connectors you need during a pilot.

Do Glean and Copilot have AI agents that take action?

Yes. Both have moved well past search and chat.

Glean Agents run in two modes, Auto and Workflow, and start manually, on a schedule, or when external content changes. Their tools can read records, write to connectors to update tickets or log notes, draft emails, and update external systems (Glean docs, updated September 25, 2026). Agent runs consume Glean's usage credits.

Microsoft offers three layers. Agent Builder lets business users create simple agents inside Copilot. Copilot Studio is the low-code platform for custom agents and supports MCP tools and resources (Microsoft Learn). Copilot Cowork, generally available since June 16, 2026, runs long, multi-step tasks and is billed by usage on top of the Copilot license. For developers, Microsoft notes that its Work IQ MCP server is "read-only unless an administrator explicitly turns on write operations" (Microsoft Learn).

The practical split: Copilot's agents act most naturally on Microsoft data (email, calendar, Teams, files). Glean's agents act across the wider set of tools it connects. For writing to Salesforce or Jira from Copilot, plan for Copilot Studio, connectors or plugins, which usually means IT involvement. This breakdown of Copilot Studio pricing shows how that usage is billed.

Glean vs Copilot pricing: how much does each cost?

Microsoft 365 Copilot costs $30 per user per month, paid yearly, and requires a separate qualifying Microsoft 365 plan (Microsoft). Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, for Business plans of up to 300 users, lists at $21 per user per month paid yearly (Microsoft). Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio agents add usage-based charges in Copilot Credits.

Glean does not publish prices. Its Enterprise Flex model combines a per-user seat with a pool of usage credits that premium models and agent runs consume (Glean docs). Buyer-reported contracts on Vendr show a median of about $98,890 a year, a range of roughly $29,880 to $208,897, and minimums often around 100 to 250 users. Those are buyer reports, not Glean's price list.

Full breakdowns: Glean pricing and Microsoft Copilot enterprise pricing. If cost per answer is your main concern, the Coworker guide to AI cost optimization covers where enterprise token spend actually goes.

Can you run Glean and Copilot together?

Yes, and many large companies do. Copilot handles drafting and meeting work inside Microsoft 365, and Glean handles search across everything else.

Glean supports this directly: it runs inside Microsoft Teams, can search public Teams channels and files (Glean Teams integration), and can create Word documents and Outlook drafts. The cost is two vendors, two context layers that each hold a partial picture of the company, and two sets of usage credits. Before buying both, write down which questions each tool will own. If the answer is "both, sometimes," you are paying twice for the same context.

When does a third option make more sense?

Coworker makes more sense when your company does not live in Microsoft 365, when you want agents that update your systems rather than answer questions about them, or when your people already work in Claude or ChatGPT and you want company context there.

Coworker is an enterprise AI platform built on OM2, its organizational memory. OM2 is a permission-aware knowledge graph built from 50+ connected tools, including Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Google Drive, Gmail, Notion, Confluence, Gong and Zoom. It maps the people, companies, projects and deals across those tools and keeps the graph current as new data flows in. Coworker's CEO describes it this way: "You can think of OM2 as a context graph."

What Coworker does differently

• Built for non-Microsoft stacks. Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira and Google Workspace connect natively, with no partner connector or Copilot Studio project. The full list is on the connectors page.
• Agents that act, with approval gates. Business users build agents with triggers, schedules and approval steps. After a customer call, an agent can update the Salesforce opportunity, open the Jira ticket and draft the follow-up, with a person confirming CRM and ticket writes.
• Context inside the AI tools people already use. Coworker MCP brings OM2 into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and any MCP client, with each person's source permissions applied. It works as a memory MCP for the whole company rather than for one user; this roundup of MCP memory servers compares the options.
• Lower token cost on retrieval-heavy work. In Coworker's own benchmark, Claude using OM2 through Coworker MCP used 9x fewer tokens than Claude using its native connectors on retrieval and context-heavy tasks, with Coworker Learning on and no change of model (methodology on the benchmarks page; statistically significant benchmarks comparing Coworker MCP vs. Claude native tooling).

In enterprise AI stack terms, Coworker plays the AI memory layer and the agent layer at once, and it stays model-agnostic, so the same context travels with you across open and closed models.

Where Coworker is weaker

• Fewer connectors. Coworker has 50+ connectors. Glean lists 275+, and Microsoft lists 100+ prebuilt Copilot connectors. If you need a long tail of niche systems indexed, Glean covers more today.
• Not inside Office apps. Coworker does not draft inside Word or build formulas in Excel the way Copilot does. If that is the main job, Copilot is the better fit.
• Fewer certifications. Coworker holds SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and CASA Tier 2. Microsoft and Glean both also list HIPAA and ISO 27001. If your security team requires those today, factor that in.

For a direct comparison with each vendor, see Coworker vs Glean and Coworker vs Microsoft Copilot.

How to choose between Glean, Copilot and Coworker

Whichever way you lean, run a pilot on your own data with 10 to 20 real questions your team asked last month. Score each tool on whether the answer was right, whether it cited the source, and whether it respected who is allowed to see what. That test settles more than any feature table.

If Coworker sounds like the right fit, book a demo and I will show it running on the tools your team already uses.

Frequently asked questions

Is Glean better than Microsoft Copilot?

Glean is better for permission-aware search across many non-Microsoft apps, with 275+ connectors. Microsoft 365 Copilot is better for working inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. The right pick depends on where most of your company's knowledge lives.

Can Microsoft Copilot search Slack?

Only through a connector. Microsoft's Copilot connector gallery lists partner-built Slack connectors from RheinInsights and ServiceNow, which an admin has to set up. Glean and Coworker connect to Slack natively.

How much does Glean cost compared to Copilot?

Microsoft 365 Copilot is $30 per user per month paid yearly, plus a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. Glean does not publish pricing; buyer-reported contracts on Vendr show a median of about $98,890 a year, with minimums often around 100 to 250 users.

Can you use Glean and Copilot together?

Yes. Glean runs inside Microsoft Teams and can create Word documents and Outlook drafts, so some companies use Copilot for Microsoft 365 work and Glean for search across other apps. The tradeoff is paying for two context layers.

Does Glean work with Claude and ChatGPT?

Yes. Glean's MCP server connects Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients to Glean search, chat and agents, running each tool call as the signed-in user. Coworker MCP does the same for OM2, Coworker's organizational memory.

What is the best alternative to Glean and Copilot for Slack and Salesforce teams?

Coworker is built for teams that run on Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira and Google Workspace. It connects 50+ tools into OM2, runs no-code agents that update those systems with approval gates, and brings the same context into Claude and ChatGPT through Coworker MCP.

Related reading

• Glean vs ChatGPT
• ChatGPT Enterprise vs Microsoft Copilot
• Microsoft Copilot alternatives for the enterprise
• Glean alternatives
• Glean MCP vs Coworker MCP
• What is a context layer?