Copilot and Gemini Starter
for Small Business
Microsoft 365 Copilot and Gemini in Google Workspace can take real work off your team’s plate. They can also draw on any file a person is able to open. Here’s what they do, what to fix first and how to trial them.
- Partner for both platforms
- Permissions checked first
- Pilot before full rollout
Start with a few users, measure the results, then decide.
What Copilot and Gemini actually are
Both are AI assistants built into software your team already uses: Copilot in Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Gemini in Gmail and, depending on your plan, Docs, Sheets, Meet and Drive. Unlike a public chatbot, they work with your business email, files and meetings.
Eligible Microsoft 365 business plans include Copilot Chat at no extra cost; the full Microsoft 365 Copilot that works across your mailbox and files is a paid licence. Google includes Gemini in its Workspace business plans, with fewer features on Business Starter. Both vendors change their packaging often.
Microsoft says your Microsoft 365 data isn’t used to train its foundation models, and Google says Workspace doesn’t use customer data to train models without permission. The bigger risk sits inside your own business.
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 compares the two, AI included.
What each one does for your team
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Works across the Microsoft apps your team opens every day.
- Outlook: summarises long threads and drafts replies
- Teams: recaps meetings and pulls out action items
- Word and PowerPoint: drafts, edits and summarises
- Excel: analyses data and builds charts
Gemini in Google Workspace
Built into Gmail, with more apps covered on Business Standard and Plus.
- Gmail: summarises threads and drafts replies
- Docs: writes first drafts and rewrites sections
- Sheets: helps organise and make sense of data
- Drive: finds and summarises files you can open
Every answer is a first draft. A person still checks it before it goes to a client.
It finds whatever your staff can open
Copilot and Gemini use each person’s existing permissions. Many businesses have years of loose sharing nobody remembers setting up.
Ask “what does the operations manager earn?” and the assistant searches everything that person can open, including a salary spreadsheet in a folder shared with the whole company. The answer is to tidy up access first, not to block AI.
- SharePoint sites and Teams open to everyone in the business
- Drive files set to “anyone with the link”
- HR, payroll or client folders shared company-wide
- OneDrive or Drive folders shared once and forgotten
Five things to fix first
Review permissions
Find sites, shared drives and folders open to everyone and close them down, starting with HR, payroll, finance and client records.
Label sensitive files (Microsoft 365)
Sensitivity labels (Microsoft Purview, in Business Premium) mark files as confidential and can restrict who opens them. Copilot respects those restrictions.
Tighten Drive sharing (Google Workspace)
Set external sharing to warn or block, limit link sharing, and remove “anyone with the link” from personal or client files.
Write an AI use policy
Approved tools, what data can go in and when a person must check the output. Short enough that staff read it.
Turn on MFA everywhere
With AI switched on, a stolen password also hands an attacker an assistant that can search everything that account can open. Multi-factor authentication comes before AI.
Start small, then decide
A pilot shows whether AI is worth paying for across the business, before you pay for it.
Pick a few pilot users
Three to five people in different roles, including one sceptic and some heavy email and meeting users.
Fix access, then assign licences
Finish the permissions review for what those users can reach, give licences to them only and walk them through the policy.
Set real tasks
Thread summaries, reply drafts, meeting recaps and first drafts. Ask them to note what worked.
Measure and choose
Weigh time saved against licence cost, check what AI surfaced, then expand, adjust or stop.
How to tell if AI is paying its way
Judge it on your team’s real work, not a vendor demo. Ask pilot users to estimate the time saved on the tasks they tried, put a rough dollar value on it and compare that with the licence cost per person.
Check quality too: missed points in summaries, drafts that needed heavy rewriting, and any answer drawn from a file someone shouldn’t see. That last one means the permissions work isn’t finished.
You don’t need a licence for everyone. You may find a handful of roles get most of the value, and the rest stay on Copilot Chat or the Gemini features already in their plan.
Copilot and Gemini, set up properly
We supply Microsoft 365, including Copilot, as a Microsoft Partner and Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), and Google Workspace, including Gemini, as a Google Cloud Partner, and quote current licence pricing before you commit.
Before AI goes live, we check who can see what across your email and files, fix the oversharing, write your AI use policy with you and help you run a pilot. Our staff training is online and tracked, and can cover safe AI use. For a face-to-face session, we arrange a specialist trainer.
For ChatGPT, Claude and AI in your industry software as well, see AI readiness and implementation.
Copilot and Gemini: common questions
Can Copilot or Gemini see all our company files?
No. They only see what the signed-in person can already open. The catch is that many businesses have files shared more widely than intended, so payroll, HR or client documents can turn up in an answer. Tidy permissions before you switch either tool on.
Is Copilot included in Microsoft 365?
Partly. Eligible Microsoft 365 business plans include Copilot Chat at no extra cost. The full Microsoft 365 Copilot, which works with your email, files and meetings, is a paid licence, sold as an add-on or bundled with some plans. See Microsoft’s Australian plan comparison or ask us for a quote.
Is Gemini included in Google Workspace?
Yes, in the Google Workspace business plans. Business Starter gets fewer Gemini features than Business Standard and Plus, and Google changes what each plan includes from time to time. Check Google’s Australian pricing page for the current list, or ask us which plan suits each person.
Will Copilot or Gemini use our business data to train AI?
Microsoft states that prompts, responses and Microsoft 365 data aren’t used to train its foundation models. Google states that Workspace doesn’t train models on customer data without permission. The bigger risk is internal: the assistant showing someone a file they could open but shouldn’t.
How should a small business start with Copilot or Gemini?
Turn on multi-factor authentication, fix permissions, write a short AI use policy, then give licences to a few pilot users. Give them real tasks, measure the time saved and anything surfaced that should have stayed private, then decide. Your AI policy can sit alongside your wider governance and compliance work.
Related pages
AI for small and medium business
Readiness, policy and training for any AI tool.
Microsoft 365 support
Setup, security and licensing, Copilot included.
Google Workspace support
Admin, Drive sharing controls and Gemini.
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365
Which platform suits your team.
Governance and compliance
Policies, controls and evidence for insurers and standards.
Trial Copilot or Gemini the safe way
Tell us which platform you’re on and who wants to try AI. We’ll check what it could reach, fix what needs fixing and set up a pilot.
- Licences through a Microsoft and Google partner
- Permissions checked before AI goes live
- A clear quote before any work starts
Prefer to talk? Call 1300 619 750, Monday to Friday.
Tell us what you need and we’ll get back to you.