AI Comparison Table
All Penn State-provided AI tools can be valuable assistants. The right choice depends on your workflow, comfort level, and the type of tasks you need to complete.
This table highlights key differences to help you choose the one that's right for you. Tools change over time, and all require Penn State credentials.
| Category | AI Studio | Standard Copilot | M365 Copilot | Google Gemini |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Enterprise version provided at no extra cost. | Enterprise version provided at no extra cost. | Subscription version with $200.04 annual fee per license. | Enterprise version provided at no extra cost. |
| Summary | Gateway to Penn State authorized AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini). | Web-powered AI tool for quick questions/answers, short writing, and general tasks. | Productivity‑centric AI deeply integrated into Microsoft 365 apps for drafting, editing, and workflow automation. | Web‑powered AI tool for creative writing, idea generation, and general knowledge tasks. |
| Choose for | If you primarily need a Penn State–approved, secure AI environment for working with University data (L1 & L2), research materials, or documents using multiple AI tools. | If you primarily need quick, internet-based answers, light writing help, or idea generation for every day, non‑sensitive tasks. | If you primarily work in Microsoft 365 and want AI embedded directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams to support daily productivity and structured workflows. | If you primarily need a conversational AI for creative writing, research, or exploration, especially when working within the Google ecosystem or information across the public internet. |
| Best for | Secure, multi-tool AI work with University data across tools. | Quick, Internet-based answers and light writing. | Daily productivity inside Office apps. | Research, creative exploration, and long-form content. |
| Ease of use | User-friendly but feature rich, requiring some familiarity with available AI tools. Use of Agents/assistants requires more expertise. | Very easy to use, driven by web search results. | Powerful but more complex due to app integrations and configuration. Use of Agents/assistants requires more expertise. | Simple and conversational with a light learning curve. |
| Research & long documents | Very strong for in‑depth research. Works well with long documents such as research papers, books, and reports, especially when you need to compare sources or analyze uploaded materials securely. | Supports multiple file formats. Best for document-level tasks rather than multi-file analysis. | Good for working with long documents already stored in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Helpful for summarizing, editing, and extracting insights from files you use in daily work. | Excellent for analyzing long documents and research materials, including papers, books, and videos. Well suited for synthesis, ideation, and understanding large amounts of information. |
| File handling | Strong support for uploading and working with multiple file formats. Handles complex documents well, though very large or highly complex files may be truncated depending on the tool used. | Limited file handling. Supports basic file uploads (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images) but is best suited for short documents and quick reference rather than detailed file analysis. | Excellent file handling within Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Designed for working directly with your existing Microsoft 365 files, including summarization and real-time insights. | Strong support for long documents and multiple file formats. Works well with uploaded files and content stored in the Google ecosystem. |
| Image generation | OpenAI is the only current model provider in AI Studio that offers image generation functionality. | Image generation is available but often requires repeated prompt refinement to get desired results. | Image generation is available, primarily for business and productivity use cases. Quality and level of control may vary. | Strong image (and video) generation capabilities with high quality results. Often requires less prompt refinement for creative outputs. |
| Data privacy notes | Designed with strong data privacy controls, keeping user data within approved environments, limiting data retention, and avoiding use of uploaded content for model training. Not authorized for L3 or L4 data. | Data is protected by the University's Enterprise license and is not used to train the model. Not authorized for L3 or L4 data. | Designed for enterprise workflows and organizational data. Data is protected by the Enterprise license and is not used to train the model. Not authorized for L3 or L4 data. | Data is protected by the University's Enterprise license and is not used to train the model. Not authorized for L3 or L4 data. |
| Creative writing | Strong creative writing support with flexible tone and style control. Well suited for iterating on drafts using uploaded reference materials. | Good for short creative writing tasks and idea generation. Best used for quick drafts rather than long or complex creative work. | More business‑focused and structured. Best for polishing, summarizing, or adapting existing content rather than open‑ended creative writing. | Strong creative writing and idea generation with a conversational style. Works well for brainstorming and drafting but has limitations with long‑form consistency and advanced revision. |
| Custom agents & assistants | Supports configurable agents designed for task‑focused workflows. Agents can follow instructions, use selected tools or models, and assist with repeatable tasks, depending on how they are set up. | Does not support true custom agents. Provides basic conversational assistance using web information but cannot create persistent or task‑specific assistants. | Supports custom agents through Copilot Studio. Agents can be created for repeatable, task‑specific workflows and can connect to data and Microsoft 365 apps. | Supports lightweight agents and workflow helpers. Agents can assist with tasks and exploration but are more conversational and less autonomous than full workflow-based agents. |
| Media capabilities | Supports text, images, documents, and data. Audio and video are not currently available. | Basic multimodal support focused on text and images. Best suited for simple interactions rather than advanced media analysis. | Supports text and image input within Microsoft 365 apps. Multimodal capabilities are more limited and focused on productivity use cases. | Strong multimodal support across text, images, audio, video, and data. Well suited for analyzing and working with rich media, including video content. |
| Memory between chats | Retains conversation history within sessions, allowing you to return to previous chats and continue work. | Retains conversation history so you can revisit and continue past chats. Does not build long‑term memory across unrelated conversations. | Retains conversation history and context across sessions. Some personalization is available. | Retains conversation history, allowing you to return to and continue prior discussions. |
| Primary ecosystem | Microsoft Azure tenant with access to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. | Microsoft ecosystem but accessed through a web address. | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams. | Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Drive, Meet. |
| Workflow style | Flexible and tool‑driven. Your workflow depends on which AI tool or capability you choose (such as document analysis, coding, image generation, or search), allowing you to adapt how you work based on the task. | Search‑centric and conversational. Best for quick questions, short interactions, and fast answers rather than step‑by‑step or multi‑stage workflows. | Structured and task‑oriented. Designed to support step‑by‑step workflows within Microsoft 365 apps, helping you complete specific work tasks efficiently. | Open‑ended and exploratory. Well suited for creative, research‑driven, and iterative workflows where ideas evolve through conversation and discovery. |
| Coding support | Strong support for generating, explaining, and debugging code using pasted or uploaded files. Well suited for learning, research, and script development across multiple programming languages. | Basic coding assistance for simple questions and examples. Best for quick explanations or lightweight code generation rather than complex development work. | Very strong coding support, especially for business and productivity scenarios. Helpful for writing, debugging, and producing ready‑to‑use code within structured workflows. | Strong support for explaining code, converting between languages, and walking through examples. Well suited for learning and beginner‑to‑intermediate coding tasks. |
| Search grounding | Grounded primarily in uploaded documents and provided context. Designed for research and analysis using trusted sources rather than open web searching by default. | Grounded in Bing web search. Best for finding current, public information and quick answers from the web. | Grounded in your Microsoft 365 data (via Microsoft Graph) and Bing search when needed. Focused on combining organizational content with web information to support work tasks. | Grounded in Google Search with strong knowledge retrieval. Well suited for research, exploration, and finding information across the public web. |