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Cowork vs Other Tools
Choose the right tool for your task
All tools serve different use cases. Cowork excels at local file automation — not everything.
| Feature | This guide Cowork | Claude Code | M365 Copilot | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target User | Knowledge workers | Developers | M365 users | Everyone |
| Local File Access | Sandbox | Full | Office files only* | Upload only |
| Execute Code | No | Full shell | No | No |
| Create Office Docs | Native | Via scripts | Native | No |
| Browser Automation | Chrome | Via tools | No | Operator beta |
| Multi-step Planning | Yes | Yes | Limited | GPTs only |
| Platform | macOS + Windows | All | Windows/Mac | All |
| Status | Preview | Production | Production | Production |
Rule of thumb: Use Chat (80%) for thinking/writing/coding. Use Cowork (20%) for batch files and automation.
*Note: "M365 Copilot" refers to Microsoft 365 Copilot (Word/Excel/PowerPoint integration), not GitHub Copilot (developer tool with full file system access).
When to choose each tool
Use Cowork when
- Organizing hundreds of local files
- Creating Word/Excel/PowerPoint documents
- Automating browser tasks (Chrome)
- Extracting data from PDFs or photos
- Building repeatable desktop workflows
Use Claude Chat when
- Thinking through a problem
- Writing or editing documents
- Generating code snippets
- Research and synthesis
- Quick one-off questions
Use Claude Code when
- Running scripts or build commands
- Editing code files across a project
- Automating git workflows
- Working in terminal daily
- API integrations and scripting
Use M365 Copilot when
- Deep integration with Teams/Outlook
- Company already on Microsoft 365
- Word/Excel/PowerPoint in the cloud
- Enterprise IT policy requires it
Ready to get started with Cowork?
Read the Guide →