If you’re leading a sales team in a technical industry—say industrial automation, electrical systems, or engineering services—then you’ve probably heard about AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot.
The question is: Which one actually helps your sales team work smarter?
I’m preparing for a training session with a company in the electrical and automation space. Their team handles sales through tenders, custom proposals, and complex Excel-based tracking. When they asked me whether ChatGPT or Copilot would be more useful, it sparked this article.
Let’s explore the tools through the lens of what sales teams actually need.
What GitHub Copilot Does Best
GitHub Copilot is built for developers. It lives inside code editors like Visual Studio Code and autocompletes lines of code.
It’s trained on vast amounts of programming data and excels in:
- Writing code in real-time
- Explaining functions
- Speeding up software development workflows
If your sales team is writing software, Copilot is an incredible asset.
But for teams managing follow-ups, writing emails, tracking tenders in Excel, and communicating with procurement departments—it simply doesn’t help.
Where ChatGPT Delivers Real Value
ChatGPT is a conversational AI model built by OpenAI. Unlike Copilot, it’s trained on both code and natural language.
For sales teams, that means it can:
- Draft professional emails from bullet points
- Rewrite proposals with better tone and structure
- Summarize long documents like RFPs and tender guidelines
- Create Excel formulas on request
- Help generate follow-ups, checklists, and sales updates
It’s like a fast-thinking assistant that’s great with language, numbers, and context—without needing technical skills to use it.
Real-World Example: Excel-Based Sales Workflows
Many sales teams, especially in project-based businesses, run their entire process on Excel:
- Tender pipelines
- Status trackers
- Client communication logs
- Quotation sheets
Here’s where ChatGPT shines:
- Ask it to build a conditional formatting formula.
- Request a follow-up message based on client status from your spreadsheet.
- Have it summarize the outcome of a tender in two bullet points for management.
GitHub Copilot, on the other hand, cannot handle any of these tasks. It simply wasn’t designed for this use case.
Still Wondering If This Is Just AI Hype?
That’s a fair concern—and no, this isn’t about promoting ChatGPT just because it’s popular.
GitHub Copilot is powered by Codex, an AI model trained on code. It’s a specialist. It works beautifully for developers, but it doesn’t support tasks outside of coding.
ChatGPT is powered by GPT-4, which supports:
- Natural language
- Programming tasks
- Spreadsheet logic
- Summarization
- Email writing
Even Microsoft positions Copilot for developers, while ChatGPT is being embedded into tools like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Teams—for a reason.
Final Verdict: Which One Should Sales Teams Use?
If your sales team isn’t writing code, Copilot won’t help. ChatGPT will.
Want Help Implementing ChatGPT into Your Sales Workflow?
If you’re ready to explore how ChatGPT can fit into your sales process, I’d love to help you build a prompt library, train your team, or just show you what’s possible.
Book a free appointment to get started.
Key Takeaways:
- Copilot is designed for coding, not sales.
- ChatGPT supports non-technical teams with communication, summaries, and spreadsheet help.
- If your team deals with tenders, proposals, and Excel—not code—ChatGPT is the clear winner.