Sally AI vs Copilot: A Top German Alternative to Microsoft Copilot

Status: November 01, 2024

The world of online meeting tools has seen major advancements in recent years, driven largely by artificial intelligence (AI). One of the biggest breakthroughs has been the ability to transcribe and evaluate meetings more efficiently than ever. Two standout solutions in this space are Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot.

But which tool delivers better features and greater efficiency for businesses? In this comparison, we take a closer look at both solutions to help you choose the best fit for your team. We'll cover core features, full-process support, and how each tool uses AI to simplify post-meeting workflows.

Sally AI vs Copilot — Key Takeaways at a Glance

Full Support Across the Entire Meeting Process

Sally AI supports every phase of a meeting: from planning and preparation to in-depth follow-up and reporting. Microsoft Copilot, on the other hand, focuses mainly on the meeting itself and offers limited post-meeting functionality.

Supported Video Platforms

Sally AI works with multiple video conferencing tools, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, offering great flexibility. Copilot, however, is limited to Microsoft Teams, restricting cross-platform usability.

AI Coaching Features

Sally AI includes robust coaching tools like custom conversation flows and real-time objection handling, making it especially useful for sales teams. Copilot provides only basic coaching features with limited adaptability.

GDPR Compliance and EU Hosting

Sally AI offers data processing and hosting within the EU, fully aligning with European data protection regulations. This is essential for companies with strict compliance needs. Copilot does not guarantee EU-based data handling, which may be a concern for regulated industries.

Transcription Capabilities Compared

Real-Time Transcription

Microsoft Copilot allows real-time transcription during meetings, so participants can read along as the conversation unfolds. This is handy for immediate referencing and note-taking.
Sally AI currently prioritizes high-accuracy, post-meeting transcription, aimed at enhancing follow-up productivity. However, real-time transcription is already on Sally AI’s roadmap.

Supported Languages

Sally AI supports transcription in over 35 languages, making it ideal for international teams. Copilot handles around 20 languages, which is suitable for many, but may fall short in globally distributed teams or niche markets.

Dialects and Language Nuances

Sally AI excels at recognizing regional dialects, such as Austrian German or British English, improving accuracy in diverse settings. Copilot supports only standardized language forms, which can sometimes reduce clarity.

Filler Word Removal

Sally AI automatically removes filler words like “um,” “uh,” or “hmm,” resulting in cleaner and more readable transcripts. Copilot lacks this feature, which can lead to more cluttered and less polished outputs.

Speaker Identification

Both tools can detect and label speakers automatically, helping teams quickly attribute statements and stay organized during follow-up work.

Upload-Based Transcription

Sally AI and Copilot both support transcription of uploaded video or audio files, making them useful for retrospective meeting analysis or documentation.

Export Options

Both platforms allow you to export transcriptions in formats like Word or PDF, supporting easy integration with other workflows.

Custom Vocabulary

Sally AI lets you define custom vocabulary, ensuring consistent and accurate transcription of industry-specific terms or acronyms. This feature is not available in Copilot, which can be a drawback for specialized teams.

Transcript Search

Sally AI offers a full-text search within transcripts, letting users quickly find key terms or phrases. In Copilot, this is only possible via Microsoft Stream, adding an extra layer of complexity.

In-Tool Editing

With Sally AI, users can edit transcripts directly in the interface for quick corrections. Copilot offers a similar feature, but only via Microsoft Stream, which makes the editing process less seamless.

Recording Capabilities

Modern transcription tools need to do more than just record. They must be flexible and powerful enough to handle a variety of meeting types. Sally AI and Copilot both support recording, but Sally AI offers greater versatility and integration features to enhance team productivity.

Compatibility with Video Platforms

Sally AI is fully compatible with leading platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. No matter what your team uses, Sally works smoothly across all environments.

Microsoft Copilot is limited to Microsoft Teams only, which can be restrictive for businesses using more than one platform.

Storage Space

Sally AI offers unlimited storage for your recordings, making it ideal for building a centralized archive of all meetings.

Copilot depends on your Microsoft account plan. Storage limits vary and can be reached quickly, requiring manual deletion or paid upgrades.

Video Recording

Both tools support high-quality meeting recording, ensuring that all discussions are documented and available for later review.

Concurrent Sessions

Sally AI and Copilot both support recording multiple meetings at the same time, which is a must-have for larger teams managing several ongoing projects.

Downloading Recordings

Recordings can be downloaded directly with both Sally AI and Copilot. This makes local archiving or sharing simple and efficient.

Slide Capture and Timestamping

Sally AI automatically recognizes and captures presentation slides during meetings, saving them with precise timestamps. This feature allows users to revisit visual content quickly and in context.

Copilot lacks this functionality, requiring users to manually extract and match slides with the spoken content.

Conversation Analysis: General & Sales-Focused

Both tools offer standard conversation analytics, such as speaker time tracking and topic frequency.

Sally AI goes further with sales-specific insights, analyzing customer interactions, sales dynamics, and engagement strategies. Copilot does not provide tailored sales analysis, limiting its usefulness for sales-driven teams.

Calendar Integration

Sally AI integrates with Google, Outlook, and Apple Calendars, fitting easily into most organizations' workflows.

Copilot only integrates with Outlook, which can be limiting for teams using other calendar tools.

Branded Meeting Presence

Sally AI allows companies to brand the meeting bot by customizing its name and logo. This ensures that your branding is present in every meeting recording — a polished, professional touch.

Copilot does not offer this feature. Branding cannot be adjusted in Copilot recordings.

Record Without Attending

With Sally AI, meetings can be recorded even if no team member attends, which ensures nothing is missed. This is great for covering all key conversations across different time zones or schedules.

Copilot does not support unattended recording.

Parallel Meeting Recording

Sally AI enables simultaneous recordings of multiple meetings, regardless of platform or environment — essential for busy, multi-team operations.

Copilot lacks this level of flexibility and cannot handle concurrent cross-platform meetings.

On-Site Meeting Recording

Starting March 2025, Sally AI will support on-site meeting recording, an innovative feature designed for hybrid or offline settings.

Copilot does not have a comparable feature in development.

Conversational Intelligence: Beyond Basic Recording

Smart meeting tools don't just document — they deliver insights. Conversational intelligence transforms raw transcripts into actionable knowledge.

Individual Meeting AI Insights

Both tools provide AI-generated summaries of each meeting, including:

• Key topics discussed
• Major decisions made
• Open tasks or unresolved points

This saves time and helps users analyze meetings more effectively.

Sales-Focused AI Insights

Sally AI delivers advanced sales-specific analytics, such as:

• Insights into customer needs
• Detection of sales opportunities
• Identification of objections or potential roadblocks

These features are ideal for sales teams looking to refine their approach and close deals faster.

Copilot, by contrast, provides only general meeting summaries, with no dedicated sales analytics.

Keyword Tracking

Sally AI allows teams to define specific keywords or phrases (e.g. “budget,” “contract,” “deadline”) to track during meetings. This ensures critical topics aren't missed.

Copilot does not support keyword tracking, limiting real-time topic monitoring.

AI Search Across All Meetings

Sally AI features a global AI-powered search that lets users look for terms or topics across all past meetings — ideal for retrieving information without manually checking each transcript.

Copilot offers no comparable search functionality.

Sentiment Analysis

Microsoft Copilot includes sentiment analysis, giving insights into participant reactions (positive, negative, or neutral).

Sally AI intentionally excludes sentiment tracking to stay compliant with EU AI legislation, which restricts analysis of emotional states due to data sensitivity concerns.

Key Topic Identification

Both tools can automatically identify and summarize the most important points of a meeting, helping users focus on key takeaways while filtering out less relevant information.

Speech Analytics

Sally AI and Copilot both offer speech and conversation analytics, including:

• Talk time per participant
• Turn-taking dynamics
• Communication balance

These insights are valuable for improving meeting efficiency and engagement.

Action Item Recognition

Each tool is capable of automatically detecting tasks and follow-ups discussed during a meeting, streamlining post-meeting workflows.

Question Detection

Both platforms can also identify and highlight questions asked during meetings, making it easier to spot unresolved topics or areas that need further discussion.

Objection Detection

Sally AI uniquely provides automatic objection detection, which is especially useful for sales teams handling live customer feedback.

Copilot lacks objection tracking, which can be a drawback in customer-facing conversations.

Automation & Integration Capabilities

Smooth workflows rely heavily on automation and integration. Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot differ significantly in this area :

CRM Integration

Sally AI integrates seamlessly with leading CRM platforms such as Dynamics 365, Salesforce, and HubSpot. Meeting insights and action items are automatically synced to your CRM, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring your sales and customer records are always up to date.

Copilot does not offer direct CRM integration. Connecting it to CRM systems requires manual workarounds or custom setups, making it far less efficient for sales and customer service teams.

Email Integration

Both Sally AI and Copilot support email service integration, enabling users to automatically send meeting summaries or notifications to teammates or clients after each session.

Zapier Integration

Zapier compatibility is available with both tools, allowing users to build no-code workflows that connect Sally or Copilot with thousands of other apps and services — great for automating routine tasks across platforms.

Power Automate Integration

For Microsoft-centric environments, both tools support Power Automate, enabling the automation of custom workflows tailored to specific business processes and internal requirements.

Pre-Meeting Email Summaries

Sally AI offers a unique feature: It creates preparatory email summaries based on previous meetings, helping users enter upcoming appointments well-informed and ready.

Copilot lacks this feature, leaving pre-meeting preparation up to the user.

Post-Meeting Email Summaries

After each meeting, Sally AI automatically sends a concise summary via email, ensuring that all participants receive a clear overview of the discussion, decisions, and next steps.

Copilot does not provide automated email summaries, so follow-ups must be created and shared manually.

Support Across the Full Sales Process

Sally AI is designed to support every phase of the sales journey:

• Planning and preparation
• Real-time meeting support
• Post-meeting analysis and reporting

Microsoft Copilot, in contrast, focuses mainly on the meeting itself and offers limited follow-up support.

Coaching & Team Development

Effective teams grow through consistent feedback and coaching. Here’s how both platforms help teams develop:

Custom Conversation Guidelines (Playbooks)

Sally AI allows teams to create customizable playbooks that serve as structured guides for different types of meetings — whether it's a sales pitch, client call, or internal discussion. These playbooks ensure consistent quality and alignment across teams.

Copilot, in contrast, offers limited customization and does not support fully personalized presets, making it less adaptable to specific team processes.

Objection Recognition & Handling

Sally AI can automatically identify objections during meetings and suggest appropriate responses, based on the defined playbooks. This helps sales teams stay on message and handle pushback effectively.

Copilot may detect some objections but does not offer automated handling or solution suggestions.

Objection Trends Across Meetings

Sally AI aggregates objection data across all meetings and participants, delivering actionable insights into:

• Common objections raised
• How often they occur
• How teams respond to them

This allows organizations to fine-tune sales strategies and improve objection handling over time. Copilot lacks this type of aggregated analysis.

Punctuality Analysis

Sally AI includes a feature that monitors punctuality, helping teams understand attendance habits and improve meeting culture. This insight can lead to better time management and more efficient meetings.

Copilot does not offer punctuality tracking, despite its potential impact on meeting outcomes.

Filler Word Analysis

Sally AI also analyzes the use of filler words like “uh,” “um,” or “you know,” which is particularly valuable for training and coaching purposes. This helps speakers become more concise and confident.

Copilot does not provide filler word analysis, limiting its usefulness for communication training.

Final Verdict: Sally AI vs Microsoft Copilot — Which Tool Should You Choose?

Both Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot bring strong capabilities to the table, but they differ significantly in focus and flexibility:

• Microsoft Copilot is best suited for teams that work exclusively within the Microsoft ecosystem and need real-time transcription inside Microsoft Teams.
• Sally AI, however, stands out as a comprehensive, flexible, and privacy-compliant solution. It supports a wide range of video platforms, offers advanced coaching and conversation analytics, and integrates deeply into business workflows — all while meeting strict EU data protection standards.

Choose Sally AI if:

• You want end-to-end meeting support, from planning to reporting
• Your team uses multiple video platforms
• You need sales coaching, CRM integration, or custom workflows
• Data privacy and EU hosting are essential

Choose Microsoft Copilot if:

• Your team works only with Microsoft Teams
• You need basic transcription with real-time output
• You're already invested in the Microsoft 365 environment

In the end, the best tool is the one that fits your team's needs and helps you work smarter, not harder.