This week Barry Phillips considers the importance of the announcement that OpenAI is now in partnership with the UK Government.

Transcript:

Hello Humans

And welcome to the podcast that aims to cover an important AI issue for HR every week in five minutes or less. Today it’s about the battle of the LLMs for workplace supremacy. 

This week, we learned that OpenAI—the company behind ChatGPT—has signed a deal to help boost productivity in the UK’s public services. That’s according to a headline from the BBC.

The article explained that “the agreement, signed by OpenAI and the Department for Science, could give the firm access to government data and see its software used in areas such as education, defence, security, and the justice system.”
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle added, “AI will be fundamental in driving change in the UK and driving economic growth.”

Ah, that word—growth. Like me does it make you squirm just a little?

Is this a final act of desperation? Business stimulation and fiscal adjustments under sometimes short-term prime ministers haven’t managed to deliver meaningful growth. Maybe AI can?
In his recent book, Tony Blair claims to know what will save the NHS—and, yes, you’ve guessed it: its AI.
Is AI becoming everyone's magic wand?

Let’s be clear though—this announcement doesn’t mean we’ll suddenly see ChatGPT deployed across government departments. That’s not even on the horizon.

That said, I’ve heard some UK government departments are testing ChatGPT Enterprise, and a few in Ireland as well.

So why should we be concerned that widespread rollout still feels so far away, especially when Microsoft Copilot—powered by the same underlying technology—is already available, arguably more secure and is already being rolled out in some UK councils and Government departments?

Ready for a hard truth?

ChatGPT is significantly better than Copilot. And Copilot when compared to Chatgpt and other frontier models well just aint very good.

How has this come to pass?

Microsoft’s Copilot experiences have been plagued by “poor coordination among development teams” and, as one article put it, “a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder” from past tech embarrassments—yes, we’re looking at you, Clippy.

That legacy has led to overly cautious design decisions—prioritising compliance and risk management over innovation and flexibility. The result? Copilot feels very limited compared to ChatGPT.

This highlights a classic organisational dilemma:

Do you go with a product that’s been tested and hardened for enterprise but is clearly inferior to an alternative that improves dramatically with each iteration? Or,

Do you trust a more capable tool that comes with a few initial questions about data security and governance?

Microsoft looks set to win the roll out war at least in the public sector UK and Ireland. But how will the adoption decisions look in three years' time?
Will organisations that went for Copilot feel that they signed up for the equivalent of a fax machine, while others were handed email and the internet?

This is a pivotal moment for many organisations—and HR leaders must be part of the conversation.

What happens now with this big decision ChatGPT or Copilot will directly impact who stays, who joins, and how people feel about working in your organisation.
AI isn’t just a technology decision. It’s a culture and people decision too.

Until next week

Bye for now