Microsoft Copilot vs Real Sales Coaching Tools: Why Generic AI Isn't Enough

"We already have Microsoft Copilot" or "Can't we just use Google Meet's AI recording?" - if you're evaluating sales coaching tools, you've probably asked these questions yourself or heard them from your CFO.

It's a fair question. Both Microsoft Copilot for Sales and Google Meet with Gemini offer AI-powered meeting assistance that sounds impressive on paper: automatic transcription, meeting summaries, action item extraction, and CRM integration. And they're either bundled with your existing tools or available for what seems like a reasonable price.

But here's what most UK sales leaders discover after a quarter of trying to use generic meeting AI for sales coaching: documentation is not the same as coaching, and summarizing calls is not the same as winning them.

This article explains why Microsoft Copilot and Google Meet AI are excellent productivity tools but poor sales performance tools, when generic AI makes sense, and why dedicated real-time coaching platforms deliver fundamentally different results.

What Microsoft Copilot for Sales Actually Does (and Doesn't Do)

Microsoft Copilot for Sales launched in 2024 as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Copilot, aimed at bringing AI assistance to sellers working in Outlook, Teams, and Word. It costs £30 per user per month (on top of your existing Microsoft 365 subscription), and connects to both Salesforce and Dynamics 365.

What Copilot for Sales provides:

• Post-call meeting summaries - AI-generated recap of what was discussed

• Email draft assistance - Suggests responses based on CRM context

• CRM data syncing - Updates records from Outlook and Teams

• Keyword tracking - Identifies competitor mentions, KPIs, and conversation themes

• Meeting prep briefs - Pulls relevant account information before calls

• Task extraction - Identifies follow-up actions from conversations

What Copilot for Sales doesn't do:

• Real-time coaching during calls - No prompts when reps miss qualification questions

• Sales methodology enforcement - No MEDDICC, BANT, or SPICED frameworks built in

• Proactive objection handling - No battlecards when prospects raise concerns

• Live qualification gaps - No alerts when Economic Buyer questions are skipped

• Rep-specific coaching - No performance tracking against your sales playbook

• Customizable prompts - No ability to add your own coaching triggers

The core problem: Copilot for Sales is a documentation and efficiency tool disguised as a sales tool. It helps you remember what happened on the call, but doesn't help you execute better during the call.

And by the time you get your AI-generated summary (often 15-30 minutes after the call ends), your rep has already moved on to their next meeting. The damage is done.

🎯 KEY INSIGHT: Ask yourself - would you rather have a detailed summary of why you lost the deal, or real-time guidance that might have saved it?

What Google Meet AI (Gemini) Actually Does

Google Meet's Gemini integration is available with certain Google Workspace plans (Business Standard, Enterprise, and above) and provides AI-powered note-taking during video calls.

What Google Meet AI provides:

• Automatic transcription - Converts speech to text in 40+ languages

• "Take notes for me" - Generates meeting summaries with key points

• Timestamped transcripts - Links back to specific moments in recordings

• Noise cancellation - Improves audio quality with AI

• Translated captions - Real-time translation for multilingual meetings

• Google Docs integration - Saves notes automatically to Drive

What Google Meet AI doesn't do:

• Sales-specific insights - No understanding of qualification frameworks

• Real-time rep guidance - No prompts or coaching during conversations

• CRM integration - No connection to Salesforce, HubSpot, or Dynamics

• Deal analysis - No assessment of deal health or qualification gaps

• Objection handling - No battlecards or competitive positioning

• Performance benchmarking - No comparison of rep performance across calls

The core problem: Google Meet AI is designed for general business meetings - project updates, team syncs, client presentations. It treats a high-stakes discovery call the same way it treats your weekly standup.

It captures what was said, but has no concept of what should have been said.

The "Already Included" Trap

Here's the pitch you've probably heard internally:

"Copilot for Sales is only £30/month per user, and we're already paying for Microsoft 365. Why would we spend more on another tool?"

Or:

"Google Workspace already includes AI note-taking. Let's just use that for free instead of buying another subscription."

This logic seems sound until you do the math on lost deals.

Scenario: 10-person UK SaaS sales team

Option 1: Microsoft Copilot for Sales

• Cost: £30/user/month × 10 reps = £300/month = £3,600/year

• What you get: Post-call summaries, email assistance, CRM sync

• What you don't get: Real-time coaching, sales methodology enforcement, live qualification prompts

• Impact: Reps continue missing qualification questions, handling objections poorly, and losing winnable deals

Option 2: Dedicated real-time sales coaching tool

• Cost: £40-60/user/month × 10 reps = £400-600/month = £4,800-7,200/year

• What you get: Everything from Option 1, PLUS real-time prompts, MEDDICC enforcement, objection battlecards, live coaching

• Impact: Win rate improves 15-25%, average deal size increases 10-15%, sales cycle shortens 20-30%

Let's calculate the ROI on a single saved deal:

If your average deal value is £25,000 and real-time coaching helps you win just ONE additional deal per quarter that you would have otherwise lost:

• 4 deals/year × £25,000 = £100,000 additional revenue

• Cost of dedicated tool: £7,200/year

• ROI: 1,289%

Suddenly, the "free" or "bundled" option looks expensive when you factor in opportunity cost.

The brutal truth: Cheap documentation tools that don't affect outcomes are far more expensive than coaching tools that actually close more deals.

💡 RESOURCE: Calculate your team's ROI on real-time coaching vs post-call summaries [Use our calculator]

Meeting Documentation vs Sales Coaching: Why They're Different

Most sales leaders conflate two completely different needs:

Need #1: Meeting Documentation Recording what happened so you can reference it later, share with stakeholders, and maintain CRM hygiene.

Need #2: Sales Performance Coaching Improving how reps execute during live calls to increase win rates, deal velocity, and quota attainment.

Microsoft Copilot and Google Meet AI solve Need #1 brilliantly. They're excellent at capturing, summarizing, and organizing meeting information.

But they don't touch Need #2, which is what actually determines whether you hit your revenue targets.

Here's what real sales coaching requires:

1. Sales Methodology Integration

Your team uses MEDDICC, BANT, SPICED, or another qualification framework. Real coaching tools understand these frameworks and prompt reps when they skip critical components.

Generic AI: Transcribes everything equally, doesn't know MEDDICC from MEDDPICC Sales AI: "You haven't identified the Economic Buyer yet - ask: 'Whose signature needs to be on the contract?'"

2. Contextual Objection Handling

When a prospect raises a pricing concern or mentions a competitor, reps need instant access to your best response - not a post-call summary that says "competitor mentioned."

Generic AI: Notes "Gong mentioned at 23:14" in the transcript Sales AI: Displays your Gong battlecard in real-time before the rep responds

3. Live Qualification Gap Detection

If your rep is 30 minutes into discovery and hasn't asked about budget, decision process, or timeline, you need to catch that during the call, not after.

Generic AI: Summarizes the call as "productive discussion about requirements" Sales AI: Alerts rep mid-call "No budget discussion yet - suggested question: 'What budget range have you allocated?'"

4. Deal-Specific Intelligence

Not all calls are the same. A discovery call needs different coaching than a demo, negotiation, or closing call. And different buyer personas require different approaches.

Generic AI: Same note-taking template for every meeting type Sales AI: Adjusts coaching based on deal stage, buyer persona, opportunity value, and competitive situation

5. Performance Improvement Over Time

Coaching tools should make reps better at selling, not just better at documenting. This requires tracking individual performance against your methodology and identifying skill gaps.

Generic AI: Generates meeting notes, no performance tracking Sales AI: Shows "Rep A asks Economic Buyer questions 45% of the time vs team average of 82% - coaching needed"

Bottom line: If you're judging sales tools on how well they summarize meetings, you're measuring the wrong thing. Judge them on how much they improve win rates.

When Generic AI Tools Are Actually Fine

Let's be fair: Microsoft Copilot and Google Meet AI aren't bad tools. They're excellent for what they're designed to do. You should use them when:

Scenario 1: Internal Team Meetings Weekly pipeline reviews, 1-on-1s, team standups, strategy sessions. These don't need sales coaching - just good notes.

Scenario 2: Post-Deal Documentation You've already won or lost the deal. Now you want to document what happened for training, deal reviews, or customer success handoffs.

Scenario 3: Senior Reps with 5+ Years Experience Your most seasoned sellers don't need real-time prompting. They've internalized your methodology and handle objections instinctively. For them, documentation tools are sufficient.

Scenario 4: Very Large Teams (50+ reps) If you're already using conversation intelligence platforms like Gong or Chorus for post-call analytics, Copilot can complement those tools for lighter documentation needs.

Scenario 5: Non-Sales Use Cases Customer success check-ins, support calls, account management meetings. These benefit from good note-taking but don't require sales-specific coaching.

The pattern: Generic AI works when you need meeting records, not when you need better sales execution.

Why UK Sales Teams Are Choosing Specialized Tools

We've analyzed hundreds of UK SaaS companies at the Series A-B stage, and here's what drives teams toward specialized sales coaching tools:

Problem #1: Inconsistent Qualification

The symptom: Deals slip, stall, or result in "no decision" because reps didn't qualify properly upfront. Forecast accuracy is poor.

Why generic AI doesn't help: It transcribes bad qualification just as thoroughly as good qualification. It doesn't know the difference.

What specialized tools fix: Real-time prompts ensure every discovery call covers your complete qualification framework. MEDDICC completion rates increase from 60% to 90%+ within weeks.

Problem #2: New Hire Ramp Time

The symptom: Graduate hires take 6-9 months to hit quota. They sound tentative on calls and forget key questions.

Why generic AI doesn't help: Meeting summaries don't teach reps what to say in the moment. Learning happens too slowly through post-call reviews.

What specialized tools fix: Real-time coaching acts like training wheels. New hires gain confidence faster and reach productivity in 3-4 months instead of 6-9.

Problem #3: Objection Handling Gaps

The symptom: Reps fumble when prospects mention competitors or raise pricing concerns. They default to "let me get back to you" instead of addressing objections confidently.

Why generic AI doesn't help: It documents the objection but doesn't help the rep overcome it during the call when it actually matters.

What specialized tools fix: Battlecards appear instantly when triggers are detected. Reps deliver polished responses that keep deals moving forward.

Problem #4: Manager Bandwidth

The symptom: Sales managers can't join enough calls to coach effectively. They review recordings for 1-2 reps per week at most. The rest of the team gets minimal coaching.

Why generic AI doesn't help: Summaries reduce time spent watching recordings, but coaching still happens days or weeks after the call. It's reactive, not proactive.

What specialized tools fix: AI does the initial coaching in real-time. Managers focus their limited time on strategic coaching for specific skill gaps rather than basic execution issues.

Problem #5: Sales Playbook Compliance

The symptom: You've documented best practices, created playbooks, and trained the team. But reps don't follow them consistently on live calls.

Why generic AI doesn't help: It doesn't know your playbook exists, let alone enforce it.

What specialized tools fix: Your playbook becomes live coaching prompts. If your methodology says "always ask three discovery questions about pain," the AI ensures it happens.

🔧 ASSESSMENT: Does your team face 3+ of these problems? You need specialized coaching, not generic AI. [Take our 5-minute diagnostic]

The Pricing Reality Check

Let's address the elephant in the room: specialized sales coaching tools cost more than "free" Google Meet AI or bundled Microsoft Copilot.

But here's the pricing comparison UK sales teams should actually be doing:

Microsoft Copilot for Sales True Cost

• Base Microsoft 365 Copilot: £24/user/month (required)

• Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales add-on: £30/user/month

• Total: £54/user/month

• 10-person team annual cost: £6,480

Google Workspace with Gemini True Cost

• Business Standard minimum: £10.40/user/month (doesn't include Gemini)

• Business Plus with Gemini: £18.60/user/month

• 10-person team annual cost: £2,232

• Note: Limited to note-taking only, no CRM integration or sales-specific features

Specialized Real-Time Sales Coaching Tool

• Typical pricing: £40-80/user/month depending on features

• 10-person team annual cost: £4,800-9,600

• Includes: Real-time prompting, sales methodology enforcement, CRM integration, objection battlecards, performance analytics

The surprising truth: Many specialized sales tools are actually cheaper than Microsoft's full stack when you factor in what's required.

And when you measure cost-per-closed-deal instead of cost-per-user, specialized tools win by massive margins because they actually affect revenue.

Example calculation:

• Your team closes 40 deals/year at £25,000 average deal value = £1M revenue

• Specialized coaching increases win rate from 25% to 30% = 8 additional deals = £200,000 additional revenue

• Tool cost: £7,200/year

• Revenue cost: 3.6% (vs 0% from generic AI that doesn't improve win rates)

Would you spend 3.6% of revenue to generate an additional 20% of revenue? Obviously yes.

The Hybrid Approach: Best of Both Worlds

Smart UK sales teams don't treat this as either/or. They use both types of tools strategically:

Use Microsoft Copilot or Google Meet AI for:

• Internal meetings (pipeline reviews, team standups)

• Post-deal documentation and deal room organization

• Customer success and account management calls

• Email drafting and CRM administrative tasks

• Senior reps who don't need live coaching

Use specialized real-time sales coaching for:

• All prospect-facing calls (discovery, demo, negotiation)

• New hires in their first 12 months

• High-value deals above your average contract value

• Competitive displacement situations

• Reps who struggle with specific methodology components (e.g., identifying Economic Buyer)

The workflow: Generic AI handles documentation and busywork. Specialized AI handles sales performance. Together, they create a comprehensive tech stack that maximizes both efficiency and effectiveness.

Most UK teams at £1-10M ARR start with specialized coaching tools first (because that's what moves revenue), then add generic AI for documentation as they scale past 20 reps.

Common Objections to Specialized Tools (and Rebuttals)

"Our team already uses Copilot for other things, adding another tool creates complexity."

True, but specialized tools are purpose-built for sales calls only. Your reps use them during customer conversations, not for general productivity. The context switching is minimal, and the ROI easily justifies any minor added complexity.

"We're too small to need dedicated sales coaching tools."

Counter-intuitive reality: smaller teams benefit MORE from specialized coaching. When you have 3-5 reps and each one's performance directly impacts your runway, you can't afford inconsistent execution. Coaching tools accelerate ramp time and reduce the variance between your best and worst rep.

"Can't we just train our reps better instead of relying on AI prompts?"

Training teaches what to do. Real-time coaching ensures they actually do it under pressure. Even well-trained reps forget to ask key questions when they're nervous, rushed, or focused on active listening. AI provides a safety net that training alone cannot.

"Our CFO will never approve another SaaS subscription."

Frame it as revenue infrastructure, not another tool. Present the ROI calculation: if real-time coaching wins you 2-3 extra deals per quarter, what's that worth? Most CFOs approve immediately when you show the revenue math.

"We're worried about reps becoming dependent on AI and not learning fundamentals."

Research shows the opposite. Real-time coaching actually accelerates learning because it reinforces correct behavior in context. Over time, reps internalize the patterns and need prompts less frequently. Think of it like training wheels that help you learn to ride faster, not prevent you from learning.

"What if prospects find out we're using AI coaching during calls?"

First, they won't - the AI displays information on the rep's screen, not in the meeting itself. Second, if they did know, most prospects would appreciate that you're taking their time seriously by ensuring thorough discovery. It's no different than a rep referencing notes or a playbook during calls.

How to Evaluate Your Needs

Still not sure whether generic AI or specialized coaching makes sense for your team? Answer these diagnostic questions:

1. What's your new hire average ramp time to first closed deal?

• Under 3 months → Generic AI is probably fine

• 3-6 months → Consider specialized coaching

• 6+ months → You definitely need specialized coaching

2. What's your current win rate on qualified opportunities?

• Above 40% → You're executing well, may just need documentation

• 25-40% → Execution gaps exist, specialized coaching will help

• Below 25% → Your qualification or closing process needs serious help - prioritize coaching

3. How many of your deals end in "no decision"?

• Under 10% → Good qualification

• 10-25% → Qualification gaps exist

• Over 25% → Major qualification problems - you need real-time MEDDICC/BANT enforcement

4. Can your managers join and coach on 50%+ of calls?

• Yes → They can provide live coaching themselves

• No → You need AI to scale their coaching leverage

5. What's more valuable: knowing why you lost a deal, or preventing the loss?

• Knowing why → Post-call analysis is sufficient

• Prevention → You need real-time intervention

Scoring:

• Mostly first answers → Generic AI tools are fine for now

• Mostly middle answers → Start piloting specialized coaching with 2-3 reps

• Mostly last answers → Specialized coaching is critical and urgent

📊 FREE TOOL: Use our Sales Tech Stack Decision Matrix to score your team's needs. [Get the matrix]

The Bottom Line for UK Sales Leaders

Microsoft Copilot for Sales and Google Meet AI are excellent productivity tools that help sales teams work more efficiently. They reduce administrative burden, improve CRM hygiene, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

But productivity isn't the same as performance. Documentation isn't the same as coaching. And efficiency doesn't close deals - execution does.

If your biggest challenge is "our reps spend too much time on admin work," then generic AI tools will deliver real value.

But if your challenge is "our reps aren't qualifying properly," "we're losing too many deals to competitors," "new hires take too long to ramp," or "our forecast is constantly wrong" - those are execution problems that require real-time coaching, not better meeting notes.

The question isn't whether to use AI for sales. The question is which AI actually makes you more money.

Generic AI makes you more efficient. Specialized AI makes you more effective.

For most UK SaaS companies between £500K-£10M ARR, effectiveness matters far more than efficiency. You don't have a documentation problem. You have a win rate problem.

Fix the problem that actually impacts revenue.

Ready to see real-time sales coaching in action? Tiller provides live MEDDICC prompts, objection battlecards, and qualification gap alerts during your team's calls - at a lower cost than Microsoft Copilot for Sales, without the enterprise complexity of Gong. Book a 15-minute demo