Sally AI vs Copilot: German Copilot Alternative Compared

Status: November 01, 2024

The world of online meeting tools has made great progress in recent years — primarily through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which Transcribing & Evaluating Meetings significantly facilitated. Two powerful solutions in this area are Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot. But which solution offers better functions and the highest efficiency for companies? In this post, we'll compare the two tools to help you make the right choice for your team. We'll take a look at key features, support for the entire meeting process, and how to integrate AI to streamline work after meetings.

Sally AI vs Copilot — The most important things at a glance

Full process support (planning, preparation, meeting, reporting)

Sally AI provides continuous support throughout the meeting process — from planning and preparation to detailed follow-up and reporting. Microsoft Copilot focuses primarily on conducting meetings and largely omits follow-up.

Supported video platforms

Sally AI supports a variety of video platforms, including Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Meet, which allows flexible use. Copilot, on the other hand, is limited to Microsoft Teams.

AI coaching platform

Sally AI offers numerous coaching features, such as custom conversation flows and objection recognition, which are particularly beneficial for sales teams. Copilot only offers limited coaching options.

EU-based hosting and processing

Sally AI meets EU data protection requirements and offers hosting and data processing in the EU, which is particularly important for companies that must meet strict data protection requirements. Copilot does not provide this warranty in the same way.

transcription skills

Transcription quality is at the heart of every transcription tool. Here, Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot have various strengths and weaknesses:

Real time transcription

Microsoft Copilot provides the ability to create transcriptions in real time during a meeting. This means that you will receive a written transcript of the spoken content directly during the conversation. This feature is useful for taking notes or following up on certain statements directly during the meeting. Sally AI is currently focused on high-quality post-meeting transcription results to to optimize post-processing and further processing of content. However, real-time transcription is already on the roadmap and will be part of the offering in the future in order to be able to respond even more flexibly to users' needs.

Supported languages

Sally AI supports Transcription in over 35 languages, which makes it a versatile choice for international teams. Copilot works with around 20 languages, which is sufficient for many companies but is less flexible when teams or customers work in more exotic language regions. A wider range of languages also means that teams can work together more effectively without language barriers.

Dialects and nuances

A big advantage of Sally AI is the support for dialects and regional language variants. The tool can reliably recognize and transcribe Austrian German or British English, for example. Microsoft Copilot is limited to standardized language versions, which in some cases can lead to difficulties of understanding or inaccuracies.

Removal of filler words

Sally AI goes beyond pure transcription and automatically removes filler words such as “um,” “uh,” or “hmm.” This makes the final transcripts clearer and easier to understand. Copilot doesn't offer this feature, which can make transcriptions look unnecessarily bloated.

Speaker recognition and names

Both tools recognize different speakers and can automatically name the spoken content. This ensures better traceability and makes it easier to work with the transcriptions later on.

Transcribing video/audio uploads

Both Sally AI and Copilot make it possible not only to create minutes live during a meeting, but also Transcription for uploaded video or audio files. This feature is particularly useful when content needs to be analyzed or archived retrospectively.

Exporting transcriptions

With both tools, you can export the finished transcriptions in various formats. Whether as a Word document, PDF, or another format — the flexibility helps you use the content directly in other workflows.

User-defined vocabulary

Sally AI stands out for being able to user-defined vocabulary to create. This is particularly valuable for teams with subject-specific terms or abbreviations that the tool automatically recognizes and correctly transcribes. Copilot lacks this option, which can be a disadvantage in industries with specific jargon.

Search the full transcript

With Sally AI, you can search the entire transcript for specific terms or phrases, which helps you quickly find relevant information. With Copilot, this feature is only available when the transcript is used in Microsoft Stream — an additional step that can complicate the workflow.

Edit transcription

Sally AI allows you to edit transcriptions directly in the tool if minor corrections or adjustments are needed. Copilot also offers this, but again only via Microsoft Stream. This reliance on a separate platform can be impractical if you want to make quick changes.

Recording features

Modern transcription tools must be able to do more than just record content — flexibility and versatility are key here. How are Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot doing in this area?

Compatibility with video platforms

Sally AI is compatible with popular platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet compatible. No matter which tool your team uses, Sally works seamlessly with them all. Microsoft Copilot, on the other hand, is exclusively integrated into the Microsoft Teams environment. That makes it less flexible for companies that use multiple platforms.

storage space

With Sally AI, there's no limit to the storage space for your recordings — ideal for teams that want to build a central collection of all meetings. Copilot, on the other hand, depends on your Microsoft account for this. Depending on the plan, the storage limit can be reached quickly, which requires additional costs or manual deletion.

Record video

Both tools make it possible to record high-quality meetings. This allows you to ensure that all content is documented and available for later analyses.

Concurrent sessions

When multiple meetings take place in parallel, both tools are able to record them independently of each other. This is particularly useful for larger teams or organizations with many concurrent projects.

Download recording

Both Sally AI and Copilot offer the option to download recordings directly. So you always have a copy for local archiving or sharing.

Capture presentation slides

Sally AI goes one step further: During the meeting, the tool not only recognizes the presentation slides, but also saves them directly in the video so that you can quickly find the slides in the recording with the appropriate timestamps. This feature makes it easy to review and precisely analyze visual content and the associated conversation content. Microsoft Copilot doesn't offer this feature, which means that visual content is extracted manually and is not automatically synchronized in the recording.

General and sales-focused conversation analyses

Both tools provide basic AI meeting analysis, such as the frequency of specific topics or the speaking parts of the participants. However, Sally AI expands this with specific, sales-focused insights — e.g. on customer interactions or sales strategies. Copilot lacks this specialization.

Calendar integration

Sally AI syncs with Google, Outlook, and Apple calendars so it fits easily into your existing organization. Copilot, on the other hand, is limited to Outlook integration, which can be a limitation for users of other calendar solutions.

Part of the meeting with branding option

Sally AI makes it possible to integrate your branding directly into meeting recordings. This means that the bot that attends the meetings will display your logo — instead of the standard Sally logo. You also have the option to customize the bot's name to suit your company or team. As a result, your branding remains present in every recording, which is particularly beneficial for companies that want to present their meetings professionally. Copilot doesn't have this feature, so you can't customize the logo or name in recordings.

Recording meetings even if you do not attend

You can have a meeting recorded even if you're not attending it yourself. This is perfect to ensure that nothing is missed without someone necessarily having to be present. Copilot doesn't have this feature.

Recording meetings that take place in parallel

With Sally AI, you can easily record multiple meetings at the same time — whether they're on the same platform or in different environments. Copilot doesn't have this option, which limits flexibility.

Recording of on-site meetings

From March 2025 Sally AI will also be able to record on-site meetings — an exciting feature for hybrid or completely offline meetings. Copilot does not have a corresponding function for this.

Conversational intelligence

Meeting tools with conversational intelligence go beyond mere documentation. They help to gain important insights and make meetings more efficient. Here is the comparison between Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot:

Individual meeting AI insights

Both tools provide AI-powered insights into individual meetings. This includes, for example, an overview of the main topics, important decisions or open tasks. This feature saves time and helps you analyze meetings faster.

Sales-focused AI insights

Sally AI offers specialized analyses that have been developed specifically for sales teams. This includes insights into customer needs, sales opportunities, and potential hurdles. These in-depth insights are a great help to optimize the sales process. Copilot, on the other hand, is limited to general meeting insights and doesn't provide any analytics specific to sales.

Keyword tracking

With Sally AI, you can Define keywords or phrasesthat should be followed during a meeting. For example, you can ensure that important topics such as “budget” or “deadlines” are not overlooked. Copilot does not have this feature.

AI search across all meetings

Sally AI allows you to search for specific topics or terms across all past meetings. This makes it easy to find information again without having to manually go through each transcript. Copilot doesn't offer a comparable feature.

Sentiment analysis

Microsoft Copilot analyses the mood during a meeting and provides clues as to whether participants are more likely to react positively, negatively, or neutrally. Sally AI is waiving this feature in order to comply with the guidelines of to comply with EU AI legislation, which particularly protects sensitive data such as emotional states.

Identifying key topics

Both tools are able to Automatically identify and summarize key points of a meeting. This helps to focus on key content and hide secondary information.

Speech analytics

Both Sally AI and Copilot offer voice analytics that provide insights into speech shares, conversation dynamics, and other communication patterns. This is particularly useful for evaluating the effectiveness of meetings.

Identification of action points/tasks

Both tools can automatically recognize and mark tasks and action items that were discussed during the meeting. This makes post-processing easier and ensures that nothing is overlooked.

Identify questions

Both tools also do a good job of identifying questions that were asked in the meeting. This makes it easy for you to understand which topics still need clarification.

Recognition of customer objections

Sally AI can specifically identify customer objections — a particularly important feature for sales teams that depend on handling objections quickly and precisely. Microsoft Copilot doesn't offer a comparable feature.

Automation and integration capabilities

Efficient workflows depend heavily on how well a tool can be integrated into existing processes and how many tasks it automates. Here, Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot show significant differences:

CRM integration

Sally AI supports seamless CRM integration of protocols into the most common CRM systems such as Danymics 365, Salesforce or Hubspot. This allows meeting data to be used directly in your sales and customer databases without the need for manual steps. With Microsoft Copilot, such integration is only possible with considerable effort, as no direct connection to CRM systems is offered.

Email integration

Both tools support integration with email services. That means you can automatically send email notifications or summaries to your team or customers.

Zapier integration

Both co-pilot and Sally are compatible with Zapier. This makes it possible to create workflows that connect different apps and tools without the need for programming knowledge.

Power Automate integration

For Microsoft users, the Power Automate integration available with both tools. This allows you to automate processes and procedures that are specifically tailored to the needs of your company.

Email summary with appointment preparation

Sally AI offers a unique feature: Based on previous meetings, the tool creates a preparatory email summary for upcoming appointments. This saves time and ensures that you are always well prepared. Copilot does not have this feature.

Post-session email summary

Sally AI sends an automatically generated summary via email after every meeting. This way, you can ensure that all participants are on the same page. Copilot doesn't offer this option, so summaries must be created manually.

Support for the entire sales process

Sally AI covers the entire sales process — from planning and preparation to the meeting, to follow-up and reporting. Copilot, on the other hand, is less comprehensive and focuses on providing support during the meeting.

Coaching skills

Effective coaching is the key to continuously improving teams. This area shows how much Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot can help teams develop.

User-defined guidelines for conversation processes (playbooks)

Sally AI allows you to create custom playbooks that serve as a guide for conversations. Whether it's a sales pitch, a customer meeting, or an internal meeting — teams can orient themselves to clearly defined processes. Copilot only offers this feature to a limited extent, as there is no way to integrate fully personalized presets.

Handling objects/recognizing objections

Sally AI automatically recognizes customer objections and directly offers solutions based on the previously defined playbooks. Microsoft Copilot can partially identify objections, but does not provide automated solutions.

Analyze objections across meetings and people

Sally AI not only analyses objections in individual meetings, but also aggregates data across all meetings. This gives you valuable insights into which objections occur more frequently and how they can best be dealt with. Copilot doesn't offer this type of analysis.

Punctuality analysis

Sally AI assesses the punctuality of meeting participants and thus helps you improve the overall meeting culture within the team. Copilot lacks this feature, although it can have a direct impact on meeting efficiency.

Analysis of the use of filler words

Sally AI analyses the use of filler words in conversations, which is particularly helpful during training or coaching sessions. In this way, you can draw the attention of speakers to this and work specifically on clear communication. Copilot doesn't offer any such feature.

Conclusion: Sally vs Copilot — Which transcription tool is better?

Sally AI and Microsoft Copilot both offer impressive features, but they're different in many ways that can be critical for businesses. While Microsoft Copilot is particularly suitable for users of Microsoft products and offers real-time transcriptions, Sally AI scores points with much wider support for various video platforms, extensive coaching options and stronger process support. In addition, Sally enables deeper integration into the overall workflow and ensures that data protection requirements are met within the EU.

The choice between the two tools therefore depends heavily on your specific requirements: Are you looking for a comprehensive solution that not only documents meetings, but also optimizes and supports the entire process? Then Sally AI is a better choice. However, if you primarily use Microsoft Teams and rely on real-time transcriptions, Copilot could be the right choice for you.

Ultimately, it's about choosing the tool that gives your team the most benefits in their daily work.

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