Kubrius vs Microsoft Agent 365 and Copilot
If your AI use sits entirely inside the Microsoft estate and you are licensed for E5 or Business Premium, Microsoft's own tooling covers a great deal, and it should be your first stop rather than ours.
Two gaps usually remain. Microsoft governs agents and activity inside its own ecosystem, so it does nothing about staff using personal ChatGPT or Claude accounts outside it. And it gives you no private execution path on hardware you own for material that should never reach a third-party API. Those two gaps are what Kubrius exists to close.
Written by Christopher Bale, Founder of Kubrius · Pricing correct as of July 2026
These tools are not substitutes for each other.
Much of the confusion comes from comparing a productivity assistant with a governance layer. They solve unrelated problems.
Microsoft 365 Copilot
A productivity assistant inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. It makes individuals faster at their existing work. It is not a governance tool and was never meant to be one.
Microsoft Agent 365
Microsoft's control plane for AI agents. Identity, governance, network controls and security for agents built with Copilot Studio and partner platforms, wired into Entra, Purview and Defender.
Kubrius
A control layer for the humans, not the agents. One approved workspace for staff, policy checks before each request, and a private execution path on your own hardware for confidential work.
When Microsoft is the better choice.
We would rather you buy the right thing than buy from us. There are clear situations where Microsoft wins and we would say so on a call.
Choose Microsoft if
- You are standardised on Microsoft 365 E5, or heading for the E7 suite where Agent 365 is bundled
- You have IT or security people who can configure Entra, Purview and Defender properly
- Your main worry is agents built in Copilot Studio proliferating across the business
- Deep integration with existing identity, DLP and threat protection is the priority
- Procurement strongly prefers consolidating onto one vendor
Consider Kubrius if
- Staff use AI tools outside Microsoft, including personal accounts, and you have no visibility of it
- Some work must never leave your network, such as client contracts, case files or proprietary code
- You have no platform team and no appetite for a rollout programme
- You need evidence a client, insurer or auditor will accept, in a form they can read
- You want a published price rather than a quote
What licensing Microsoft does not solve.
1. AI happening outside the estate
Agent 365 governs agents within the Microsoft ecosystem. That is valuable, and it is also bounded. When someone opens a personal ChatGPT account on their phone and pastes in a client contract because the deadline is tight, no amount of Entra configuration sees it or stops it.
Shadow AI is a behaviour problem before it is a technical one. It is solved by giving people an approved route they actually prefer, which is why our Portal is a workspace staff open rather than infrastructure they never see.
2. Work that should not reach any API
Microsoft processes Copilot requests in its cloud under its commercial terms. For most businesses that is fine. For some material it is not: client files under strict confidentiality, unreleased IP, board and financial documents, case files.
Kubrius Core runs local models and private retrieval on a small appliance inside your own network, so that category of work never leaves the building. No Microsoft licence provides that, and the enterprise alternatives are rack-scale deployments priced accordingly.
The practical comparison.
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft Agent 365 | Kubrius | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Individual productivity | Governing AI agents at scale | Governing how people use AI |
| Buyer | Any Microsoft customer | Enterprise IT and security teams | Businesses of 20 to 200 with no platform team |
| Covers AI outside Microsoft | No | Within its ecosystem and partner platforms | Yes, that is the point |
| Policy checks before a request runs | No | Yes, for agents | Yes, for every request |
| Private execution on your hardware | No | No | Yes, via Kubrius Core |
| Cited answers from your documents | Within Microsoft Graph | Not its purpose | Yes, with evidence gates |
| Prerequisites | A qualifying Microsoft 365 licence | E5, Defender + Purview, or Business Premium | A browser |
| Published price | $30 per user per month, annual | $15 per user per month, or bundled in E7 at $99 | £20 per user per month, no minimum |
| Certifications | Extensive | Extensive | None yet, we are a young company |
Microsoft pricing shown as published in July 2026 and excludes the underlying suite licences each product requires. Copilot's all-in cost is commonly quoted nearer $69 per seat on E3 or $90 on E5 once prerequisites are counted. Confirm current figures with Microsoft before making a decision.
Things you should weigh against us.
A comparison page that only lists our strengths is marketing. Here is the other side, so you can ask the right questions on a call.
- No formal certifications yet. Microsoft holds essentially every certification going. We do not, and if your procurement process requires SOC 2 or ISO 27001 today, we are not a fit.
- A young company. Kubrius is founder-led. You get direct access to the person who built the system, and you also carry the risk that comes with a small supplier.
- Fewer integrations. Microsoft plugs into an ecosystem built over decades. Our integration surface is deliberately narrow while we focus on the control layer and private execution.
- You may already be paying for enough. If your AI use genuinely stays inside Microsoft and you hold the right licences, adding another supplier may not be justified. We will tell you that.
Frequently asked questions.
We already pay for Microsoft 365. Do we need anything else?
If your AI use sits entirely inside the Microsoft estate and you are licensed for E5 or Business Premium, Microsoft's own tooling covers a great deal and should be your first stop. Two gaps commonly remain. Microsoft governs agents and activity within its own ecosystem, so it does not address staff using personal ChatGPT or Claude accounts outside it. And it does not give you a private execution path on hardware you own for material that should never reach a third-party API.
What does Microsoft Agent 365 actually do?
Agent 365 is Microsoft's control plane for AI agents. It provides identity, governance, network controls and security for agents built with Copilot Studio and partner platforms, integrating with Entra, Purview and Defender. It became generally available in May 2026 at $15 per user per month, and is included in the Microsoft 365 E7 suite.
Is Microsoft 365 Copilot a governance tool?
No. Copilot is a productivity assistant embedded in Office applications. It makes individuals faster, but it does not decide which AI tasks are approved, route sensitive work elsewhere, or produce evidence of how AI was used across the business. Those are separate functions.
How much does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost?
Copilot is $30 per user per month on an annual commitment, on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 licence you must already hold. Following the base-suite price changes in July 2026, the all-in figure commonly quoted is around $69 per seat on E3 or $90 on E5. Prices change, so confirm current figures with Microsoft.
Can Kubrius work alongside Microsoft rather than replacing it?
Yes, and that is the usual arrangement. Businesses keep Microsoft 365 and Copilot for everyday productivity, and use Kubrius as the approved route for tasks involving confidential documents, client files or proprietary code, where the work needs policy checks, citations and a private execution path.
When is Microsoft the better choice?
When your organisation is already standardised on Microsoft 365 E5, has an IT or security function to configure Entra, Purview and Defender, and your main concern is governing agents built inside that ecosystem at scale. In that situation Microsoft's integration depth is difficult to match and the licensing is often already paid for.
Not sure which side of the line you are on?
Run the free scan to see where AI is actually being used in your business. If the answer is "all inside Microsoft", we will tell you to stay put.