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Saiela vs Microsoft Purview for small firms
If you're a larger Microsoft 365 organisation with an IT team, Purview may be all you need. If you're a small firm that wants people to keep using AI safely, with the GDPR paperwork done for you, Saiela is the better fit, and it works alongside Microsoft 365.
Last checked , from each product's own pages.
Side by side
| Feature | Saiela | Microsoft Purview |
|---|---|---|
| When someone pastes personal data into an AI tool | Swaps it for placeholders before sending, then puts it back in the answer. Or warns, or blocks | Warns or blocks, with an option to let the user override |
| Browsers covered | Chrome and Edge | Edge for Business inline. Some policies also cover Chrome and Firefox through the Purview extension |
| Devices | Chrome or Edge, on Windows and Mac | Windows or macOS devices onboarded to Purview. Edge inline protection needs Windows devices managed by Intune |
| Set-up | People add the extension themselves, or IT installs it for everyone (Team) | Device onboarding, the Purview extension or Edge for Business with Intune, and DLP policy design |
| Licensing | Free for one person. Team is one monthly price for everyone | Depends on your Microsoft 365 plan. AI-site protection uses pay-as-you-go billing or per-user licensing |
| Keeps the text of prompts | Never. The log records what happened, not what was written | Can capture prompts and responses in the audit log, with a collection policy |
| GDPR paperwork | Drafts the AI policy, vendor register, DPIA and records of processing for you | Compliance Manager offers pre-built assessments for regulations. Microsoft doesn't say it drafts a DPIA or records of processing |
| Protects email, files and Teams too | No | Yes |
| UK data region | UK | UK available for some Purview services through the Advanced Data Residency add-on |
| Built for | UK small firms, with or without an IT team | Microsoft 365 organisations with IT or security staff |
Where Microsoft Purview is stronger
- It covers far more than AI: email, files, Teams and SharePoint, with sensitivity labels, eDiscovery and retention across Microsoft 365.
- If you already pay for the right Microsoft 365 plan and have an IT team, it's part of tools you already run.
- It can protect at the network layer, as well as in the browser, through a Secure Access Service Edge integration.
- It includes insider risk management and communication compliance for organisations that need them.
Where Saiela is stronger
- Your team keeps working: client details are swapped out and put back, so the answer still makes sense, instead of a hard stop.
- It never keeps what anyone typed. Purview can capture prompts and responses; Saiela only records what happened.
- No device onboarding or policy design to start: add the extension, and it works on the AI tools your team already uses.
- It drafts the GDPR paperwork for you, from how your team really uses AI: the AI policy, vendor register, DPIA and records of processing.
- It's built for UK firms: UK detection (National Insurance numbers, UTRs, sort codes), UK data region, and one price for the whole team.
Using both together
They don't have to be rivals. If your firm runs Microsoft 365, Purview can look after email, files and Teams, while Saiela looks after what people type into AI tools in the browser, and keeps the AI paperwork up to date.
Saiela also works with Microsoft 365 in other ways on the Team plan: bring your people in from Microsoft, install the extension for everyone with Intune, and send alerts to Teams.
Questions
Can Purview stop staff pasting into ChatGPT?
Yes. On devices onboarded to Purview, Endpoint DLP policies can warn or block people sharing sensitive information with third-party AI sites such as ChatGPT, with an option to let them override a warning. It blocks or warns; it doesn't swap the details out and put them back.
Do I need Intune for Purview's AI protection?
For the inline protection in Edge for Business, yes: Microsoft says it applies on Windows devices managed by Intune. Other Purview AI features need devices onboarded to Purview and the Purview browser extension.
Does Saiela work with Microsoft 365?
Yes. It protects Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools in Chrome and Edge, and on the Team plan you can bring your people in from Microsoft, install the extension with Intune and send alerts to Teams.
How much does Purview cost?
It depends on your Microsoft 365 plan and add-ons, and Microsoft says its protection for third-party AI sites uses pay-as-you-go billing or per-user licensing. Licensing changes often, so check with your Microsoft partner for current prices.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn: use Microsoft Purview to manage data security and compliance for other AI apps
- Microsoft Learn: help prevent sharing via Edge for Business to unmanaged AI apps
- Microsoft Learn: Endpoint data loss prevention
- Microsoft Learn: Compliance Manager
- Microsoft Learn: Advanced Data Residency
- Saiela pricing
- Saiela features
Last checked 21 October 2026. Products change often, so check the latest on each company's own site.
Paulo De Sousa
Co-founder of SimpleKPI
Paulo has worked in software development and SaaS for over 20 years and leads the engineering behind SimpleKPI and Saiela. He writes about how AI tools handle your data and how Saiela keeps it out of them.
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