Typort vs Defender for Cloud Apps

A Generative AI category. Microsoft says the catalog includes "more than a thousand generative AI-related apps". You can filter discovered apps to that category, see a risk assessment for each, and sanction or unsanction them.

Discovery from traffic logs. Cloud discovery reads traffic logs from Defender for Endpoint, from a log collector on your network, or from a web gateway such as Zscaler, and updates four times a day. Per app it shows users, IP addresses, traffic and transactions.

Block or warn. An app marked unsanctioned is blocked on devices onboarded to Defender for Endpoint, which Microsoft says can take up to three hours. Admins can instead warn people and send them to a page of approved apps.

Prompts are a different product. Prompt logging and data loss prevention for AI prompts sit in Microsoft Purview DSPM for AI, not in Defender for Cloud Apps. See Typort vs Microsoft Purview.

A licence that includes it. Microsoft sells Defender for Cloud Apps as a standalone licence and inside plans such as Microsoft 365 E5 and Microsoft Defender Suite. Microsoft prices Microsoft 365 E5 at $60.00 per user a month, paid yearly, and Microsoft Defender Suite at $12.00 per user a month, paid yearly, on top of Microsoft 365 E3. Microsoft does not publish a standalone price.

Traffic to read. Defender for Endpoint on each device, a log collector on your network, or an integrated web gateway.

	Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps	Typort
Which AI apps are in use	More than 1,000 generative AI apps in the catalog, each with a risk score	The AI tools each person uses, from the browser extension
Usage per person	Users, IP addresses, traffic and transactions per app	Tokens, tools and active days per person, with adoption over 13 weeks
Spend	Not among the discovery reports in Microsoft's documentation	Estimated spend per person, with an allowance and a near or over warning
What the work is	The app's category, not what people do inside it	Chats sorted into kinds of work, from client emails to coding, shown as a pie
Block an app	Yes, on devices running Defender for Endpoint	No. Typort shows what went in after the fact
What went in	Prompts are covered by Purview, a separate product	Flags for personal details, client figures, passwords and keys, and rules per client marked broke or close
What it needs	Traffic logs from Defender for Endpoint, a log collector or a web gateway	The Typort browser extension and a sign in with Microsoft or a work email. No API keys
Who sees what	Roles in the Microsoft Defender portal	Five switches, shown in plain words to everyone on the team

Defender decides which apps are allowed. Typort shows how the allowed ones are used. Keep Defender for discovery, risk scores and blocking unsanctioned AI apps. Add Typort to see who uses ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Grok, how much, what it is costing, and what the work is.

They run side by side. Typort needs no change to your Defender setup. It is a browser extension and a sign in.

The team view runs on Typort's servers. It is free for a limited time and will move to Typort Pro later.

Is Typort a replacement for Defender for Cloud Apps?

No. Defender for Cloud Apps is a cloud access security broker: it discovers apps, scores their risk and can block them. Typort shows how a team uses AI: usage and estimated spend per person, allowances, what the work is, flags and client rules. Many teams will want both.

Does Defender for Cloud Apps show what people type into AI apps?

Not on its own. Microsoft places prompt logging and data loss prevention for AI in Microsoft Purview DSPM for AI. Defender for Cloud Apps works from traffic logs: users, IP addresses, traffic and transactions per app.

Can Typort block a prompt?

No. Typort shows what went in after the fact, with flags and client rules marked broke or close. If you need a paste or a prompt stopped before it is sent, use a tool built to block.

Which AI tools does Typort see?

ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Grok in the browser, through the Typort browser extension. Microsoft 365 Copilot capture is built and comes in the next extension update. It reads what is on the page, so it works on Business and Team seats and needs no API keys from the AI vendors.

Are the dollar figures exact?

No, they are estimates from the tokens in each chat at the AI vendor's API list price. A chat page cannot show system prompts, hidden reasoning, attachments or tool calls, so the figures are a floor. They are there to compare people and tools, not to replace the invoice.

Can staff see what the company sees?

Yes. The five switches are shown to everyone in plain words on their first screen, and every time an admin or team leader opens someone's chat, it is recorded. Chats in the AI's own temporary or incognito mode are never collected.

What does the team view cost?

The team view runs on Typort's servers. It is free for a limited time and will move to Typort Pro later.