The new tool will be added to Bing Image Creator and Office apps in the near future, the company said.
October 16, 2025
Microsoft's AI division has launched its first text-to-image AI generator developed in-house.
Called MAI-Image-1, the company described the new tool as being capable of creating "photorealistic imagery," including lighting and landscapes.
Microsoft said it used feedback from creative professionals to avoid "repetitive or generically-styled outputs," and claims the resulting system is faster and more efficient than larger, slower models.
"MAI-Image-1 marks the next step on our journey and paves the way for more immersive, creative and dynamic experiences inside our products," Microsoft said in a blog post announcing the launch.
MAI-Image-1 is listed in the top 10 of LMArena's text-to-image model comparisons. The research platform also notes the ranking is based on pre-release testing and could change after public launch. While the model is currently only available on LMArena for testing, it will reportedly be rolled into Copilot and Bing Image Creator in the near future.
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The news comes a month after Microsoft launched its first in-house AI models in August: MAI-Voice-1 and MAI-1-preview.
The former is a voice generation model described as delivering "high-fidelity, expressive audio," while MAI-1-preview is a chatbot that Microsoft said, "offers a glimpse of future offerings inside Copilot."
The move to in-house AI development has been seen by some as increasing Microsoft's competition with OpenAI, with Microsoft beginning to branch out from the ChatGPT developer for its AI model creation.
In September, it was reported that Microsoft was breaking away from exclusively using OpenAI for applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
Despite whispers of a separation, a Microsoft spokesperson told AI Business at the time that OpenAI would "continue to be our partner on frontier models, and we remain committed to our long-term partnership."
Nevertheless, it is clear that Microsoft is prioritizing expansion as it seeks to diversify its AI offerings.
"We have big ambitions for where we go next," the company wrote in a blog post. "Not only will we pursue further advances here, but we believe that orchestrating a range of specialized models serving different user intents and use cases will unlock immense value."
Scarlett Evans
Contributing Writer
Scarlett Evans is a freelance writer with a focus on emerging technologies and the minerals industry. Previously, she served as assistant editor at IoT World Today, where she specialized in robotics and smart city technologies. Scarlett also has a background in the mining and resources sector, with experience at Mine Australia, Mine Technology and Power Technology. She joined Informa in April 2022 before transitioning to freelance work.
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