Microsoft used GenAI for a new ad, and no one noticed

Microsoft’s creative team recently pulled back the curtain on its first ad crafted almost entirely with generative AI—an effort born out of tight deadlines and tighter budgets. Tasked with launching a new Surface for Business campaign in just one month, Microsoft’s Visual Design team turned to AI tools for speed and scalability. The final spot featured no visible faces, opting instead for top-down shots of hands, keyboards, and devices—partly because realistic human hands are finally feasible in AI-generated imagery, and partly to skirt the uncanny valley altogether.

The team relied on AI for thousands of image prompts, asking a chatbot to turn natural language descriptions into instructions that could be processed by generative tools. This allowed them to render assets like keyboards in 26 languages and five layout styles. Still, not everything could be faked—close-ups of fingers typing had to be filmed practically, as AI struggled with believable motion and fine detail. Quick edits and careful framing masked many limitations, resulting in a polished, if slightly abstract, final cut.

Microsoft sees this hybrid production method—part AI, part live-action—as a new creative lane rather than a passing experiment.

Read more at MediaPost or via Microsoft’s Design Blog.