Microsoft’s new image AI just cracked top 3 on a major leaderboard

On Thursday, Microsoft unveiled a new AI model in a Microsoft AI blog post. It’s called MAI-Image-2 and it’s primarily built for the generation of images from text-based prompts—with a twist.

According to Microsoft, MAI-Image-2 is best used to generate photorealistic images with elements like “natural light, accurate skin tones, environments that feel lived-in.” The AI model is purpose-built for “creative work,” and Microsoft explains:

For MAI-Image-2 we spoke with photographers, designers, and visual storytellers who made it clear where we could make the biggest difference for everyday creative work.

In addition to photorealistic creations, MAI-Image-2 can also consistently generate text within its images, making it a strong option for infographics, slides, diagrams, and more. MAI-Image-2 is also suitable for “surreal concepts, ornate compositions, and ambitious worlds.”

With MAI-Image-2, Microsoft says MAI has been pushed up and now ranks as the third best text-to-image lab on the Arena.ai leaderboard.

MAI-Image-2 is currently rolling out on both Copilot and Bing Image Creator. To experiment with the latest MAI models, you can do so via the MAI Playground (and also share feedback with the devs).