Microsoft made an ad with generative AI and nobody noticed

This shot was probably made by AI — the clipboards and Mason jar are good tells. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has revealed that it’s created a minute-long advert for its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop hardware using generative AI. But there’s a twist: it released the ad almost three months ago, and no-one seemed to notice the AI elements.

The ad, which went live on YouTube on January 30th, isn’t entirely made up of generated content. In a Microsoft Design blog post published Wednesday...