Microsoft’s AI-generated ad goes unnoticed by viewers

Microsoft’s unannounced experiment with AI-generated advertisements reveals how synthetic media is quietly entering mainstream commercial production, with most viewers unable to distinguish AI elements from traditional video. The company’s Surface device ad, which aired for three months before Microsoft disclosed its AI origins, demonstrates both the rapid advancement of generative video technology and its potential to dramatically reduce production costs and timelines for creative teams.

The big picture: Microsoft revealed it created parts of a Surface device advertisement using AI tools, but only disclosed this fact three months after the ad began running on YouTube.

• The minute-long commercial, published January 30th, combined AI-generated content with traditional footage in a way that went undetected by viewers.
• Microsoft’s design team estimates they saved approximately 90% of the time and cost typically required for a traditional production.

Behind the scenes: Microsoft utilized a multistage AI workflow that began with generating the conceptual elements and concluded with carefully edited video outputs.

• AI tools were first used to create “a compelling script, storyboards and a pitch deck” before the team progressed to visual production.
• The team combined written prompts and sample images in chatbots to generate text prompts, which were then fed into image generators and video tools like Hailuo or Kling.

Technical limitations: The production team discovered specific constraints that required traditional filming techniques rather than AI generation.

• Close-up shots showing intricate movements, such as hands typing on keyboards, had to be filmed conventionally.
• The team reserved AI generation for “shots that were quick cuts or with limited motion,” according to senior design communications manager Jay Tan.

What they’re saying: Microsoft’s creative team emphasized that AI required extensive human direction and refinement rather than replacing creative work entirely.

• “We probably went through thousands of different prompts, chiseling away at the output little by little until we got what we wanted. There’s never really a one-and-done prompt,” noted creative director Cisco McCarthy.
• The project aligns with Microsoft design chief Jon Friedman’s recent observation that AI is becoming “one more tool in creatives’ arsenals” where “suddenly the design job is how do you edit.”

Reading between the lines: The ad’s undetected AI elements suggest generative video has reached a threshold of quality where it can pass for traditional media in commercial settings.

• Despite having over 40,000 YouTube views, none of the top comments mentioned or questioned whether AI was involved in the production.
• The production team’s strategy of using quick cuts and limiting AI to specific shots helped mask potential AI artifacts that might otherwise have been noticeable.