For years, Windows users have been complaining about Microsoft service ads that pop up all over its ecosystem. The company has decided not to stop there — ads will appear in conversations with the Copilot chatbot, and they will be generated by artificial intelligence.
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: Microsoft.com
Microsoft outlined its intentions in a corporate blog post — the company called the new strategy “engaging the audience of the future.” Users will now be encouraged to make purchases by generative AI services and AI agents; moreover, brands will be able to launch their own AI agents. “We are committed to helping brands create agents and make it easier for them to connect with our audiences. As a first step in this direction, we will launch a pilot project that will help brands create smart AI-powered agents on their sites. What if sites could talk?” — Microsoft speculates.
The company is preparing to roll out two new ad formats “designed entirely with Copilot in mind. These ads are interactive in nature and adapt to each user’s query.” The first is called the Advertising Showroom, and these are giant banner ads next to Copilot’s text box. “So if a user starts asking Copilot questions about a specific product and expresses an interest in buying [it], they may be invited to the Advertising Showroom. Here, organic content is complemented by rich advertising content, helping to showcase the product’s benefits as people ask Copilot more questions. This immersive environment allows users to interact with products as if they were in a real gallery. In the future, this will be even more powerful as brand ambassadors are integrated into the advertising showroom, allowing people to directly interact with a virtual brand representative,” Microsoft said.
The company is also testing dynamic filters that narrow the range of products available for purchase. “This feature eliminates the need to type additional questions and quickly narrows the selection of options that are most likely to lead to conversion based on advertising preferences,” Microsoft explained. Advertisers will not have to pay for individual ads to do this; they will be created individually for each user based on their queries. Personalization will also be carried out based on location and seasonal events relevant to each consumer.