Microsoft’s latest Copilot advertisements continue to showcase an AI assistant capable of seemingly impossible feats. The holiday-themed spot, complete with a Santa cameo, depicts users effortlessly controlling smart homes, scaling recipes, and even navigating HOA regulations – all with Copilot’s help. However, a closer examination reveals a stark contrast between the advertised capabilities and the actual performance of the tool.
Зміст
The Simulated Reality
The ad features scenarios like syncing holiday lights to music, adjusting oversized decorations to avoid HOA violations, and scaling recipes for large gatherings. But many of these examples rely on fictional elements: a non-existent smart home company called “Relecloud” and AI-generated images, including the notorious reindeer violating property lines. Microsoft admits the reindeer and HOA document were specifically created for the ad, implying the entire sequence is staged.
Testing the Claims
When tested with real-world applications, Copilot struggles significantly. The AI often hallucinates nonexistent buttons, misidentifies objects (dowels as screws), and provides vague or incorrect instructions. For example, when asked to adjust Ikea assembly instructions, Copilot confused page numbers with step numbers. Scaling a recipe also proved problematic; it could only perform partial calculations before either abandoning the task or misinterpreting on-screen controls.
The Cursor Issue
Copilot’s on-screen cursor highlight feature, intended to guide users, is often unreliable. It’s slow to react, lingers unnecessarily, and frequently highlights nothing at all while claiming otherwise. In one scenario, Copilot insisted it had selected an element on the screen when it hadn’t, further illustrating its unreliability.
The Verdict
The ad implies Copilot can seamlessly integrate with existing tools and solve complex problems, but the reality is far more chaotic. Microsoft defends the ads by stating that responses were shortened for brevity, but this doesn’t address the fundamental inaccuracies in execution. The campaign feels less like an honest demonstration and more like a fantasy designed to sell a product that isn’t yet capable of delivering on its promises.
The entire ad campaign is selling a fantasy, much like believing in Santa Claus.
