Microsoft Accelerates AI Independence with In-House Image Generation Model to Replace OpenAI Technology

Microsoft is taking another major step toward AI independence by replacing OpenAI's image generation technology with its own proprietary AI image generation model in core products such as PowerPoint and Bing. The move is designed to reduce AI deployment costs while strengthening the company's internal AI research and development capabilities.

Compared with OpenAI's models, Microsoft's in-house model delivers faster performance, lower operating costs, and higher image generation quality, while also improving user retention. In recent years, Microsoft has been developing large language models capable of competing with OpenAI and Anthropic, with the goal of gradually integrating its AI technologies across its product ecosystem while reducing the overall cost of AI services. In PowerPoint alone, Microsoft's proprietary AI model has reduced operating costs by approximately 85% compared with the previous solution.

Although Microsoft can still use OpenAI's large language models at no licensing cost under its long-term partnership agreement, the company remains responsible for the substantial computing infrastructure required to run those models. As a result, adopting more efficient in-house AI models is expected to generate significant cost savings.

In productivity applications such as PowerPoint, users frequently rely on AI to generate and edit images, including creating infographics and presentation visuals. Image generation is also among the most widely used AI features by new users, making improvements in image quality and response speed critical to enhancing the overall user experience.

Beyond image generation, Microsoft is also accelerating the rollout of other proprietary AI models. The company announced that enterprises including T-Mobile US and UK low-cost airline EasyJet have begun deploying Microsoft's latest AI voice generation model in their customer service call centers.

Earlier media reports indicated that Microsoft has already started replacing OpenAI and Anthropic's text generation models with its own AI models across several Office applications. According to Microsoft, its MAI model now performs on par with OpenAI's latest GPT-5.6 model in common tasks within applications such as Excel, while offering significantly greater cost efficiency.

Market Insight:

Microsoft's MAI model has already been deployed across more than half of the company's products and is currently being tested throughout the entire Microsoft product ecosystem. This marks a strong beginning for Microsoft's AI strategy, and the company is expected to continue expanding the adoption of its proprietary AI models to further strengthen its market position.