
For years, Windows users have complained about âadsâ touting Microsoft services, showing up in various places. Now the alarm bells should be seriously ringing: Microsoft has publicly disclosed plans for monstrous ads within Copilot, as well as a roadmap to what appears to be AI-driven advertising, too.
Last week, Microsoftâs advertising blog outlined what it called the âfuture of audience engagement.â And you already know what that is: AI. Microsoft believes that not only will generative AI provide a more natural interface for users to shop, but agents will assist them. It gets worse: Brands may even deploy their own agent AI, too.
âWe are committed to helping brands create agents and making it easy to connect them to our audiences,â Microsoft wrote, via Windows Central. âAs the first step in this journey, we are launching a pilot product that enables brands to create smart, AI-based agents on their websites.â
âImagine if a website could talk?â Microsoft suggested.

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Itâs hard to say whatâs worse: having a virtual version of Elon Musk knock on your virtual screen and offer to help buy you a Tesla, or just a giant ad pop up once you start digging around for the best EV available. But thatâs coming, too.
Microsoft now says that it has two new ad formats, âentirely designed with Copilot in mind,â it said. âThese ads are interactive in nature, adapting to each user input.â
The first is what Microsoft calls an âAdvertising Showroomâ ad, which appears nothing more than a giant ad alongside a Copilot text box.
âFor example, if a user starts asking questions to Copilot about a particular product and expresses purchase intent, they may be invited to enter a Showroom ads experience,â Microsoft says. âHere, rich sponsored content complements the organic experience, helping to showcase the product benefits as people ask Copilot more questions. This immersive environment allows users to interact with products in a way that closely mirrors the experience of visiting a physical showroom. In the future, the experience will be even richer, as brand agents will be integrated into the Showroom ads allowing people to engage directly with a virtual brand representative.â

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Microsoft is also testing dynamic filters, which apparently is designed to narrow down a search to something you can buy: âThis feature removes the friction of typing additional questions and quickly narrows down options that are more likely to drive conversions based on an individualâs preferences,â Microsoft said.
But it appears that advertisers wonât even have to buy ads. Instead, Microsoft will create them, just for you! Microsoft has started to create what are known as Dynamic Seach ads, using queries as a basis to crate ads. In the future, Microsoft says, the company will âpersonalize ads,â such as location and seasonal events, specifically for each userâs context.
Time and again, weâve written features that show you how to turn off ads within Windows. But Microsoftâs new vision for the future of ads â start chatting with Copilot, and a digital gremlin will show up, pushing you to buy the latest sneaker, cereal, or credit card â sure doesnât seem to be consistent with what Microsoft has said before. Save us, ad blockers!