Test Confirms Copilot Can’t Do What Microsoft’s Ad Shows

Microsoft’s latest holiday ad for its Copilot AI assistant is drawing scrutiny after independent testing found that several features shown in the ad do not work as presented.

Copilot Holiday Ad

The 30-second commercial shows Copilot helping users with tasks such as syncing smart home lights to music, scaling recipes for large gatherings, and interpreting homeowners’ association guidelines. However, testing by The Verge found that Copilot could not reliably perform many of the actions shown.

According to the report, Copilot frequently hallucinated interface elements, claimed to highlight buttons that were not present, and failed to complete calculations, sometimes stopping midway through tasks shown in the ad.

Fake Elements in the Ad

The Verge also reported that the smart home interface featured in the commercial belongs to “Relecloud,” a fictional company used by Microsoft in internal case studies. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that both the homeowners’ association document and the inflatable reindeer photo shown in the ad were fabricated specifically for the commercial.

The ad concludes with Santa Claus asking Copilot why toy production is behind schedule, reinforcing the festive theme despite the fake setup behind several scenes.