Microsoft is beginning to explore experimental AI-driven features via a new initiative called the Windows AI Labs program. Last week, some Windows users noticed hints of this program in early updates to Microsoft Paint, and the company has now confirmed to The Verge that this initiative is intended to offer preliminary access to fresh AI capabilities within Windows.
“The Windows AI Lab is a pilot project aimed at accelerating the development and validation of innovative AI feature ideas for Windows,” explained Mike Harsh, Microsoft’s partner director of product management, in a statement to The Verge. “The goal of the program is to gather swift user feedback on how usable the features are, their appeal to customers, and their market viability.”
Although prompts for Windows AI Labs features have appeared in certain versions of Paint, the specific Paint features Microsoft plans to test initially remain unclear. Recent updates to Paint have seen the addition of features akin to those in Photoshop, such as transparency, layers, and .paint project files. It would not be surprising if Paint’s future updates included AI tools similar to those Adobe integrates into Photoshop.
