• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 11, 2024

Microsoft has introduced the Retail Media Creative Studio supported by generative artificial intelligence (GAI) to create banner ad creatives in seconds based on a product’s web-based link or URL.

The advertising industry has taken a leap into GAI, and there is no looking back.

Microsoft's platform announced Thursday will help marketers create custom content and connect retailers and advertisers with consumers on multiple places and platforms across the web. 

The goal is to make creative building as easy as possible. In this platform, marketers can take a product photo and turn it into a lifestyle image for a campaign that consumers can relate with by simply prompting the technology to "put this sofa in a cozy living room.”

Preferred words and phrases input into the tool can create new headline options. Images and headlines can be modified, and editing is done by removing unwanted backgrounds or words in an image with a click. 

A central dashboard will help marketers review the ad. 

Microsoft's move into creative tools for retail is just the beginning to simplifying campaign creation by generating campaign insights.

GAI will become the tool to deliver more personalized shopping experience for retailers and consumers, though the company did not go into details on how it plans to accomplish the task.

When the banner ad campaign goes live, the platform can leverage AI-powered algorithms to choose and display the most effective banner creative based on key performance metrics such as click-through rates (CTRs) and sales conversion rates. Real-time optimization lets advertisers can improve banner campaign performance without spending time running A/B testing. 

The company plans to demonstrate the technology at the NRF 2024: Retail's Big Show next week in New York City.