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Microsoft AI's Superintelligence team; successor to MAI-Image-1 (October 2025) and MAI-Image-2

MAI-Image-2.5

Microsoft AI's in-house image model — the default in Bing Image Creator — in your browser, with its Pro version for hero images. Natural, photographic results in 10 aspect ratios up to 21:9, plus one-photo edits. No Microsoft account or Foundry setup.

Versions
MAI-Image-2.5 (full fidelity), MAI-Image-2.5-Flash (fast, Microsoft Foundry) and MAI-Image-2.5-Pro (highest fidelity, public preview)
Abilities
Text to image and localised edits — replace an object, update text, remove motion blur — keeping the face the same across edits
Where Microsoft uses it
Bing Image Creator (default since 23 July 2026), PowerPoint, OneDrive photo edits, MAI Playground
On Kenerate
kenerate/mai-image-2.5 — 1:1, 3:4, 2:3, 9:16, 4:5, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 21:9; kenerate/mai-image-2.5-pro — 1:1, 3:4, 2:3, 9:16, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9; 1 reference; PNG, JPEG or WebP
Try
  • MAI Image 2.5
  • MAI Image 2.5 output: an elderly man in a flat cap on a park bench among autumn leaves
  • MAI Image 2.5 output: a narrow Lisbon street with a yellow tram and laundry hanging above
  • MAI Image 2.5 output: a border collie catching a frisbee mid-air in a sunny field
  • MAI Image 2.5 output: an overhead photo of a rustic basil pizza on a wooden board
  • Real outputs
  • Official sources
  • Free to start
  • No watermark

Updated by the

Made with Kenerate

What is MAI Image 2.5?

Updated

What is MAI Image 2.5?

MAI-Image-2.5 is Microsoft AI's in-house image model, launched on 2 June 2026 and the default model in Bing Image Creator since 23 July 2026. Microsoft ranks it No. 2 on Arena's image-editing leaderboard and No. 3 for text to image, with its biggest gains over MAI-Image-2 in text rendering. On Kenerate AI it runs in the browser in 10 aspect ratios up to 21:9 for 15 credits an image (17.4 for an edit), and MAI-Image-2.5 Pro, Microsoft's highest-fidelity version, for 54.

Key facts

Official name
MAI-Image-2.5 · MAI-Image-2.5-Pro
Maker
Microsoft AI
Released
2.5: 2 June 2026 · Pro: 23 July 2026
Arena (Microsoft)
No. 2 image editing · No. 3 text to image
Aspect ratios
10 on 2.5 (up to 21:9) · 7 on Pro
References
1 (edits)
Free plan
No
Weights
Closed (API only)

Gallery

MAI Image 2.5 examples

Real outputs made on Kenerate. Open any image to copy its prompt and run it yourself.

Same prompt

MAI Image 2.5 vs MAI Image 2.5 Pro

The same portrait prompt on both Microsoft models on Kenerate: 15 credits for 2.5, 54 for Pro.

PromptNatural light portrait of an elderly man with a flat cap on a park bench, autumn leaves, 85mm

  • MAI Image 2.5: Natural light portrait of an elderly man with a flat cap on a park bench, autumn leaves, 85mmMAI Image 2.515 credits
  • MAI Image 2.5 Pro: Natural light portrait of an elderly man with a flat cap on a park bench, autumn leaves, 85mmMAI Image 2.5 Pro54 credits

Models

MAI Image 2.5 on Kenerate

Every version in the generator, and what each is good at.

  • MAI Image 2.5 title card — a natural

    Microsoft

    MAI Image 2.5

    Reference images
    1
    Output
    10 ratios up to 21:9

    Best for

    Natural, photographic

    Open MAI Image 2.5
  • MAI Image 2.5 Pro title card — a high-fidelity close photograph of a fictional adult craftsman's hands carving a wooden bowl

    Microsoft

    MAI Image 2.5 Pro

    Reference images
    1
    Output
    7 ratios

    Best for

    Highest fidelity

    Open MAI Image 2.5 Pro
  • GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst title card — glowing sunburst-coloured 3D lettering on a bold magazine-cover-style layout

    OpenAI

    GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

    Reference images
    Up to 16
    Output
    1K to 4K

    Best for

    Dense text, many references

    Open GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

  • Google

    Nano Banana 2.1

    Reference images
    Up to 14
    Output
    1K to 4K

    Best for

    Same product across shots

    Open Nano Banana 2.1
  • Qwen Image 3.0 title card — neatly written on a café blackboard menu board in a sunlit café
    Free plan

    Alibaba

    Qwen Image 3.0

    Reference images
    Up to 3
    Output
    1K or 2K

    Best for

    Free-plan option

    Open Qwen Image 3.0

From our tests

Strengths and limits

Good at

  • Photographic by default: our portrait, travel, food, pet and interior prompts all came back looking like real photos, from short prompts.
  • Wide ratios: 21:9 for banners and website headers, plus 4:5 and 5:4 for feeds.
  • Strong editor: Microsoft reports No. 2 on Arena's image-editing leaderboard and faces kept across edits.
  • The same model Bing Image Creator uses by default, with no daily boost limits — you pay per image.

Limits

  • One reference image only — for multi-image composites use GPT Image 2.5 (16) or Nano Banana 2.1 (14).
  • Edits on MAI Image 2.5 come in 7 ratios, not the full 10.
  • No seed and no negative prompt, so an exact image can't be repeated.
  • Not on Kenerate's free plan; Pro costs 54 credits, so draft on 2.5 first.

How to

How to use MAI Image 2.5 on Kenerate

  1. Step 1

    Open MAI Image 2.5

    Go to /app/image and pick MAI Image 2.5 (the button on this page selects it). Sign in free to get started.

  2. Step 2

    Write a photographic prompt

    Name the subject, the place, the light and the lens — “natural light portrait … 85mm” is enough.

  3. Step 3

    Pick a ratio

    One of 10, from 9:16 stories to 21:9 cinema banners. Each image is 15 credits.

  4. Step 4

    Edit or upgrade

    Upload one photo and describe the change (17.4 credits), or re-run the final on MAI Image 2.5 Pro (54) for hero images.

1Describe your image2Pick an image model3Set the aspect ratio and size4Click Create5Open and download your image
Kenerate AI Image Studio with a text prompt typed into the prompt box

Open Image Studio and type what you want to see — subject, style, lighting and mood.

1 / 5 · Describe your image

Watch the tour · 1:23

Prompts, styles, references, edit, Arena & chat

Chapters

FAQ

MAI Image 2.5 questions

What is MAI-Image-2.5?

MAI-Image-2.5 is Microsoft AI's in-house image generation and editing model, launched on 2 June 2026. Microsoft calls it its strongest image model at launch, with better text rendering, product imagery and prompt adherence than MAI-Image-2, precise localised edits and faces kept the same across edits. It has been the default model in Bing Image Creator since 23 July 2026.

Link to this answer

MAI Image 2.5 vs 2.5 Pro — what's the difference?

MAI-Image-2.5-Pro, released on 23 July 2026, is Microsoft's highest-fidelity image model, meant for hero images, detailed edits and precise in-image text. On Kenerate, 2.5 costs 15 credits an image and Pro 54; 2.5 offers 10 aspect ratios and Pro 7. Draft on 2.5 and re-run only the final on Pro — compare the two on the same prompt above.

Link to this answer

Is MAI Image 2.5 free?

Not on Kenerate's free plan. New accounts get 25 credits on sign-up — one MAI Image 2.5 image costs 15 — and more come from one-time packs with no subscription. Bing Image Creator also uses MAI-Image-2.5 for free with daily limits. For free drafts on Kenerate, use Qwen Image 3.0.

Link to this answer

How much does MAI Image 2.5 cost?

On Kenerate: 15 credits per image (about $0.05) and 17.4 per edit; MAI Image 2.5 Pro costs 54 per image and 87 per edit. In Microsoft Foundry it is billed by tokens: $47 per million image-output tokens for 2.5 and $106 for Pro, with $5 text input and $8 image input.

Link to this answer

What is the difference between MAI Image 2 and MAI Image 2.5?

MAI-Image-2.5 is the newer generation. Microsoft reports a 75-point overall Arena gain over MAI-Image-2, with the biggest jumps in text rendering (+107) and cartoon, anime and fantasy (+90), plus stronger localised editing. Kenerate runs 2.5 and 2.5 Pro; the full family history is on our MAI Image page.

Link to this answer

What aspect ratios does MAI Image 2.5 support?

On Kenerate MAI Image 2.5 makes 10 ratios: 1:1, 3:4, 2:3, 9:16, 4:5, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 and 21:9. Edits and MAI Image 2.5 Pro use 7: 1:1, 3:4, 2:3, 9:16, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9.

Link to this answer

Can MAI Image 2.5 edit photos?

Yes. Upload one photo in /app/image, pick MAI Image 2.5 and describe only the change — swap an object, change the text on a sign, clean up blur. Microsoft built it to keep the rest of the image and the person's face the same. An edit costs 17.4 credits, or 87 on Pro.

Link to this answer

Is this the same model as Bing Image Creator?

Yes, the same model. Microsoft says Bing Image Creator runs on MAI-Image-2.5 by default since 23 July 2026. On Kenerate you get it without daily boost limits, in 10 ratios, with the Pro version and 80+ other models in the same studio.

Link to this answer

Can I use MAI Image 2.5 without Azure or an API key?

Yes. Kenerate AI runs MAI Image 2.5 and 2.5 Pro in the browser: sign in, pick the model in /app/image and pay per image with credits. There is no Microsoft Foundry deployment, Azure subscription or API key to set up.

Link to this answer

In depth

MAI Image 2.5, in depth

Background, how to prompt it, and when to pick something else.

On this page

MAI-Image-2.5, Flash and Pro

Microsoft ships the 2.5 generation in three versions [1][2]. Kenerate runs the two quality versions.

  • MAI-Image-2.5 — full fidelity, the Bing Image Creator default; on Kenerate 15 credits in 10 ratios.
  • MAI-Image-2.5-Flash — a cheaper, faster version for production workloads in Microsoft Foundry [1].
  • MAI-Image-2.5-Pro — Microsoft's highest-fidelity model, for hero images, detailed edits and precise text [2]; on Kenerate 54 credits.

Keep going

More models

By Last updated and reviewed

We run these models in the Kenerate generator. Model facts come from the makers' own pages; specs and limits were checked against our code; the examples are our own outputs.

Sources: MAI-Image-2.5 launches at No. 2 for image editing on Arena — Microsoft AI · Introducing MAI-Image-2.5-Pro and MAI-Voice-2-Flash — Microsoft AI · MAI-Image-2.5-Pro — Microsoft Foundry model catalog

Try MAI Image 2.5

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