Microsoft's MAI Image 2.7 tops GPT Image 2.5 Flare

Microsoft AI has announced MAI Image 2.7, the latest version of its image-editing model. It launches in preview at No. 2 on Artificial Analysis's image-editing leaderboard, ranked above OpenAI's GPT Image 2.5 Flare, and at No. 3 on Arena Edit. Microsoft says the Arena placement makes Microsoft AI the No. 2 lab on that leaderboard.

According to the company, version 2.7 improves on 2.6 in all 10 use cases and all 7 editing actions that Artificial Analysis evaluates. Microsoft says it reaches the frontier in four categories: enhancement and restoration, reasoning-based edits, scene and style, and text or symbol editing. Its biggest lead is in scene and style, where it scores 24 Elo points ahead of the next-best model.

Microsoft focuses on edits that are hard to get right. These include restyling or relighting a whole scene, changing text and symbols so they still blend into the image, restoring existing assets, and edits that depend on how objects, lighting and environments interact.

The announcement is Microsoft's own, and the rankings it cites are its summary of third-party leaderboards. It does not name the models ranked first on either leaderboard. It also gives no pricing, API or product availability beyond the preview label, and no details about the model's architecture or training.