Microsoft releases MAI-Image-2.7 editing model in preview, second on Artificial Analysis

What Microsoft AI announced

Microsoft AI, the consumer AI group inside Microsoft, released MAI-Image-2.7 on 27 October 2026. The announcement describes it as the company's latest image editing model, with stronger control over the edits that are hardest to get right. It launches in preview and succeeds MAI-Image-2.6.

Microsoft lists four kinds of work: restyling or relighting a whole scene, changing text and symbols so they stay integrated into the picture, restoring and enhancing existing assets, and edits that need an understanding of how objects, lighting and environments interact. The model is editing only for now. Microsoft says text-to-image generation is coming soon, without a date.

How it ranks

Microsoft's charts use data from Artificial Analysis. On the AA-Image-Editing v2.1 board, MAI-Image-2.7-Preview scores 1193 Elo, second among public models behind GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst at 1199. It sits ahead of GPT Image 2.5 Flare at 1182 and of MAI-Image-2.6, Krea 3 Ultra and Nano Banana 2.1, which all score 1151. Microsoft also says the model enters Arena's edit leaderboard at No. 3, which puts Microsoft AI second among labs there.

Microsoft says the model improves on 2.6 across all 10 use cases and all 7 editing actions that Artificial Analysis evaluates. In three categories it moved to first place: reasoning-based edits and scene and style edits, both up from seventh, and text or symbol edits, up from sixth. Its widest lead is in scene and style, 24 Elo ahead of the next model. These rankings come from blind preference votes, so they measure what voters like rather than accuracy on a fixed test.

What is missing and what changes

The announcement gives no price, no API model name and no date for Microsoft Foundry or Copilot. People can try the model on Arena, Artificial Analysis and MAI Playground, so for now it is a model to test rather than to build on. For buyers of image editing APIs, the practical change is one more strong option near the top of the leaderboard. Google cut prices with Nano Banana 2.1 earlier this month, and OpenAI's GPT Image 2.5 models still hold first place.

The release also shows how often labs now launch against the same third-party boards. The day it shipped, Artificial Analysis was also rolling out a new version of its text model index, covered in our Intelligence Index v5 story.

What to watch next

Watch for the text-to-image half of MAI-Image-2.7, a price list and availability in Foundry and Copilot. Arena scores also move as more votes come in, so the No. 2 and No. 3 positions may shift within weeks. Image model releases are listed on the AI Models hub.

Questions people ask

Where can I try MAI-Image-2.7?

Microsoft says it is available today on Arena, Artificial Analysis and MAI Playground. Foundry and Copilot availability is not stated.

How much does MAI-Image-2.7 cost?

Microsoft did not publish a price in the announcement.

Is MAI-Image-2.7 better than Nano Banana 2.1?

On Artificial Analysis image editing it scores 1193 Elo against 1151 for Nano Banana 2.1, according to Microsoft's chart. That is a preference ranking for edits, not a full comparison.

Sources

1. MAI Image 2.7 debuts above GPT Image 2.5 Flare on Artificial Analysis and #3 on Arena (Microsoft AI, 27 Oct 2026)