Industry watchdog tells Microsoft it must change Copilot advertising relating to productivity

Some of the claims Microsoft has put forward regarding Copilot have come under fire from an industry watchdog, which has advised that the company should withdraw (or at least modify) them.

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The organization in question is the BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division (NAD), and much of the flak aimed at Microsoft pertains to the case Microsoft has built for Copilot regarding marketing related to productivity.

Specifically, these are figures that were shared in the past via an 'AI Data Drop' post from Microsoft (and elsewhere) whereby the firm asserts that, based on a "consumer perception study," Copilot users report that: "Over the course of 6, 10, and more than 10 weeks, 67%, 70%, and 75% of users say they are more productive."

The watchdog criticizes Microsoft as follows: "NAD found that although the study demonstrates a perception of productivity, it does not provide a good fit for the objective claim at issue. As a result, NAD recommended the claim be discontinued or modified to disclose the basis for the claim."

In a statement on the matter, Microsoft said: "Although we disagree with NAD's conclusions [for certain elements of the decision]", the company "appreciates the opportunity to participate in this proceeding and will follow NAD's recommendations for clarifying its claims."

A further recommendation from NAD was to "clearly and conspicuously disclose any material limitations related to how Business Chat assists users."

I remember seeing the Copilot productivity figures when they were initially bandied about, and being rather skeptical about how Microsoft had arrived (read: potentially angled) its study to come to more positive conclusions.

Of course, this kind of tactic is commonplace in marketing - which all has to be taken with a suitable amount of seasoning - but it's good to see these issues pointed out by NAD.