Microsoft quietly added a new AI feature, called Cocreator, into its raster graphics editor included in every version of Windows since 1985. Cocreator uses your work on the Microsoft Paint canvas, alongside a text prompt, to generate images as you draw, allowing you to see its AI-enhanced output as you doodle on the screen.
Microsoft Paint’s Cocreator feature is different from other AI image generation apps as it uses both textual and visual input to create an image. This means it will be easier for the user to create visuals through AI that match their vision. You can also change the output style between digital art, watercolor, and oil painting, among others, so you can get exactly what you want.
However, not all Windows users will get this new creative AI feature — that’s because you need a Copilot + PC with an NPU that can deliver 40 TOPS or better to use it. So, you need to shell out at least $1,099 to get one of the new Snapdragon X Windows Copilot+ PCs that launched recently if you want your version of Microsoft Paint to come with Cocreator enabled.
Microsoft says, “This feature makes use of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to generate images locally on your computer.” So, you don’t need to connect to the internet or Microsoft’s services to enjoy Cocreator. Since it doesn’t consume any data center bandwidth or processing power, there’s also no limit to the number of images you can create every day or every session.
However, Microsoft still requires you to sign in with your Microsoft account and be connected to the internet “to ensure safe use of AI.” According to Microsoft’s Privacy Statement, “Cocreator uses Azure online services to help ensure the safe and ethical use of AI. These services do content filtering to prevent the generation of harmful, offensive, or inappropriate content. Microsoft collects attributes such as device and user identifiers, along with the user prompts, to facilitate abuse prevention and monitoring. Microsoft does not store your input images or generated images.”
From Microsoft's statement it is clear that even though you have free reign to use Cocreator, the firm will always be looking over your shoulder. While the company says it does not look at the images you draw, paste, or generate, it still keeps an eye on your prompts. But what’s more important is that Microsoft is collecting “device and user identifiers”, meaning it collates account information and links the prompts that account has made.
This is a nightmare for security and privacy-conscious users, especially as Microsoft recently blocked the last easy workaround to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account. Microsoft is likely doing this to stop unscrupulous users from generating illegal images like child and non-consensual deep fake pornography. However, storing this information is also a source of concern, as prompts a user typed in and stored on their account could be stolen. And, no matter how innocent, it could then be weaponized and used against them. That is why Microsoft’s Recall was also a source of contention among users, resulting in the company further enhancing its security and making it an opt-in feature.
Aside from this concern, the Cocreator feature on Microsoft Paint will likely make more users return to this basic image creator. Microsoft has recently added several new features to this tool, including layers, transparency, and background removal. And with its newfound AI power, it could give free alternatives like GIMP or Paint.net some serious competition.
