Microsoft markets Copilot with creators to reach young users

Microsoft has begun enlisting popular creators, including Alix Earle, to promote its Copilot chatbot to younger users amid ChatGPT’s rising popularity. Copilot currently has 99 million downloads, while ChatGPT exceeds 1.4 billion.

The company is using lifestyle influencers on TikTok and Instagram to extend Copilot beyond office tasks into everyday planning and advice. Consumer marketing chief Yusuf Mehdi has described Microsoft as a “challenger brand” with consumers and is seeking to raise awareness through creators with large followings.

Recent activity includes appearances and content around major events and platforms. In June, Mehdi joined Earle for a panel on influencer marketing at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Microsoft filmed videos with creators in Los Angeles and highlighted Copilot features on its own social channels. 

Earle, who has a combined 12.6 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, posted about using Copilot for everyday advice. A video about the Groups feature in Copilot has drawn millions of views across two leading social networks.

Twin creators Brigette and Danielle Pheloung, with 3.4 million combined followers, asked Copilot to help design outfits inspired by the 1970s and 1980s for New York Fashion Week. The bot suggested adding shoulder pads, which they improvised with socks. 

Creators collaborate with Microsoft on ideas and are free to ad lib in their videos, according to the company. Influencer clips are prompting trials, according to Mehdi, though no performance metrics were shared. Compensation for creators has not been disclosed either.

Consumer AI chief Mustafa Suleyman describes the aim as an assistant that “helps you think, plan and dream.” The consumer push targets women aged 18 to 34 and other groups less familiar with Microsoft software.

Microsoft retains an edge in the enterprise, where Copilot is used to summarize meetings, organize information, and retrieve data. 

As GNCrypto wrote previously, Microsoft and OpenAI entered talks to revise their partnership under a non-binding memorandum, and OpenAI later expanded cloud partners in 2025, moving beyond earlier Azure exclusivity.