Microsoft hires lifestyle influencers to make Copilot cool

Microsoft is trying to convince Gen Z that its AI assistant is just as cool as ChatGPT, and it is using TikTok influencers to do it.

To pump up downloads of Copilot, the tech giant has enlisted some of America’s top lifestyle creators, including social media star Alix Earle and fashion twins Brigette and Danielle Pheloung. Instead of coding or drafting corporate emails, these influencers are using Copilot to plan outfits for Fashion Week and get skincare advice.

Microsoft consumer marketing chief Yusuf Mehdi openly admitted that when it comes to everyday consumers, Microsoft is very much a challenger brand playing catch-up.

From corporate boardrooms to TikTok feeds

The pivot highlights a massive demographic hurdle for Microsoft.

Copilot currently counts 150 million monthly active users across its product family. That sounds solid until you look at the competition. OpenAI claims a staggering 800 million weekly active users for ChatGPT, while Google Gemini sits at roughly 650 million monthly users. Microsoft dominates the corporate enterprise, but it is virtually invisible to consumers under 30.

To change that perception, Consumer AI head Mustafa Suleyman has been positioning Copilot as an everyday life coach that helps you think, plan, and dream. Bringing in non-tech creators is the clearest sign yet of that shift.

In one sponsored video, 24-year-old Earle asked Copilot how to look younger after followers said she looked 40. The bot suggested focusing on a good skincare routine, and the clip racked up 15.4 million views on TikTok. Later, a video promoting Copilot Groups pulled in another 7 million TikTok views and 1.9 million on Instagram. Fashion creators Brigette and Danielle Pheloung also used the assistant to design retro outfits for New York Fashion Week, complete with 80s shoulder pads.

Mehdi claimed the company is getting far more bang for its buck compared to traditional media, though Microsoft declined to disclose financial details or exact conversion metrics. NYU Stern marketing professor Anindya Ghose noted that while lifestyle influencers might lack tech credibility, their high familiarity drives curious followers to take a bite.

Why it matters

For everyday mobile users, this push reframes AI from an intimidating productivity tool into a casual pocket companion. If you previously wrote off Copilot as a boring Excel plugin, watching someone use it for style tips makes taking it for a spin much more approachable.

For the AI landscape, this shows how desperate the battle for consumer mindshare has become. OpenAI owns the cultural zeitgeist, and Google has default Android distribution. Microsoft may have enterprise software locked down, but if young consumers view Copilot merely as their parents' work tool, the company risks losing the next computing interface entirely.

We think tapping lifestyle creators is a clever way to generate instant viral reach where tech ads normally flop. The real danger, however, is user retention. Getting someone to download an app after a sponsored beauty video is easy, but keeping Gen Z engaged requires an assistant that actually feels personal and culturally fluent rather than just corporate software wearing aesthetic makeup.