Microsoft to unveil new AI models, reasoning engine, and Windows developer improvements at Build conference

Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman will unveil MAI-Thinking-1, the company's first reasoning model, at Build. The reasoning model was not created using distillation (training by learning from another AI model's outputs) and is targeted primarily at enterprise use.

Microsoft will reveal a new Windows 11 developer optimized experience featuring a distraction-free environment with pre-installed apps, tools, and scripts. The company is also rewriting parts of Windows 11 to improve performance and will show customization changes from the Windows Insider team.

Microsoft will announce additional AI models including MAI-Image-2.5 and MAI-Image-2.5-Flash. Windows chief Pavan Davuluri teased that new smaller AI models are coming, with a focus on local models running on Windows that allow developers to use local compute instead of cloud models.

A Copilot 'super app' combining Microsoft's various Copilot AI assistants into a single interface is in development, with work also underway on Microsoft Scout, a new AI agent based on Microsoft's OpenClaw work. The super app is not expected to be available in preview until late summer.