Microsoft's MAI-Image-2.5 pulls even with Google's Nano Banana 2 on benchmarks

Microsoft updated its image model to MAI-Image-2.5, which now ranks third on Arena’s text-to-image leaderboard.

The model is said to match Google’s Nano Banana 2 while still trailing OpenAI’s Image-2.

It improves text rendering, stylized illustrations, prompt adherence, and visual consistency.

Microsoft is positioning it for professional creative work, including product photography and brand design.

MAI-Image-2.5 is available on Arena now and will arrive in MAI Playground and Foundry within two weeks.