Responsible AI Report 2025

This document establishes Microsoft's governance framework and internal standards for the design, development, and deployment of artificial intelligence systems across its product portfolio, including Azure AI, Copilot, and Bing. The framework designates the Office of Responsible AI and Aether Advisory Committee to conduct pre-deployment and post-deployment reviews of AI products against standards in fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, and transparency. The document describes organizational procedures and review mechanisms that apply to Microsoft's AI systems across its product line.

This document is Microsoft's AI Governance framework, a published policy instrument governing Microsoft's approach to the development, deployment, and oversight of artificial intelligence systems across its product and service portfolio. The framework states commitments to responsible AI principles including fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability, and establishes internal governance structures including a Responsible AI Standard, an Office of Responsible AI, and an Aether Advisory Committee to operationalize these principles. Notably, the document articulates aspirational governance commitments and internal process obligations rather than legally binding user-facing contractual terms, meaning the provisions describe Microsoft's stated internal practices and policies rather than enforceable rights or obligations as between Microsoft and end users or customers. The framework engages regulatory considerations relevant to the EU AI Act, GDPR, the US Executive Order on AI, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and emerging AI-specific legislative and standards frameworks across multiple jurisdictions, though the document does not itself constitute a compliance certification or regulatory filing. Compliance professionals should note that the document's practical enforceability against Microsoft depends on applicable law and regulatory context, and that the governance structures described represent self-imposed obligations whose implementation and audit mechanisms are internal to Microsoft rather than independently verified.

This document describes Microsoft's internal review processes and governance standards for AI systems but does not establish user-facing rights to opt out, request explanations, or access remediation mechanisms through this framework. Users' actual rights regarding AI systems depend on applicable law in their jurisdiction, which may include separate data protection or AI-specific regulations independent of Microsoft's internal standards described in this document.