TLDR: Pantone, the global color authority, has partnered with Microsoft to introduce the Pantone Palette Generator, an AI-powered, chat-based tool integrated into Pantone Connect. Launched on November 5, 2025, this innovation aims to accelerate design workflows by leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI to provide instant color palettes and trend insights, making color selection more efficient and creatively inspiring for designers.
CARLSTADT, N.J., and REDMOND, Wash. – November 5, 2025 – Pantone, the renowned global authority on color, and Microsoft Corp. have officially announced a strategic collaboration to usher creatives and designers into a new era of digital innovation. The partnership introduces the beta version of the Pantone Palette Generator, an advanced AI-powered tool built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI, designed to significantly enhance design workflows within Pantone Connect.
The Pantone Palette Generator is a sophisticated, chat-based interface seamlessly integrated into Pantone Connect, Pantone’s established digital platform for streamlined color decision-making and communication. This new tool harnesses decades of extensive research and expertise from the color and trend specialists at the Pantone Color Institute. By combining this rich knowledge with cutting-edge conversational AI technology, the Palette Generator empowers users to rapidly explore diverse color palettes, utilize comprehensive trend forecasting data, and generate innovative design concepts directly within the Pantone Connect environment. Designers can now create palettes from Pantone’s vast color library, comprising thousands of colors, in mere seconds.
Sky Kelley, President of Pantone, emphasized the tool’s purpose: ‘For over 60 years, Pantone has empowered creatives to confidently make color-critical decisions throughout their design process. By collaborating with Microsoft, we wanted to create a tool that helps jumpstart the research, discovery and inspiration phase of the design process — allowing designers to integrate color and trend data efficiently as they bring their visions to life.’
Available immediately to all Pantone Connect users, including those with free (basic) accounts during its open beta phase, the Palette Generator delivers instant, customized color palettes based on user instructions. It also provides access to the underlying forecasting work that informs the tool, fostering a fast, inspiration-driven workflow. The technology behind the Palette Generator utilizes Retrieval-Augmented Generation and agentic capabilities, enabling it to semantically search Pantone’s ‘Color Insider’ and trend forecasting articles to ensure palettes are deeply rooted in insights from the Pantone Color Institute.
Kathleen Mitford, Corporate Vice President, Global Industry Marketing at Microsoft, highlighted the transformative impact of this collaboration: ‘Pantone is showing the world what it means to lead with AI — transforming an industry long grounded in physical design. Together, we’re accelerating design workflows with Azure OpenAI and showcasing how AI can unlock new levels of creativity, productivity and innovation across every industry.’
The Palette Generator is enriched by a meticulously curated dataset from Pantone’s color scientists, psychologists, and trend forecasters. This allows designers to pose questions such as ‘What colors evoke optimism in Gen Z?’ or ‘Show me palettes inspired by 1970s fashion editorials,’ receiving suggested color palettes grounded in Pantone’s proprietary research and global trend insights. The solution is built on robust Microsoft technologies, including Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Search, Azure OpenAI, and Azure Cosmos DB, ensuring scalability, security, and seamless cross-platform integration, while also supporting multilanguage use and paving the way for future innovations.
Currently, the Palette Generator supports Pantone’s Fashion, Home & Interiors library, with plans for expansion to the full color library in the near future. User-generated palettes can be directly added to Pantone Connect, analyzed, downloaded, and shared for collaborative design workflows, significantly reducing research time and inspiring creative exploration. Future enhancements will enable users to incorporate palettes related to the upcoming Pantone Color of the Year 2026 and all previous Pantone Colors of the Year.
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This initiative is part of Pantone’s broader investment in its digital product suite, focusing on tools that enhance the future of creative workflows. Alongside the new Palette Generator, Pantone has also introduced features like ‘Design Mode’ within its Adobe extension, improving navigation and reducing click paths based on user feedback.
