Pantone and Microsoft unite to enhance creative exploration through AI
November 5, 2025 - Company News
Pantone just launched the beta of Pantone Palette Generator inside Pantone Connect - a chat-based tool built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI that speeds up color research and concepting. If color choices slow you down, this helps you move from idea to palette in minutes, grounded in Pantone's decades of color psychology and trend forecasting.
What it does
- Chat your way to on-brief color palettes using prompts like "What colors evoke optimism in Gen Z?" or "Show me palettes inspired by 1970s fashion editorials."
- Pulls from thousands of colors in Pantone's library to deliver palettes and rationale on the spot.
- Works directly inside Pantone Connect so you can analyze, download, and share without context switching.
"For over 60 years, Pantone has empowered creatives to confidently make color-critical decisions," said Sky Kelley, president, Pantone. "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."
How it works
- Powered by Retrieval-Augmented Generation and agentic technology to semantically search Pantone Color Insider and trend forecasting content from the Pantone Color Institute.
- Built on Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Search, Azure OpenAI, and Azure Cosmos DB for scale, security, and multilingual support.
- Currently supports the Fashion, Home & Interiors library with plans to expand to the full Pantone library.
"Pantone is showing the world what it means to lead with AI - transforming an industry long grounded in physical design," said Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president, Global Industry Marketing at Microsoft. "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."
Why this matters for creatives
- Cut the research phase from hours to minutes by combining trend data and palettes in one conversation.
- Ground your color decisions in Pantone Color Institute insights instead of guesswork or mood boards alone.
- Share palettes with clients and collaborators straight from Connect to keep approvals moving.
What's new and what's next
- Open beta access for all Pantone Connect users, including free accounts.
- Design Mode updates inside the Adobe extension to speed up navigation based on user feedback.
- Upcoming support for Pantone Color of the Year 2026 plus all past Colors of the Year.
Prompts that work
- "Create three optimistic palettes for a Gen Z skincare brand (digital-first), with two accent colors each."
- "1970s fashion editorial palette for an art book cover - warm, cinematic, print-safe."
- "Palette for a sustainable furniture launch - calm, premium, minimal contrast for web UI."
- "Event branding palette for a motion package - high contrast for LED screens, accessible combinations."
Fast facts
- Access: Available now in open beta to all Pantone Connect users.
- Libraries: Fashion, Home & Interiors today; full library expansion planned.
- Workflow: Add palettes directly to Connect, analyze, export, and share.
- Security: Built on Azure with safeguards and cross-platform support.
Get started
Try the Pantone Palette Generator inside Pantone Connect here: pantone.com/pantone-connect. It works across web, mobile (iOS/Android), and the Adobe Creative Cloud extension.
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