This article has been updated, thanks to AdamY’s comment.

Please see the thread below.

Nobody expects a beta tool to be perfect, but you might expect offshoots of MS adCenter Labs to at least work for their own examples.

Take their “adCenter Labs: Keyword Research: Keyword Forecast” tool, for example:
http://adlab.microsoft.com/Keyword-Forecast/Default.aspx

Above the keyword entry box are four sample searches, namely:

Examples:

• “NFL; NBA; MLB”
• “BMW; Acura; Lexus”
• “Canon; Nikon”
• “SEO; SEM; ranking”

Being a web marketing consultant the fourth one appeared most interesting, so I gave it a try, only to receive the following error message:

A valid keyword starts with a number or a character. Keyword “”SEO” is invalid. Keyword “ranking”" is invalid.

For a search string of my own choosing I would forgive their tool for not working, while still in beta. Sadly, however, it appears that Microsoft is currently struggling to make it work, even for their own examples.

hard to believe?

See the screen shot below.

Then try it for yourself!

MS AdCentre can