Microsoft started using it about two and a half years ago to distinguish Windows computers that can run artificial intelligence features locally from other models. Copilot Plus PC is preparing to take its brand into the background. The company’s new 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop models are no longer promoted under this name, although they technically meet the system requirements set for the Copilot Plus PC. Microsoft Surface corporate vice president Brett Ostrom also made clear in his statement to Windows Central that the devices in question are not called “Copilot Plus PC”. Statements from Qualcomm also reveal a similar picture. Kedar Kondap, the company’s senior vice president of computing and gaming, said new computers that offer the same experiences will likely no longer use this brand.
The name Copilot Plus PC first came to prominence in 2024, when Microsoft began to focus more on artificial intelligence features in Windows computers. Devices bearing this label had to be equipped with NPU units with artificial intelligence processing capacity above a certain level. Thus, Microsoft aimed to group computers that can run some artificial intelligence tasks locally, without the need for a cloud connection, under a separate category. However, NPU hardware soon became common in high-end Windows computers, and what was initially seen as a distinctive feature gradually evolved into a standard hardware component. This development brought about the question of how meaningful the name Copilot Plus PC offers to the user.
Why the Copilot Plus PC approach remained in the background
The problems experienced by Microsoft’s software features for Copilot Plus PC devices were also effective in the decrease in the use of the brand. Chief among these was the Recall feature, which aims to record the transactions made on the computer at regular intervals and make them searchable later. When Recall was first announced, it faced intense criticism, especially regarding security and privacy, and Microsoft had to change the feature’s distribution plan. In addition, the company’s decision to make Copilot and other artificial intelligence services increasingly visible in Windows 11 also attracted reaction from some users. While the special key added to the keyboards for Copilot was one of the most visible hardware changes of this period, Microsoft later began to allow this key to be assigned to different functions.
The withdrawal of the Copilot Plus PC brand does not mean that Microsoft has given up on its native artificial intelligence approach in computers. On the contrary, the company is preparing to open a wider space for NPU and GPU-based local artificial intelligence processes on Windows computers. In addition, there is also information on the agenda that Microsoft may use Nvidia solutions in some of its future high-end hardware. Such hardware could enable heavier models of AI features that run solely via the NPU to be run directly on the computer. Therefore, the company’s focus seems to be shifting to making artificial intelligence features a more natural part of Windows hardware, rather than collecting computers that meet certain technical requirements under a separate brand.
The event that Microsoft plans to hold on October 7, which will discuss how native artificial intelligence will shape the future of personal computers, may provide more details about the company’s next approach in this field. Even if the name Copilot Plus PC disappears completely in a short time, the hardware requirements that gave rise to this brand will largely continue to exist. As NPU units become more common in new generation processors, it can be expected that artificial intelligence features on the Windows side will be able to work on more devices. Despite this, it can be said that the main determining factor for users will be how useful and consistent the features in question work in daily use, rather than the brand. The retreat of the Copilot Plus PC brand also shows Microsoft’s tendency to make artificial intelligence features one of the general features of the Windows ecosystem, rather than positioning them as a separate computer class.