(Credit: PCMag Composite/Joseph Maldonado; Microsoft)
Microsoft can't stop talking about Copilot+ PCs and how they enable the AI-based future of Windows. But after testing one of the company's flagship models (a Surface Laptop 7) for a year, I simply haven't found much use for its local, NPU-powered AI features.
Don't get me wrong: I'm extremely interested in unique, on-device AI capabilities in Windows that keep my data private and give me customization options. However, the local AI tools currently on Copilot+ PCs just aren't all that compelling compared with those that take advantage of cloud processing. And that's a major sales problem for Microsoft since local AI features are supposedly the greatest attribute of these machines.
So, what's the solution? Microsoft needs to seriously focus on developing more intriguing on-device AI tools for its Copilot+ PC lineup and make the cloud-based ones throughout the OS more accessible in the meantime.
What Copilot+ PC AI Features Are Available Now?
Microsoft announced the Copilot+ PC lineup in May 2024. But now, more than a year later, many of the highlight AI capabilities that have arrived remain underwhelming.
Take the hallmark Recall feature, for example. It saves screenshots of your desktop locally every few seconds, letting you search for them later using plain language. The announcement set off a predictable firestorm of privacy and security concerns, and Microsoft delayed the feature multiple times as a result. It's available on Copilot+ PCs now, but I don't find it very useful in my day-to-day.
The Windows Studio Effects suite promises to clean up your webcam video in real time, but it's not especially novel. You can also generate low-quality images in the Photos app, but I'm not sure why you wouldn't just turn to a more powerful cloud-powered alternative. You have to sign in to your Microsoft account to use this feature, anyway, which just seems unnecessary.
Click to Do appears to be the new flagship Copilot+ PC feature. Simply hold down the Windows key and click anywhere on your screen. Click to Do then suggests and carries out actions based on what it sees. It can launch web searches, start composing an email, summarize text, and more. But I'm not convinced that this functionality requires an NPU and, if it does, that it's enough to get you to buy a new laptop.
The most interesting Copilot+ PC feature is the new agent in the Settings app. If you type something like "My mouse pointer is too small," for example, Windows should be able to quickly recommend an action you can take with one click. A new, on-device small language model called Mu powers this. This feature is nice to see, but I still don't think it's enough to warrant replacing your PC. Besides, a redesigned Settings app with better search functionality (Semantic Search is a start) would make this feature unnecessary.
Copilot+ PCs Don't Make Most AI Features Better
Many of the other AI features in Windows, such as background removal and generative erase in Microsoft Paint, are cloud-based, meaning they don't require an NPU at all. Plus, there's the cloud-based Copilot chatbot itself, which (despite the confusing branding) doesn't perform any better on Copilot+ PCs.
If you do want extra features for the Copilot chatbot, you need to pay for Copilot Pro ($20 per month), regardless of whether you have a Copilot+ PC. This subscription unlocks near-unlimited usage of the Copilot assistant in Microsoft 365 apps, such as Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word. Without a subscription, you must ration the 60 AI credits you get with a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Since the AI features in other Windows apps (yes, that includes Notepad) also require credits, this creates a problem: Despite their branding, Copilot+ PCs don't actually let you take full advantage of the OS's AI capabilities.
Microsoft could at least follow Google's lead here. Google sometimes runs promotions in which buyers of Pixel phones get a year of Google's AI Pro subscription for free. Microsoft should do the same with Copilot Pro and Copilot+ buyers until the local AI capabilities cover a wider set of needs.
GPUs Still Beat NPUs for Compelling, On-Device AI
I don't want to write off local AI entirely. On the contrary, I eagerly look forward to the possibility of keeping AI data and conversations on a device I control from a privacy standpoint. And the ability to customize and select models without running into any third-party restrictions is intriguing. But the current focus on NPUs in Copilot+ PCs seems misguided.
After all, high-end GPUs are best for running image generators, large language models, and many other features. NPUs aren't notable for their power but rather their power efficiency. In other words, they can run AI tasks faster than a CPU and in a more power-efficient way than a GPU.
So, although an NPU is perfectly capable of running lightweight AI tasks locally without draining your laptop's battery, its value still depends on whether those tasks are worthwhile. If not, you are better off turning to a cloud-based AI tool or one that relies on a local, GPU-powered model. It's really up to Microsoft to foster compelling NPU-dependent features since many companies developing local AI features for Windows PCs generally aren't targeting NPUs.
DaVinci Resolve is an exception, but Topaz Labs says it can't use NPUs—just GPUs or CPUs. Adobe Photoshop tools like Generative Fill rely on cloud-based Firefly AI models. Adobe Lightroom also has many AI features, but at least some can't use NPUs, either. Nvidia’s Broadcast app only works on Nvidia GPUs, of course—NPUs can't handle something quite so powerful.
Microsoft's Copilot+ PC Marketing Badly Misses the Mark
Another problem with Copilot+ PCs is the marketing. I fully understand why Microsoft would want to experiment with NPUs and local AI features. Small improvements, such as the experimental agent in the Settings app, demonstrate Microsoft's ability to apply on-device AI in somewhat intriguing ways.
But the idea that Copilot+ PCs are a transformative new product—that their local AI features are enough to encourage you to buy a new PC with an NPU—is just plain misleading. And besides, the fact that Copilot+ PCs have very little to do with the Copilot chatbot and that you need a Copilot Pro subscription to use the best AI features in Windows is just extremely messy branding.
It almost feels like we're back at the turn of the millennium, when Microsoft rebranded its online accounts from "Microsoft Passport" to ".NET Passport" for no apparent reason except a desire to push a hyped brand. At least both Copilot and Copilot+ are AI, but that's almost worse: What does Copilot mean at Microsoft? Does it just refer to anything vaguely AI-related?
This is all a shame because Copilot+ PCs are compelling for other reasons. The initial line of Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered ARM laptops offers incredible battery life in a highly portable design. Intel's Lunar Lake chips also offer impressive battery life, while AMD's Ryzen AI series stands out for its combination of efficiency and performance.
At best, the Copilot+ PC moniker signifies a laptop with modern, efficient hardware. At worst, it causes a lot of confusion as to what AI features it actually enables. If Microsoft can fix its branding issues, I think more people would be able to see the tangible performance benefits of this new class of PCs. I sure do: My year-old Windows 10 era laptop just doesn't feel as snappy as my Surface Laptop or any other Copilot+ PC I've tested.