Microsoft is moving Windows closer to a system where generative AI is not just an app or sidebar, but part of the operating system itself. At Build, the company introduced Copilot+ PCs, new Surface hardware, AI features for everyday users and developer tools meant to bring more AI into Windows apps.
The announcements show a broad strategy: use dedicated hardware, local AI models and tighter Copilot integration to make Windows 11 feel more responsive to what users see, create, search and translate on their PCs.
Copilot+ PCs put AI hardware at the center
The most direct expression of Microsoft’s plan is the Copilot+ PC. These machines are described as AI-first flagship Windows hardware, with dedicated chips called NPUs that power features such as Recall.
Every Copilot+ PC includes at least 16GB of RAM and SSD storage. The first devices will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips, which Microsoft says can deliver up to 15 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video battery life.
Microsoft also said Intel and AMD are committed to building processors for Copilot+ devices. Hardware partners include Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung. Copilot+ PCs start at $999, and some are available for preorder today.
That hardware requirement matters because Microsoft is positioning AI as something that should run close to the user. Instead of treating generative AI as a cloud-only layer, the company is making local processing a central part of the Windows pitch.
New Surface devices follow the same direction
Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are built around the same performance and battery message. The latest Surface Laptop comes with either a 13.8- or 15-inch display, thinner screen bezels and what Microsoft calls modern lines.
The company says the new Surface Laptop lasts up to 22 hours on a charge and is up to 86% faster than the Surface Laptop 5. It also supports Wi-Fi 7 and includes a haptic feedback touchpad.
The new Surface Pro is also framed as a performance upgrade. Microsoft says it is up to 90% faster than the previous-gen Surface Pro, the Surface Pro 9. It adds a new OLED with HDR display, Wi-Fi 7, optional 5G and an upgraded ultrawide front-facing camera.
The detachable keyboard has also been reinforced with additional carbon fiber and now supports haptic feedback. Taken together, the Surface updates make Microsoft’s AI hardware push more concrete: the company is tying Copilot+ features to premium Windows devices that are supposed to be faster, longer-lasting and more capable.
Recall turns PC history into a searchable timeline
Recall is one of the most important new Windows 11 features in the announcement. It is designed to help users find apps, files and content they previously viewed on their PC, even from weeks or months ago.
Microsoft described examples such as locating a Discord chat where a user discussed clothes they were considering buying. Recall includes a timeline that lets users scroll back through recent activity and search within files such as PowerPoint presentations.
The feature uses associations between colors, images and other signals so users can search their PCs in natural language. Developers will also be able to improve Recall by adding contextual information to their apps.
Microsoft says Recall data is kept private and on-device, and is not used to train AI models. The company also says users can delete individual snapshots, adjust and delete ranges of time in Settings, pause the feature from the System Tray on the Taskbar and filter apps and websites so they are never saved.
AI features expand into images, captions and video
Microsoft also introduced AI tools for image editing and translation, with some features exclusive to Copilot+ PCs. Super Resolution can restore old photos by automatically upscaling them. Copilot can analyze images and offer ideas for creative compositions.
Cocreator gives users a way to generate images and ask an AI model to follow what they are drawing, then change or restyle the result. These tools bring generative AI into creative tasks that already happen on PCs, rather than keeping them separate from the Windows experience.
Live Captions with live translations translates audio that passes through a PC, including audio from YouTube or a local file, into the language chosen by the user. Live translations will initially support around 40 languages, including English, Spanish, Mandarin and Russian.
Microsoft Edge is also getting a related real-time video translation feature for sites such as LinkedIn, YouTube, Coursera, Reuters, CNBC and Bloomberg. It is set to become available in the near future and supports translation of Spanish into English and English to German, Hindi, Italian, Russian and Spanish, using both dubbing and subtitles live.
Developers get a deeper AI layer in Windows
Behind many of these features is the Windows Copilot Runtime. Microsoft describes it as a new layer of Windows made up of around 40 generative AI models. It works with a semantic index, a vector-based system local to an individual Copilot+ PC.
The goal is to let AI-powered apps, including third-party apps, run without necessarily needing an internet connection. The runtime includes ready-to-use AI APIs such as Studio Effects, Live Captions translations, OCR and Recall with user activity, which will be available to developers in June.
Microsoft said CapCut, the video editor from TikTok owner ByteDance, will use the Windows Copilot Runtime and Windows Copilot Library to speed up its AI features. Meta will add Studio Effects to WhatsApp for features such as background blur and eye contact during video calls.
The developer push goes beyond Windows PCs. Microsoft is bringing Windows Volumetric Apps to Meta Quest headsets through a partnership with Meta, enabling Windows 365 and local PC connectivity on Quest devices. Developers can sign up for a preview of the volumetric API.
Microsoft also introduced Team Copilot for Teams, Loop and Planner, plus Copilot Extensions in private preview for GitHub Copilot. Azure AI Studio will soon support pay-as-you-go inference APIs, and Copilot Studio is adding Copilot agents that can orchestrate tasks for specific roles and functions.
Other announcements widen the ecosystem further. Qualcomm introduced the $899.99 Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows with Snapdragon X Elite, 32GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and support for up to three 4K monitors. Microsoft also announced Phi-3-vision in preview, while Phi-3-mini, Phi-3-small and Phi-3-medium are now generally available.
Microsoft’s partnership with Khan Academy adds another dimension. The company is donating access to cloud compute infrastructure so Khan Academy can offer educators in the U.S. free access to Khan Academy’s AI-powered tools, while both companies explore ways to improve AI apps for math tutoring through generative AI.