Microsoft is recasting the Windows PC around artificial intelligence. At a special event at its new campus, the company introduced Copilot+ PCs, a new generation of machines it describes as the fastest and smartest Windows computers yet.
The pitch is not just that these PCs can run AI features. It is that AI becomes part of the daily operating system experience, from finding something a user once saw on screen to creating images, translating audio, and running creative tools directly on the device.
A new Windows PC category built for AI
Copilot+ PCs are Microsoft’s attempt to define a new baseline for Windows hardware in the AI age. According to Microsoft, the machines are up to 20 times more powerful and up to 100 times more efficient at performing AI tasks than regular PCs.
Microsoft also claims that they outperform Apple's MacBook Air 15" by up to 58% in multi-threading. The company is pairing that performance claim with a battery-life message: up to 22 hours of local video or 15 hours of web browsing.
The first systems use Qualcomm's Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus neural processing units. Those chips provide more than 40 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of processing power, giving the PC dedicated hardware for AI workloads.
That dedicated neural processing unit is central to Microsoft’s message. Instead of sending every AI task elsewhere, the PC can handle new features locally, which matters for speed, responsiveness, and the privacy design Microsoft describes for some of these tools.
Recall turns desktop history into searchable memory
The most distinctive new feature is Recall. Microsoft says it should let users find nearly anything they have seen on their PC, working like a photographic memory for the desktop.
The feature is built around personal semantic search. That means the user should not need to remember a file name, folder path, or exact location. Instead, Recall is meant to organize information through individual links and ties, in a way Microsoft compares to how the human brain connects things.
For everyday computer use, the practical idea is simple: the PC keeps enough context to help users return to something they previously viewed. That could make the operating system feel less dependent on rigid file structures and more focused on what the user remembers seeing.
Microsoft says the semantic index is made and stored all on-device to guard privacy. Based on the source information, that local storage is an important part of how the company is positioning Recall, because the feature deals directly with what users have seen on their own PC.
Creative AI moves onto the device
Copilot+ PCs also introduce Cocreator, a tool that uses NPUs to generate and tune AI images on the device in near-real time. Users can sketch image ideas with a pen and combine those drawings with text details.
Another image feature, Restyle Image, lets users adjust the style of their own photos using AI. Together, Cocreator and Restyle Image show how Microsoft wants AI creation to feel more immediate inside Windows, rather than something that always requires a separate cloud workflow.
Microsoft is also working with Adobe to improve AI capabilities in Photoshop, Lightroom, and Express for Copilot+ PCs. Other creative applications named in the launch include DaVinci Resolve, Algoriddim djay Pro, and LiquidText, which also use the NPU for new AI tricks.
The pattern is clear: Microsoft is not treating the NPU as a background specification. It is tying the hardware directly to visible features in image creation, photo editing, video work, music software, and document workflows.
Live Captions, Copilot, and GPT-4o
Beyond memory and image generation, Microsoft is adding AI features for communication and assistance. Live Captions can convert audio from over 40 languages directly into English subtitles, even offline.
That offline capability fits the broader Copilot+ PC theme. Microsoft is presenting these machines as computers that can run important AI tasks locally, not only as terminals for online services.
Copilot, Microsoft’s digital assistant, is also getting an upgrade to OpenAI's new GPT-4o model. The source describes this as enabling natural voice chat and helping users play Minecraft.
That combination puts Copilot in a more active role on the PC. It is not just a sidebar or search-like assistant in this framing; it becomes part of a wider system of AI features across Windows and applications.
Availability, partners, and what comes next
Microsoft will offer Copilot+ PCs with Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung starting at $999 on June 18. Its own Surface line will also get Copilot+ models in the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop.
The first wave is based on Qualcomm hardware, but Microsoft said AMD and Intel chips are coming later. Those future chips can pair with Nvidia or AMD GPUs for heavy workloads.
That roadmap matters because it suggests Copilot+ is not a single-device launch. Microsoft is trying to set a platform direction for Windows PCs, with multiple hardware partners, multiple chip paths, and AI features that touch search, creativity, accessibility, and assistance.
The central question for users will be whether these local AI features become daily tools rather than launch demos. Recall, Cocreator, Live Captions, and Copilot all point to the same bet: the next Windows PC will be judged not only by conventional speed, but by how much useful work its on-device AI can do in the background and at the user’s fingertips.