Why You Dont Really Need an AI PC Right Now

There's been a lot of buzz lately about " PC AI " and how the latest processors from AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, and others include dedicated NPUs to power on-device artificial intelligence.

While the promise of seamlessly integrating AI into computers sounds appealing, for most users, an AI-focused PC may not be necessary.

Regular PCs can run most consumer-grade AI tools and tasks

AI PCs use their NPUs to handle AI tasks with ease, but the everyday AI tools we interact with don’t necessarily require special AI hardware. In fact, most AI applications can run just as easily on a typical $300 PC as they can on a more expensive $3,000 AI PC.

An internet- connected device is usually all you need to explore most consumer AI services at the time of writing. Take Microsoft Copilot , for example. Whether you’re using it on a laptop or an AI PC, your requests are still sent to Microsoft’s servers for processing before a response is sent back. The fancy Copilot key to “unlock” Copilot on an AI PC doesn’t really do anything special. In fact, you can always press Windows + C to launch Copilot on a PC without AI.

Even tools like Stable Diffusion that are more resource-intensive to create images can run directly on most consumer PCs. However, the NPU in an AI PC can help reduce the demand on the CPU and GPU , potentially extending battery life. Most of us don't spend all day creating images!

PC AI has no unique features

Windows Studio Effects, dedicated Copilot keys, and Windows Recall—PC AI's special features—may be great quality-of-life tools for some people. But on their own, they probably aren't compelling enough to get the average person to upgrade their laptop.

As someone who uses computers for work and play every day, what will really get people excited about PC AI will be the features that open up new possibilities that haven’t been possible before. Perhaps on-device AI assistants for different creators (writers, producers, designers, developers, etc.) could generate near-ready initial drafts based on instructions, leaving you to refine and perfect the output. Or if PC AI could leverage its knowledge of you — your habits, preferences, schedules, usage patterns — to deliver recommended apps, content, and reminders at the right time, without prompting.

A new AI-powered PC is a worthy upgrade over a traditional PC, and these features will no doubt come in the future, but for now, we’ll have to wait and see.

Upgrading to Windows 12 or later could make AI PCs more appealing

Rumors about a future Windows 12 upgrade have been circulating online for months now. While Microsoft has been tight-lipped as usual, the folks at Windows Central believe we could see an official announcement as early as summer 2025 based on typical release timelines. One idea that seems to keep popping up is the potential for increased artificial intelligence capabilities built directly into the operating system. To support this ambitious AI vision, Windows 12 could require PCs to have a dedicated NPU or high-end GPU capable of handling AI demands locally.

The revamped Copilot could be even more useful for common tasks. The rumored AI Explorer feature will learn your workflow over time and suggest relevant files, apps, or settings based on what you're doing. Other rumored additions include AI-powered search of on-screen activity, AI image enhancement, automatic live captioning for video calls, and a refreshed interface with a more focused taskbar.

If a future Windows update lives up to expectations of these expanded AI features built directly into the operating system, it could help AI PCs become mainstream.

So should you buy an AI PC now? Don't rush. If you're into Generative AI or want to run a local language model using GPT4All, current hardware can handle it just fine.