What is an AI PC and do you need one?
AI PCs are a big trend in the tech world this year, promising efficient computing where artificial intelligence is integrated directly into your desktop. But what is each brand promising, and are AI PCs as revolutionary as they seem?
What is an AI PC?
Essentially, AI PCs directly incorporate AI hardware and software to enhance the PC’s capabilities. The main requirements, adhered to by major brands, are:
Including Microsoft Copilot
Including the latest CPUs and GPUs
Including a neural processing unit (NPU), a specialised processor designed to streamline AI tasks
Microsoft and Intel took their joint definition one step further, suggesting AI PCs should also come with a Copilot key on the keyboard and be able to run Copilot locally.
Who is offering AI PCs?
AI PCs are coming with Intel Meteor Lake, AMD Ryzen and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Most major manufacturers are releasing laptops with these chips, including Microsoft, Dell, HP and Lenovo, among others.
Why would you use an AI PC?
If you often run high-demand Machine Learning tasks, such as data collection and analysis, an AI PC could streamline these tasks.
Otherwise, use cases for most businesses would include assisting with day-to-day tasks and content creation. Native Copilot could help with writing emails, creating presentations and summarising documents, as well as enhancing photo and video editing capabilities, writing blogs, and generating graphics from scratch.
Do you need one?
The main benefit of an AI PC is being able to run AI tasks faster, without having to send your sensitive data to an AI company’s servers for processing. Essentially, running locally boosts your business’ security and efficiency. You’ll also have access to a wider range of features, such as AI features in Adobe CC Suite, which perform better (or run exclusively) on NPUs.
However, AI PCs are still in their first stages. Most of Copilot’s features run on the cloud anyway, so don’t require an NPU and can still be used on a regular PC. There are also only a few desktop PCs with NPUs on offer, with the overwhelming majority being laptops or handheld devices.
Rather than rushing to invest in AI PCs, it’s worth taking stock first of which AI features your business actually needs and upgrading your existing hardware accordingly. PCs with current-gen processors and GPUs should be more than capable of running Copilot in the cloud. This shouldn’t pose a risk to your data so long as you’re following your internal security practices.
If you’re looking for a more powerful and efficient workstation, you can find our full range here.