What Is Copilot? The Next Step In AI PC

Introduction

AI went from being an exotic topic, understandable, and usable by just elite PC users to being an important part of computer use in an amazingly short period of time. Today, we are witnessing the arrival of the most advanced windows pcs ever, setting a new standard for performance, security, and innovation. Copilot+ introduces a new superpower for users, transforming productivity and creativity.

Over the past year, numerous AI services have appeared, including Microsoft’s Copilot, a rebranding and extension of Bing. However, Copilot is not a single service; it has three separate offerings: Copilot, Pro, and Copilot+ PC. Copilot+ PCs represent a new class of AI-powered devices, featuring advanced hardware and turbocharged neural processing units that set them apart in the Windows ecosystem.

What Is Copilot?

Copilot is the base service and is part of Windows 11 release 23H2. It is a replacement for the Bing browser and offers many of the basic AI enhancements to a simple browser-based search. Copilot Pro is a subscription service that provides AI services and enhancements to Windows 365 users.

Copilot+PC is a somewhat different animal. While pretty much any PC can perform AI tasks, if the tasks are complex or if there is a lot of data to parse, especially if it’s not contained on the computer itself, it’s easy for a PC that is not enhanced with AI components to bog down or take significant time to complete the desired task.

Copilot and Copilot Pro both use the cloud to perform much of the AI-intensive work and are frequently limited by not being able to operate when not connected to the internet. To access cloud services and certain Copilot features, an internet connection is required.

Copilot+ PCs contain an additional component called an NPU, or Neural Processing Unit. This NPU is incorporated into the CPU as with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, as well as the forthcoming AMD Ryzen 300AI series of processors, both capable of performing over 40 trillion operations per second. The NPU allows AI tasks, including those powered by small language models, to be performed directly on the device, enabling local AI processing. This also enhances the performance of apps, especially when using native arm versions of Windows applications. Copilot technology leverages advanced ai models to deliver its features.

What Can Copilot+ Do For You?

Copilot+ keeps the same enhancements offered with the base version of Copilot. The most basic of these, and probably the most often used, is chat.

You can ask Copilot anything, and while some inquiries produce sparse results, others are comprehensive. Copilot uses some of its technology from OpenAI, which Microsoft has a financial stake in.

Depending on what you need, Copilot can find flights for an upcoming trip, recommend hotels and restaurants, create a resume and write an email, create a cool PowerPoint presentation or business report (and, unfortunately, dissertations and reports for school), as well as many other things to list. Copilot+ also provides relevant actions and image actions, allowing you to interact with content and images efficiently right from your workflow.

The Internet should supply tonnes of videos to get you up and running; it won’t be long before helpful books on making the most of Copilot will appear. Needless to say, you’ll spend a lot of time playing Copilot.

In addition to supercharging some of the most useful Windows applications, Copilot+ offers some benefits that really increase the usefulness of your laptop. It can superpower accelerate your workflow, making tasks faster and more productive. Copilot pc experiences bring a suite of AI-powered enhancements to Windows, improving productivity, accessibility, and device integration. For image editing, you can now restyle image using AI, reimagining your photos with different styles. Multimedia features include live translations and video and audio subtitles, making content accessible in multiple languages. Voice focus improves call clarity by reducing background noise. Users can personalize their experience by adjusting various settings within Windows.

Probably the most talked about is Windows Recall. When it’s released, it should allow you to find anything you’ve seen on your PC.

You can use clues or scroll through the timeline to find what you are looking for. At least that was what Microsoft detailed before they “recalled” the app, and now it lists it as a feature that is coming soon due to security and privacy concerns.

Performance and battery life can vary significantly and vary depending on device configuration, usage, settings, and other factors. Feature availability and experiences may differ as timing varies by device and region. Copilot+ devices receive free updates, and using Windows Update is important to ensure you get the latest features and security improvements.

How much does Copilot cost?

It’s important to know that some of the Copilot features are only available with Copilot for Microsoft 365, which costs $30/month and adds features to Microsoft 365 applications.

How Does Copilot Handle Security and Privacy?

Copilot+ PCs are designed from the ground up to be secure Windows PCs, giving users peace of mind while unlocking the full potential of AI features. At the heart of these intelligent Windows PCs is the Microsoft Pluton security processor, which adds a robust layer of protection against modern threats. The dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) not only powers advanced AI features but also ensures that sensitive data can be processed locally, reducing reliance on cloud services and keeping your information more private.

Privacy controls are front and center on Copilot+ PCs. Users have the ability to manage their Recall data and other personal information, putting them in control of what is stored and how it’s used. The improved Windows Search leverages natural language processing to help you find files, images, and documents quickly, all while respecting your privacy and delivering relevant results securely.

Copilot+ PCs represent a new category of intelligent Windows PCs, offering incredible value through a rich set of AI features, secure design, and seamless integration with tools like the Snipping Tool and Windows Studio Effects. Enjoy automatic framing, background blur, and other enhancements that make your PC experiences more engaging and productive. As Microsoft continues to begin rolling out new features and updates, you can expect even more innovative AI features and security enhancements, all delivered with a commitment to responsible use and user privacy.

With Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft is setting a new standard for secure, intelligent, and feature-rich Windows devices—empowering users to do more, create more, and stay protected every step of the way.

What advantages do intelligent Windows PCs and Copilot+ PCs offer?

In the plus column, Copilot+ PCs do have a number of really nifty features. Cocreator works with Microsoft Designer and Paint and turns a text description or a rough drawing into a professional-looking image. Cocreate is similar to services such as Midjourney and Dall-E, which let you create an image from a text prompt and perform this locally on the AI PC rather than having to use the internet.

It also lets you do photo editing and change the style of an image with Image Creator in Photos. Copilot+ PCs introduce super resolution and automatic super resolution features, which use AI to enhance image quality and improve frame rates in video and gaming, especially through DirectX integration. More imaging power will soon be available in Adobe’s flagship applications—Photoshop, Lightroom, and Express.

Third-party software and apps, such as Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, and other popular applications, are optimized to take full advantage of Copilot+ hardware, resulting in faster and more efficient experiences.

What does Copilot+ do?

Copilot+ provides some impressive video effects. Live Caption can translate 44 different languages and put subtitles in real-time on a video. This works with recorded video and/or audio.

Windows Studio Effects Portrait Light automatically adjusts the image so that it can be better read in low-light environments, while three new creative filters let you create a unique background for your video calls. There’s even an Eye Contact teleprompter that maintains eye contact even when you are reading your screen.

A number of third-party software vendors are also linking their applications to Copilot+. These applications include DaVinci Resolve Studio, CapCut, Cephable, Liquid Text, djay Pro, Luminar Neo, and McAfee.

What is Copilot PC? Where are the Copilot+ PCs now?

At the moment, Copilot+ capability is only available on a limited number of laptop PCs.

These all have Snapdragon X Elite processors, which incorporate an NPU that can perform 45 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second), necessary to perform AI operations locally with reasonable speed.

Currently, these laptops include the Microsoft Surface Pro, ASUS Vivobook S 15, Microsoft Surface Laptop, Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, Acer Swift 14 AI, Dell XPS 13, HP OmniBook X 14, Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, ThinkPad T14s Gen6, and Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.

These vendors have also announced additional models with Copilot+ that may be available now or should be available soon. Also announced at Computex were several MSI Copilot+ laptops. Expect more models to be announced and available soon.

Feature rollouts and device availability may differ by region, including the European Economic Area, where timing varies and some features may be released later than in other regions.

When Will Copilot Be Available?

While at this moment Copilot+ runs only on laptops using the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, both AMD and Intel have announced their intention of adding powerful NPUs to their upcoming CPUs.

Intel hasn’t given any information about its forthcoming processor other than that it will have an NPU capable of supporting Copilot+.

Many current CPUs have NPUs as part of the processor, but these NPUs don’t have the minimum 40 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second) requirement for Copilot+.

But laptop vendors are already jumping on the AMD Copilot+ bandwagon, with the new Ryzen A1 300 series hitting 50 TOPS. HP has announced its OmniBook Ultra, powered by AMD’s Ryzen A1 300 series CPU.

HP’s press release notes that the OmniBook Ultra will not be certified by Microsoft as a Copilot+ PC on release, but an update later in the year will add this certification.

HP is not the only PC vendor in this circumstance; other vendors will be announcing AMD and Intel-powered laptops capable of being certified as Copilot+ PCs in the very near future.

Will Copilot+ be applied to desktop computers in the future?

An interesting question is whether Copilot+ PCs will appear in desktop form. While no vendor has yet announced one, it seems probable that they will, assuming the Copilot+ laptops become popular.

Also likely is that the initial wave of desktop Copilot+-capable desktops will be of the mini-PC form factor. Mini PCs seem to be becoming more popular by the day, offering performance equal to that of most desktops with similar CPUs. The same CPUs used in laptops work well with tiny PCs, as some of the needs are similar—low power usage and decent heat distribution.

AI is just picking up speed. Given history, technology and applications will keep pace with the advances in processor power and software. Hold onto your keyboards—it’s going to be an adventure.