You Might Already Own an AI PC

With the latest updates to Windows 11, Copilot is becoming a much more personal and central part of your computer. The focus is clearly on making the AI feel less like a tool and more like a companion.

One of the most noticeable changes is an optional animated character named Mico—a sort of Clippy for the AI era. (You do remember Clippy, don’t you?) This small, expressive on-screen presence is designed to react to your conversation, making voice commands feel more natural. This, combined with the "Hey, Copilot" wake word, aims to make talking to your PC more like a real conversation. Of course, you’ll have to decide how practical this is for you, especially in a busy office or a quiet library.

The new Copilot also aims to get to know you better, acting almost like a second brain. A new long-term memory feature allows you to ask the assistant to remember important information—like that you’re training for a marathon or a specific project you’re working on—and it can recall this context in future chats. This works with “connectors,” which let you give Copilot permission to securely search your personal accounts, including Google Drive, Gmail, and Outlook, to help you find appointments or files. You can edit or delete these "memories" at any time.

So, what would you use this for? The new update provides some very specific, real-world examples. A new "Copilot for health" feature aims to provide information from credible sources, like Harvard Health, and can even help you find a doctor based on your preferences. Another feature, "Learn Live," acts as a voice-enabled tutor, guiding you through a new subject with questions and visual aids rather than just giving you answers.

The new features are also built more deeply into your web browser and social life. “Copilot Mode in Edge” is being described as an AI browser that can, with your permission, view and analyze all your open tabs. This means you could ask it to summarize and compare information from multiple websites at once. There’s also a new “Groups” feature, which lets you invite up to 32 people into a shared AI chat to collaboratively plan a trip, study for a test, or manage a project.

In short, the biggest change to your PC going forward is that this cloud-based AI assistant is being woven directly into the computer’s basic operations, with a new emphasis on personalization, memory, and even social collaboration.

So what does all this new technology—the voice commands, the on-screen help, the file sorting—actually mean for you? The promise is one of convenience: a smarter computer that can save you time, simplify complex tasks, and help you find information more naturally.

This brings us to the ultimate question: Is a new computer actually required to use these new features?

Thanks to these software-centric updates, the answer is no.

The core AI experience—the ability to talk to Copilot, let it see your screen, and have it organize your files—is being delivered as a software update to any PC that can run Windows 11. These features work by connecting to the cloud, meaning your computer’s own power is less important than your internet connection. For the millions of users upgrading from Windows 10, these AI tools will be built-in from day one.

So why are manufacturers still heavily promoting new AI PCs, often labeled as Copilot+?

The claimed benefits for these new, more expensive machines, which contain that specialized neural processing unit, are what Microsoft calls a “faster, most secure experience.” This refers to the NPU’s ability to handle specific AI tasks directly on the device, which is more private than sending data to the cloud. It also preserves battery life better than using the standard graphics hardware.

This hardware does unlock a few exclusive extras, such as Recall (a searchable timeline of your activity), real-time video captions, and advanced webcam filters. But beyond these specific tools, Microsoft doesn’t articulate any broad, must-have features that strictly require the new NPU.

This doesn’t mean a Copilot+ PC is a bad investment. If you were already in the market for a new, high-performance laptop, you’ll find that these models are simply the new high-end option, and they are a perfectly fine choice. In fact, we have several Copilot+ PCs in our ratings that score quite highly, making them a great choice for consumers who want to be on the bleeding edge of tech. (Two of them are listed below.) But if you weren’t planning on buying a premium machine, there’s no need to stretch your budget just for the AI label.

Our advice remains the same as always: Buy a PC that fits your budget and your needs, knowing that the core AI experience will now be included either way.