Microsoft debuted Copilot+ about two years ago in an effort to bring AI PCs to the mainstream. Now, the company’s most recent Surface devices have abandoned Copilot+.
At the Qualcomm Summit in Hawaii, Microsoft debuted its new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, both of which were mysteriously missing the Copilot+ branding. Microsoft Surface CVP Brett Ostrum told Windows Central when asked about the missing branding that, “These are not called Copilot+ PCs. They do meet all the requirements of our previous bar for what Copilot+ devices are.” Those requirements revolve around an NPU (neural processing unit) with at least 45 TOPs of AI compute performance.
Microsoft seems unwilling to share why it’s ditching the Copilot+ branding, but the program has been divisive. When the first Copilot+ PCs rolled out, Microsoft had manufacturers change keyboard layouts to include a new Copilot key that’d bring up an AI chatbot. Windows 11 also had Copilot Recall added, which continuously takes screenshots on your PC, so that you can use AI to scrub back through them to help get work done in the future.
Even though Microsoft seems to be abandoning the Copilot+ branding, the company is still very heavily in favor of AI. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella continues to obsess over AI and even tweeted earlier today that “we’re building Copilot as a new OS for work that spans every model, every form factor, and every task.” Microsoft’s weird hardware initiative is gone, but the AI push is far from over.
Luckily, it does seem like Xbox isn’t being pushed too hard to broadly adopt AI. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reassured gamers back in February that Microsoft won’t force studios to use the technology. Although, Microsoft does continue to apply for patents that would use AI to show you ads in the middle of your games and even play your games for you.
Jacqueline Thomas
Senior Tech Editor
Jackie Thomas is the Senior Tech Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. She’s been covering gaming hardware for more than a decade for IGN, TechRadar, Gizmodo, PC Gamer and more. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
