AI PC technology and Copilot+ PC standards explained

AI PCs are defined by the inclusion of a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that allows generative AI tasks to be processed locally on the device rather than in the cloud, enhancing security and speed. Gartner predicts that by 2026, over 143 million AI PCs—more than half of all PC shipments—will be on the market.

Microsoft has established the ‘Copilot+ PC’ standard as a high-tier specification for these devices. To qualify, a PC must feature an NPU with at least 40 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), a minimum of 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. As of August 2026, major processors from Qualcomm (Snapdragon X2 series), Intel (Core Ultra Series 3), and AMD (Ryzen AI 400 series) are fully compatible with these requirements.