Microsoft has already announced a new Copilot key on the keyboard of upcoming AI PCs, in an effort to highlight Copilot's presence in Windows 11.
These AI computers will use a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to handle AI tasks natively. However, a recent statement shared by Intel on theVerge reveals that a computer should have some critical characteristics to be considered an artificial intelligence computer by Microsoft.
The website states:
Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm and AMD have been pushing the idea of an “AI PC” for months. While we're still waiting to hear more details from Microsoft about its plans for AI in Windows, Intel has begun sharing Microsoft's requirements for OEMs in building an AI PC. So one of the main ones is that an AI computer must have a Copilot key.
Microsoft wants its OEM partners to provide a combination of hardware and software for its idea of an AI computer. This includes a system that comes with a neural processing unit (NPU), the latest CPUs and GPUs, and access to Copilot. It also needs the new Copilot key that Microsoft announced earlier this year.
However, some PCs have already been released in 2024 without the Copilot key, such as Asus' new ROG Zephyrus, which have been released with Intel's new Core Ultra chips but are not AI PCs in the eyes of Microsoft's strict requirements because they lack the Copilot button.
But they're still AI computers in Intel's eyes.
Copilot is a software-level feature that you can run using the Win + C shortcut or the taskbar icon. So we don't see a particular problem for computers that already have CPUs with NPUs not being considered AI computers.
Excluding some computers that already have capable hardware just because a key is missing from the keyboard doesn't seem fair, so we'll probably have to wait for exceptions….
