Copilot+ PC Adoption Lag

Copilot+ PCs: Are Businesses Really Buying In?

Despite significant marketing efforts, Copilot+ PCs, designed to be high-end laptops with built-in Neural Processing Units (NPUs) for enhanced AI capabilities, are struggling to gain significant traction in the business world. While these devices boast impressive processing power and exclusive AI-enabled features, many IT decision-makers remain unconvinced of their immediate value, prioritizing other factors like overall performance, battery life, and compatibility.

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Understanding Copilot+ PCs

The term “Copilot+ PC” was introduced to classify laptops equipped with an NPU, an on-chip AI accelerator, capable of delivering over 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second). This marked a significant leap compared to previous generations of “AI PCs,” such as those powered by Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs, which offered around 11 TOPS. The initial wave of Copilot+ PCs were exclusively powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X series chips, followed later by models incorporating Intel Core Ultra 200V and AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processors.

Microsoft heavily promoted Copilot+ PCs by highlighting their special AI-enabled features designed to leverage local processing, along with improved battery life, particularly in the early Arm-based models.

Mixed Reception in the Enterprise

However, the enthusiasm surrounding Copilot+ PCs hasn’t translated into widespread adoption within businesses. According to Kieren Jessop, a Research Manager at Canalys, deployments have primarily been limited to pilot programs targeting specific user groups, rather than large-scale rollouts.

Canalys conducted two global surveys of channel partners, revealing that while a significant 73 percent were familiar with Copilot+ PCs, only 33 percent considered AI capabilities to be a crucial factor in their purchasing decisions.

Marie-Christine Pygott, a Senior Analyst at Context, notes that Copilot+ PCs represent a small but growing segment of all PCs with built-in NPUs. In the second quarter of 2025, European distributors shipped 1.2 million AI-capable PCs to resellers. Of those, only nine percent were Copilot+ PCs, indicating that most AI-capable laptops don’t meet Microsoft’s 40 TOPS requirement. This nine percent, while small, does represent growth from four percent in the first quarter and two percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Overall sales of AI-capable PCs have been somewhat disappointing. Context reports that only two out of every five PCs sold in early Q2 were AI-capable, making Copilot+ PCs a niche within a niche.

Pygott explains that sales and market share of Copilot+ PCs are gradually increasing, but remain below initial industry expectations. Factors contributing to this include high pricing, a perceived lack of compelling use cases, a limited understanding of Copilot+ PC capabilities, and concerns about software compatibility with Arm-based devices like those using the Snapdragon X chip.

Hardware Refresh Drives Growth, Not Exclusive Features

The growth observed in Copilot+ PC sales appears to be driven more by the standard hardware refresh cycle than by the appeal of their exclusive AI features. Newer laptops, equipped with the latest-generation Intel, AMD, or Qualcomm processors, naturally meet the 40+ TOPS requirement, regardless of whether customers actively seek out this capability.

Limited Appeal of Exclusive AI Features for Businesses

The specific AI features offered by Copilot+ PCs may not resonate strongly with business users. While features like advanced image editing might be appealing to consumers, businesses often rely on dedicated professionals using specialized tools like Adobe Photoshop, which already incorporates its own AI capabilities.

Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst for TECHnalysis Research, suggests that businesses aren’t necessarily purchasing Copilot+ PCs for their current AI features. Instead, they’re investing in systems with advanced capabilities, anticipating future applications that will leverage the power of the NPU.

Jessop echoes this sentiment, stating that the exclusive features don’t significantly influence enterprise customers, as they can often access similar functionalities through cloud-based services. While on-device processing offers privacy advantages, features like Recall are met with skepticism.

Investing in Future Capabilities

O’Donnell believes that businesses purchasing Copilot+ PCs are betting on the 40+ TOPS NPUs becoming valuable as new business applications emerge. They are looking ahead to a future where local AI processing becomes more critical.

TECHnalysis is currently surveying enterprise customers to assess the importance of having an NPU. Preliminary results indicate that 88 percent of respondents consider it at least somewhat important to have an NPU now, and this figure rises to 93 percent when considering the next two years.

Dell and Intel have also released survey results suggesting that businesses favor Copilot+ PCs. Their “Windows 11 & AI PC Readiness Report” indicates that 62 percent of UK IT decision-makers polled would be more likely to choose a Copilot+ PC over a “regular AI PC.” Furthermore, 64 percent believe that having PCs powerful enough to run AI applications is either extremely critical or critical for their business.

Performance and Battery Life Still Reign Supreme

Despite the growing interest in on-device AI, performance and battery life remain the top priorities for businesses. Jessop emphasizes that the initial marketing strategy for Copilot+ PCs focused on AI, performance, and battery life. However, following a lukewarm reception to the value proposition of on-device AI, the focus has shifted towards highlighting performance and battery life first, with AI and future-proofing as secondary considerations.