Microsoft has quietly stopped using the Copilot+ PC name on its newest Surface computers, even though the machines still meet the technical standards created for the AI-focused category. The decision marks a retreat from one of the company’s most visible Windows branding campaigns, but it does not signal an end to Copilot features or Microsoft’s push to put artificial intelligence inside personal computers.
The change was confirmed by Microsoft Surface corporate vice-president Brett Ostrum during an interview at Snapdragon Summit 2026. Discussing the latest Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models, Ostrum said: “These are not called Copilot+ PCs. They do meet all the requirements of our previous bar for what Copilot+ devices are. We still lean into the narrative around AI on the edge and being able to have a hybrid solution out there.”
That distinction is now central to Microsoft’s hardware strategy. The name is disappearing, but the technology behind it remains. New Surface devices continue to support the features previously associated with Copilot+ PCs, including local artificial-intelligence processing made possible by a neural processing unit, or NPU. The machines still sit above the same performance threshold, generally defined by an NPU capable of at least 40 trillion operations per second, or TOPS.
Microsoft and Qualcomm introduced the Copilot+ PC category in 2024 as a way to separate a new class of Windows machines from ordinary laptops. The computers were designed to run AI tasks locally rather than sending every request to a remote data centre. The promise included faster responses, lower reliance on an internet connection and improved privacy for some features.
The branding, however, quickly became linked with the troubled launch of Recall, a feature intended to create a searchable photographic record of activity on a computer. Security researchers raised serious concerns about the way sensitive information could be stored and accessed. Microsoft delayed the feature, changed how it worked and eventually made it an opt-in experience requiring stronger security controls. The delay meant that the flagship AI feature was missing when the new class of computers first reached customers.
That episode damaged the confidence behind the Copilot+ name. The category was marketed as a major step forward for Windows, yet one of its most important promised features became the subject of a security backlash before it was widely available. Over the following two years, computer makers increasingly reduced their use of the label in product names and promotional material. Microsoft’s newest Surface models have now followed the same path.
The withdrawal is not limited to Surface. Qualcomm senior vice-president of computing Kedar Kondap said the purpose of Copilot+ PCs had been to define a group of machines capable of delivering NPU-based experiences. He added: “So from that perspective, it’s more offering the same experiences, probably without just using [Copilot+ PC] terminology now.”
Nvidia has also avoided attaching the Copilot+ badge to its forthcoming RTX Spark platform, even though the planned systems meet the same specification baseline. Microsoft’s Project Zenith, a stripped-down Windows 11 system aimed at AI developers, is likewise expected to support the relevant hardware capabilities without carrying the consumer-facing name.
The market has also changed since the original launch. More mainstream processors now include NPUs that can reach or exceed the required performance level. As a result, the hardware once presented as a special dividing line is becoming more common across the laptop industry. A label designed to identify a premium category risks becoming less useful when many new machines qualify for it.
The cost of meeting the requirements has become another difficulty. Copilot+ PCs were initially associated with at least 16GB of memory, while Microsoft had recommended 32GB for some demanding configurations. A continuing shortage of memory chips has pushed prices higher and made large memory capacities more expensive. Microsoft has since removed its 32GB recommendation from parts of its website and introduced new Surface for Business models with 8GB of RAM.
That change has created an awkward contrast. Microsoft is still promoting local AI as an important part of the future of Windows, but it is also working to make Windows 11 run well on machines with less memory. The company has promised improvements to performance, reliability and updates, along with fewer intrusive Copilot interactions. The effort suggests that Microsoft wants AI to become a background capability rather than a separate product identity placed prominently on every computer.
The Copilot name itself is not being abandoned. Microsoft has continued to develop the assistant and recently added features including Home, Code and Autopilot. It is also testing ways to run Copilot functions on discrete graphics processors instead of relying only on integrated NPUs. If those tests become part of Windows more broadly, some AI features could reach computers that do not fit the original Copilot+ hardware model.
Microsoft’s strategy also extends well beyond consumer laptops. Nicolas Bustamante, a Microsoft employee in the company’s AI division, said Microsoft 365 Copilot now has 30 million paid seats and is growing fast. Responding to a question about whether anyone uses the assistant, Bustamante wrote: “So people use Copilot for real work, and yes, most people love it. I use it every day now: Copilot CLI for coding (with access to models from Gemini, OpenAI, xAI and Anthropic!) + Copilot Cowork for regular chat Etc. I’ve been happy with it. I think the perception gap on this website comes from the San Francisco tech bubble. If you’re a tech bro like me, you mostly know people at smaller companies. You don’t see much of the enterprise world where Copilot is used.”
The figures refer to paid Microsoft 365 seats rather than a count of people who use the assistant every day. Even so, they show why the company is separating the wider Copilot business from the fate of the Copilot+ PC label. Enterprise software remains a major route for Microsoft, while the hardware badge has become harder to defend after the Recall setback and a slow start for AI laptops.
Early Copilot+ PC shipments represented only a small share of the overall laptop market. That limited take-up, combined with confusion over which features were exclusive to the category, weakened the value of the name. Customers were asked to understand processor capabilities, NPU performance and changing software promises, while many of the headline tools were either delayed, restricted or later made available on a wider range of computers.
Microsoft is now presenting a simpler message. The newest Surface computers can still run the same class of local AI features, but buyers will not necessarily see Copilot+ printed in the product name. The technical baseline survives as a set of requirements rather than a consumer brand.
The move allows Microsoft and its hardware partners to keep developing AI-enabled Windows machines without carrying a label that became associated with a difficult launch. Copilot will remain embedded in Windows, Microsoft 365 and developer tools, while the Copilot+ PC name appears to be heading quietly into retirement.