What are AI PCs and what can they do that your computer can’t?

Bengaluru – Nvidia has turned the spotlight on AI PCs after its chief executive Jensen Huang launched a new chip that would put artificial intelligence capabilities directly into laptops and desktop computers, amid mixed demand for such devices already on the market.

HP said last week that AI-optimised computers helped lift its quarterly results, whereas Dell said in January that the AI boom had not generated the kind of demand it had anticipated.

Here is everything we know about AI PCs.

What is an AI PC?

Any laptop or desktop built to run AI apps or processes on the device is an AI PC.

Manufacturers say AI PCs can process data more swiftly than traditional ones and can handle a greater volume of AI tasks directly on the device, including chatbots.

They do not have to rely on cloud data centres that power most AI applications, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, and some variants can also support training AI models – a compute-intensive task typically done on servers – locally on the device.

The rise of AI agents, or software that can perform tasks on the computer by itself with minimal human intervention, is also drawing fresh attention to AI PCs.

Nvidia’s RTX Spark, unveiled ahead of the Computex conference in Taiwan, is part of what the company called an effort with Microsoft to “reinvent the PC” for the AI era. The new chip has been developed in collaboration with MediaTek to run agents locally rather than relying on cloud computing.

PC makers hope such powerful AI features will help draw in buyers as more people lean on generative AI for everything from sending e-mails to planning vacations.

HP said late in May that AI PCs made up 44 per cent of its PC shipments in the second quarter, up from more than 35 per cent in the previous quarter, helping it top revenue and profit estimates.

But AI PC adoption could be hampered by the memory chip supply squeeze and rising costs.

Market research firm IDC expects total global PC shipments to decline in 2026 because of memory shortages, rising component prices and supply constraints, even as higher average selling prices lift market value.

What technology is used in AI PCs?

AI PCs come with specialised processors called neural processing units (NPUs) that handle the majority of on-device AI workloads.

The NPUs work in tandem with central processing units and graphics processors to manage complex tasks, deliver enhanced processing speeds and power applications such as AI assistants.

What are some of the AI PCS already being sold?

Nvidia said RTX Spark laptops and compact desktops are expected in autumn from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and MSI, with Acer and Gigabyte to follow.

Several of the brands, along with Microsoft and Qualcomm, already offer Copilot+ PCs, which require processors designed specifically to handle AI tasks on the device.

Are there problems?

When announced in 2024, Microsoft’s “recall” feature raised some privacy concerns. The feature would track every action performed on the laptop, from voice chats to web browsing, and create a detailed history stored on the device. The user can then search this repository and go through past actions.

Following strong backlash over privacy and security, Microsoft delayed the release of the feature and instead made it available through a preview mode for certain users after adding stronger protections. The optional feature is available in the newer Copilot+ PCs.

On the other hand, some experts maintain that managing more AI-related tasks directly on the device offers greater privacy by eliminating the need to use personal data to train large AI models. REUTERS