AI PC vs Copilot+ PC: What's the Difference, and Which Laptops Qualify

AI PC vs Copilot+ PC: Whats the Difference, and Which Laptops Qualify?

Hello, I am Nathan Bird, Senior Sales Specialist at Landmark Computers. In 26 years of selling business laptops to Australian organisations, I have rarely seen a product category get more confusing for buyers than the current AI PC landscape. HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Dynabook, Microsoft, Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are all using overlapping terms, and the distinctions between them are not obvious from a product page. Even our own product names at Landmark do not always reflect a laptops AI tier accurately, because we are constrained by the supplier specifications and naming conventions we inherit from each manufacturer.

The most common mistake we see is this: a customer assumes that because a laptop is labelled "AI PC", it must be a Copilot Plus PC and can run the new Windows AI features Microsoft has been advertising. In a significant number of cases, that is wrong. The laptop has an NPU, technically qualifies as an AI PC under one of the looser definitions floating around, but is not Copilot+ certified and cannot run Recall, Cocreator, or local Studio Effects. The buyer only finds out months later, when they try to use a feature they thought they had paid for.

This guide is the antidote. By the end of it you will know what the labels actually mean, where the thresholds sit, how to read a spec sheet so you do not get caught out, and which series across HP, Lenovo, ASUS, Dell, and Dynabook genuinely qualify as Copilot+ PCs in 2026. We will also cover where MacBooks fit into all this (the short answer: they do not, by design), and how to apply this framework to any laptop on the market, not just the ones we stock.

Where the Confusion Comes From

To understand why "AI PC" and "Copilot+ PC" are not the same thing, you need a brief sense of how the terms came into use.

"AI PC" was coined by Intel in late 2023, around the launch of the first Core Ultra processors with built-in Neural Processing Units. At that point, the NPU was a relatively modest chip, capable of around 11 TOPS, where TOPS stands for trillion operations per second and is the standard measure of NPU throughput. Intels marketing argued that this new generation of laptops, with a dedicated AI accelerator on board, deserved a distinct name. "AI PC" stuck.

"Copilot Plus PC" came later, in mid-2024, when Microsoft formalised a hardware certification programme to identify laptops capable of running its newest Windows AI features locally on the device. To carry the Copilot Plus badge, a laptop has to meet a specific set of requirements. Microsoft set those requirements considerably higher than the original "AI PC" baseline, deliberately.

So the two terms exist for different reasons. "AI PC" is a marketing label invented by chipmakers to signal that an NPU exists. "Copilot Plus PC" is a certification badge issued by Microsoft for laptops that meet specific minimum specifications and can run a defined set of Windows features. The first is loose and applied broadly. The second is strict and applied narrowly. They are not the same thing, and the gap between them is where buyers get caught out.

What "AI PC" Actually Means

"AI PC" is best understood as an industry-wide marketing umbrella rather than a precise specification. There is no governing body that defines the minimum requirements for a laptop to be called an AI PC. Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and the laptop OEMs (HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Dynabook, and so on) each have their own internal definitions, and they vary.

In broad terms, an AI PC is a laptop that has:

• A dedicated Neural Processing Unit, separate from the CPU and GPU
• Some capacity to run AI workloads on-device rather than in the cloud
• Compatibility with Windows 11 features that can use an NPU when one is available

That is a low bar. Laptops with NPUs as small as 11 TOPS qualify. Laptops with NPUs at 13 TOPS, 16 TOPS, or any other figure below the Copilot+ threshold also qualify. There is no upper limit either, so a 50 TOPS Snapdragon X Elite laptop is also an AI PC. The term tells you that the hardware is present. It does not tell you whether the hardware is enough to run any particular Windows AI feature.

This vagueness is not malicious. It just reflects that "AI PC" was coined before Microsoft set its Copilot+ requirements, and the industry kept using it. The result is that the same label now sits on top of laptops with very different capabilities.

What an AI PC can do

Even at the lower end of the AI PC tier, you do get tangible benefits from having an NPU on board:

• Some Teams and Zoom features like background blur, gaze correction, and basic noise suppression can run on the NPU instead of the CPU, freeing up resources and saving battery
• Adobe and similar creative apps have started adding NPU acceleration for selected filters and effects, with the heaviest tasks still using the GPU
• Windows 11 itself has a handful of features that scale up when an NPU is present, including some Photos enhancements and certain Edge browser AI features
• Third party AI applications are increasingly NPU-aware, so apps you install yourself may take advantage of the chip

What an AI PC below 40 TOPS does NOT do is run the full suite of Copilot+ exclusive features. That is the next tier up.

What "Copilot+ PC" Actually Means

Copilot+ PC is not a marketing term. It is a hardware certification issued by Microsoft, with specific minimum requirements that a laptop has to meet to qualify. The badge is licensed, not self-applied, and the requirements are published on Microsofts own site.

The current Copilot+ PC requirements (as of mid 2026, and stable since the original mid 2024 launch) are:

• NPU capable of at least 40 TOPS. This is the headline number and the one that catches most buyers out. Forty TOPS is a high bar. It is more than three times the NPU capacity of the first wave of AI PCs.
• 16 GB RAM minimum. Either DDR5 or LPDDR5. Older DDR4 laptops will not qualify even if you upgrade the memory.
• 256 GB SSD minimum. Most business laptops already meet this, but it is worth checking on entry-level configurations.
• Windows 11 version 24H2 or newer. Earlier Windows 11 builds do not include the Copilot+ feature set.
• A compatible processor family. Microsoft publishes a list of approved silicon. Anything outside that list, even if it has a 40 TOPS NPU, does not currently qualify.

If a laptop meets all five conditions, it carries the Copilot+ badge and can run Microsofts full set of on-device AI features. If it misses any one of them, it cannot. There is no partial certification, no "almost qualifies", no "will be eligible later via an update". It either has the badge or it does not.

The approved silicon families and their NPU figures

As of mid 2026, the processor families that qualify for Copilot Plus certification are:

All seven of these families clear the 40 TOPS bar. The differences between them matter for raw AI throughput on heavy local workloads (the Snapdragon X2 at 80 TOPS is the standout, and the Ryzen AI HX 470 series sits at 60 TOPS at the top end), but for the standard Copilot Plus feature set, anything at 40 TOPS or above runs the same way.

The Three Tiers of AI Capability in 2026 Windows Laptops

Once you understand the two terms, the easiest way to navigate the market is to think in three tiers. Every Windows laptop on sale in Australia in 2026 falls into one of these tiers, regardless of brand.

The structure is simple once you see it. The tricky part is that brands use slightly different language for tier 2 and tier 3, and the labels are not always prominent on product pages. HP uses "AI PC" for tier 2 and "Next Gen AI PC" for tier 3 in spec sheets. Lenovo tends to use "(AI)" in some descriptions and the Copilot+ badge directly on certified models. Dell often relies on the Copilot+ badge without using "AI PC" as a separate label. ASUS uses both "AI" and "Copilot+" depending on the model. Dynabook is more reserved with AI badging across its range. Across the board, the Copilot+ badge from Microsoft is the single most reliable signal that a laptop is in tier 3.

Why the Product Name Will Not Tell You

This is the section we wish more buyers read before they hand over their credit card. The product name on a laptop, whether it appears on the manufacturers site, on a major retailers listing, or on our own site at Landmark, is not a reliable indicator of which AI tier the laptop sits in. Heres why.

Different manufacturers use different conventions. HP applies "AI PC" and "Next Gen AI PC" labels in spec sheets but does not always include them in the short product name. We have seen multiple HP SKUs in our own range where the product name omits the AI label entirely even though the laptop carries Copilot Plus certification, because HPs naming convention sometimes truncates. We have also seen the inverse, where "AI" appears in the product name on a SKU that uses a 16 TOPS AMD Ryzen 7 250 chip and is firmly in the AI PC tier, not Copilot+.

Lenovo includes "(AI)" in some ThinkPad descriptions but not others, and the presence or absence does not always track with Copilot+ certification cleanly. Dell rebranded its entire commercial range from Latitude to Dell Pro during 2025, which means older listings may still reference Latitude branding and newer ones use Pro Plus, Pro Premium, and Pro Max tier designators that have nothing to do with AI capability. ASUS uses "Ultra" in the ExpertBook Ultra name to indicate the premium AI tier, but "Ultra" also appears in Intel processor names where it means something different.

Add to this the fact that retailers including us inherit supplier-provided product titles that may have been written before Copilot+ certification was awarded, or written for a different region where the AI tier branding differs. The result is that two SKUs with nearly identical product names on a retail site can sit in different AI tiers, and you cannot always tell which is which from the title alone.

The 16 TOPS Trap: Why Some "AI PCs" Are Not Copilot Plus

This is the single most important section of this guide, because it explains the specific way buyers get caught out.

Some processor families have an NPU, qualify their host laptop for the "AI PC" label under most definitions, but fall well short of the 40 TOPS Copilot+ threshold. The most common examples in the current market are:

• AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Ryzen 5 220. These chips have a 16 TOPS NPU. HP, Lenovo, and others ship laptops using these chips and label them "AI PC" because the NPU is genuinely present and works. They are NOT Copilot+.
• Intel Core Ultra 100 series (Meteor Lake generation, model numbers like 125H, 135U, 155H, 165U). These have NPUs around 11 TOPS. AI PC tier, not Copilot+.
• Intel Core Ultra 200H series (Arrow Lake H, model numbers like 225H, 255H, 265H, 285H). NPU at 13 TOPS. AI PC tier, not Copilot+.
• Intel Core Ultra 200HX series (Arrow Lake HX workstation chips, model numbers like 255HX, 265HX, 285HX). NPU also at 13 TOPS. AI PC tier.
• Intel Core Ultra 200U series (Arrow Lake U, model numbers like 225U, 255U). NPU at 11 TOPS. AI PC tier.

Sixteen TOPS, 13 TOPS, or 11 TOPS is meaningfully more than nothing. It is enough to run background blur, some noise suppression, certain photo enhancements, and a handful of NPU-accelerated features in third party apps. Manufacturers are being technically accurate when they label these laptops as AI PCs. The NPUs are there, and they work.

But these figures are also well short of 40 TOPS, which means the laptop cannot run Recall, cannot run Live Captions with Translation, cannot run Cocreator in Paint, cannot run Restyle Image, and cannot run the local Windows Studio Effects features that need full Copilot Plus certification. Microsoft does not gate access to these features by attempting to scale them down for smaller NPUs. They simply do not appear on a non-Copilot Plus system.

The Combined TOPS Trap: When 99 TOPS Is Not What It Sounds Like

The second trap is more subtle, and it shows up most often in marketing materials for higher-performance laptops, particularly Intel-based mobile workstations and gaming laptops that have been repositioned as AI workstations.

Some manufacturers list a total TOPS figure for the whole platform, adding together the AI capabilities of the CPU, GPU, and NPU. You will see numbers like 90 TOPS, 99 TOPS, or even higher. These are not invented numbers. They genuinely reflect the combined AI throughput of the silicon. But they are not the figure Microsoft uses for Copilot Plus certification.

Microsoft looks at NPU performance in isolation. It does not count CPU TOPS or GPU TOPS toward the 40 TOPS threshold. A laptop with a 13 TOPS NPU, a 35 TOPS GPU, and a 51 TOPS combined CPU and integrated graphics figure may legitimately advertise "99 TOPS" total. The NPU alone is 13 TOPS. Below the bar.

Intel Core Ultra 200H series (Arrow Lake H) is the most common example of this. The 200H series has substantial total AI throughput because the integrated GPU is strong, but the NPU itself is 13 TOPS, inherited from the Meteor Lake generation. The same goes for 200HX and 200U. These are AI PCs. They are not Copilot+ PCs. Same trap, different mechanism.

What Copilot+ PCs Actually Do That AI PCs Cannot

It is one thing to know there is a gap. It is another to know what falls into it. Here is the current list of Microsoft Windows AI features that require Copilot Plus certification, with what they actually do:

• Recall. Searches your laptops recent activity by describing what you remember about it, rather than needing a filename or date. Indexes documents, web pages, conversations, and images locally. Opt in, encrypted at rest, and entirely on-device. Requires Copilot+ certification.
• Live Captions with Translation. Translates spoken audio in real time from more than 40 languages into English captions, in any app, working offline. Useful for international meetings, video content, and accessibility. Standard Live Captions exist on older Windows but only Copilot+ PCs get the translation tier.
• Cocreator in Paint. Generates images from text prompts and sketches, running locally on the NPU rather than sending data to a cloud service.
• Restyle Image in Photos. Applies AI style transformations to existing photos.
• Image Creator. Standalone image generation from text prompts, again running on-device.
• Super Resolution in Photos. Upscales lower resolution images using NPU-accelerated enhancement.
• Windows Studio Effects. Lighting correction, gaze correction, voice clarity, automatic framing, and background blur for the laptop camera and microphone, applied at the system level so they work in every app. Some Studio Effects are available on AI PCs, but the full set with the heaviest processing runs only on Copilot Plus hardware.
• Click to Do. Contextual shortcuts that surface relevant actions for whatever you have selected on screen. Summarise this paragraph, draft a reply, extract a table, that sort of thing. Runs locally.
• Copilot on Windows local enhancements. The Copilot assistant works on any Windows 11 PC, but Copilot Plus PCs get faster local responses for certain tasks and the option to run some queries entirely on-device for privacy.

Microsoft continues to add features to this list. The pattern so far has been that new on-device Windows AI features ship as Copilot Plus exclusives first, and a subset may filter down to standard AI PCs later if the workload can be scaled down. Recall and Cocreator are unlikely to ever appear on sub 40 TOPS hardware. Other lighter features may. Buying a Copilot Plus PC is the only way to guarantee access to the current and future on-device AI feature set on Windows.

For more background on what an NPU is and how it interacts with the CPU and GPU, our companion guide on Neural Processing Units in Laptops goes into the underlying technology.

How This Plays Out Across the Major Brands

Each manufacturer handles the three tiers slightly differently, both in product naming and in how prominently the Copilot Plus badge appears. Here is a brand-by-brand look at where the Copilot Plus certified models sit in each lineup, and which series fall short.

What About MacBook?

This is the question we get from Mac-curious buyers comparing across platforms: do MacBooks count as Copilot+ PCs? The answer is no, and it is worth understanding why, because the reason is structural rather than about performance.

Copilot+ is a Microsoft Windows certification. It applies to Windows 11 laptops only. MacBooks run macOS, which is a completely different operating system. The Copilot Plus feature set (Recall, Cocreator, Live Captions with Translation, Windows Studio Effects, Click to Do, and so on) does not exist on macOS, because those are Microsoft features built into Windows 11. Even if a MacBooks Neural Engine matched or exceeded Microsofts 40 TOPS threshold, it still would not be a Copilot+ PC, because it cannot run Windows Copilot Plus features. Different ecosystem.

That does not mean MacBooks do not do on-device AI. They very much do. Apples equivalent platform is called Apple Intelligence, and it is supported across the current MacBook range:

• MacBook Air with M4 chip: 16 core Neural Engine, supports Apple Intelligence
• MacBook Air with M5 chip: 16 core Neural Engine plus new per core Neural Accelerators in the GPU, supports Apple Intelligence with notable performance gains over M4
• MacBook Pro 14 inch with M5: 16 core Neural Engine plus GPU Neural Accelerators, supports Apple Intelligence
• MacBook Pro 14 inch with M5 Pro: 16 core Neural Engine with higher memory bandwidth, supports Apple Intelligence with stronger performance
• MacBook Pro 14 and 16 inch with M5 Max: 16 core Neural Engine and the highest memory bandwidth in the M5 family, best for local large language model and heavy AI workflows
• MacBook Neo with A18 Pro chip: this is the most interesting recent addition. The Neo uses Apples iPhone class A18 Pro silicon in a Mac chassis running macOS, with a Neural Engine that is reportedly more powerful than the M4s in absolute TOPS terms, and supports Apple Intelligence fully. It is currently the most affordable entry into the Mac ecosystem and the most affordable MacBook capable of Apple Intelligence.

Apple takes a different architectural approach to on-device AI compared to the Windows side. Where Microsoft requires a discrete NPU running 40 plus TOPS, Apple distributes AI workloads across the Neural Engine, the GPU (with M5 generation per core Neural Accelerators), and unified memory. Apple does not publish a single headline TOPS figure for its Neural Engines the way Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm do, partly because the architecture spreads the workload differently. The result is comparable real world AI performance, particularly on the M5 generation, but the spec sheet conversation looks different.

If you are choosing between a Windows Copilot+ PC and a MacBook, the question to ask yourself is not "which has more TOPS" but "which ecosystem and which AI feature set fits the work I actually do". The two are not directly comparable on a feature by feature basis.

For Mac specific buying advice, browse our MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 16, and MacBook Neo ranges.

Does Copilot+ Actually Matter For You?

Now for the honest part. Just because Copilot Plus certification exists does not mean every buyer needs it. Some buyers definitely do. Some genuinely do not. The premium for stepping up from a tier 2 AI PC to a tier 3 Copilot+ PC is real, though it has narrowed considerably in 2026 as Lunar Lake, Panther Lake, and Ryzen AI silicon has become standard at most price points across most brands.

You probably want a Copilot+ PC if:

• You attend a lot of meetings in languages you do not speak natively. Live Captions with Translation is genuinely useful in this context, more so than any other Copilot Plus feature.
• You handle sensitive information and want AI features that work without sending data to the cloud. Local processing on the NPU keeps data on the device. This is a meaningful privacy benefit for legal, medical, financial, and government workflows.
• You are buying a laptop you intend to keep for three or four years. The on-device AI feature set is going to expand. Buying tier 2 today means buying a laptop that cannot run features Microsoft adds in 2027 and 2028. Buying tier 3 future-proofs that window.
• You use the laptop camera frequently for video calls. Windows Studio Effects on Copilot+ are noticeably better than the AI PC tier, particularly for poor lighting and noisy environments.
• You work with images and want on-device generation and editing. Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Super Resolution all run locally and are surprisingly capable.
• You are developing software that uses Windows ML. Microsofts local AI inference API assumes Copilot+ hardware for the best performance.

You can probably get by with a tier 2 AI PC if:

• Your work is primarily Office, browser, and email. Microsoft 365 Copilot is a cloud service. It works fine on any modern laptop, Copilot Plus or not.
• You use ChatGPT, Claude, or other cloud AI services. These run on the providers servers. Your local NPU is not involved.
• You are buying a short term replacement. If you plan to replace the laptop again in 18 to 24 months, the future-proofing argument is weaker.
• Price is the dominant factor. A tier 2 AI PC is often noticeably cheaper, and the Ryzen 7 250 in HPs G2a AI PC SKUs is a strong performer for general business workloads.

You may not need any AI tier if:

• Your work is task-specific and predictable. Point of sale, kiosks, dedicated terminals, line of business applications that do not use AI features. A standard PC saves money and serves the purpose.
• You are buying for an environment with strict software control. If your organisation blocks Recall, Cocreator, and other Copilot Plus features by policy, paying for the hardware to run them is wasted budget.

If you are still not sure which tier suits you, our broader How to Choose the Right Laptop guide walks through laptop selection more comprehensively, with AI capability as one factor among many.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I upgrade an existing laptop to become a Copilot+ PC?

No. The NPU is silicon on the processor die. You cannot add one through a software update, a Windows feature pack, or a hardware accessory. If your current laptop does not have a 40 TOPS NPU built in, it will never be a Copilot+ PC. The only way to access the Copilot Plus feature set is to buy a Copilot Plus certified laptop.

Do I need a Copilot Plus PC to use Microsoft 365 Copilot or ChatGPT?

No. Microsoft 365 Copilot and ChatGPT are both cloud services. They run on the providers servers and stream the results to your laptop. Any laptop with a modern browser can use them. The Copilot Plus certification only matters for Microsofts on-device Windows AI features, like Recall, Cocreator, and Live Captions with Translation.

Is Apple silicon (M-series MacBooks) a Copilot+ PC?

No, and the question reveals a useful distinction. Copilot Plus is a Windows certification. It does not apply to macOS. Apple silicon laptops, including the M4, M5, M5 Pro, M5 Max, and the A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo, have their own dedicated Neural Engine and run Apples own on-device AI platform called Apple Intelligence. The two ecosystems are not interchangeable.

Will Copilot Plus features come to non-Copilot Plus AI PCs eventually?

Some lighter features may, but the headline Copilot Plus exclusives (Recall, Cocreator, Live Captions with Translation, the full Windows Studio Effects suite) require the 40 TOPS NPU floor to run with acceptable performance. Microsoft has shown no sign of relaxing this. If you want those features, you need the certified hardware.

What about gaming on a Copilot+ PC?

Copilot+ PCs in our commercial range are business laptops, not gaming laptops. They have integrated graphics, not discrete GPUs. For gaming, you would look at a different category entirely, where the GPU matters more than the NPU. The Copilot Plus certification is about Windows AI features, not gaming performance.

Is Recall safe to enable?

Recall is opt in. It does not turn on by default. When you do enable it, the data is encrypted at rest and stays on your device. Microsoft revised the original Recall design substantially before release in response to security concerns, and the current version uses Windows Hello for authentication and per user encryption keys. For most business users, it is appropriate to leave it off until your organisation has reviewed it under its own security policies.

If a laptop has "AI" in its product name, does that mean it is a Copilot+ PC?

Not necessarily. "AI" in a product name can refer to any of the three tiers: a laptop with a 16 TOPS NPU and a laptop with a 50 TOPS NPU may both have "AI" in the title. Manufacturers and retailers, including us at Landmark, do not always reflect Copilot Plus status accurately in product names. Always check the spec sheet for NPU TOPS and processor family rather than relying on the title.

Do all Snapdragon X laptops have the same NPU performance?

No. The first generation Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus both have NPUs in the 45 TOPS range. The second generation Snapdragon X2 Elite, X2 Elite Extreme, and X2 Plus all step up to 80 TOPS. All of them are Copilot Plus certified, but the X2 family has significantly more headroom for demanding local AI workloads.

Whats the difference between Intel Core Ultra 200V and 200H, and why does it matter?

This is the most common confusion in Intel naming. Both are part of the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 family, but they use different silicon underneath. The 200V series (Lunar Lake) has a 48 TOPS NPU and is Copilot Plus certified. The 200H, 200HX, and 200U series (all Arrow Lake based) have NPUs at 11 to 13 TOPS and are AI PC tier, not Copilot+ PC. Two laptops both labelled "Intel Core Ultra Series 2" can sit in different AI tiers depending on whether they use a V, H, HX, or U suffix chip.

If I buy a Copilot Plus PC, do I have to pay extra for the AI features?

No. The Copilot Plus feature set ships as part of Windows 11. Recall, Cocreator, Live Captions with Translation, and the rest are included with the operating system at no additional cost. Microsoft 365 Copilot (the cloud service that integrates with Word, Excel, Outlook, and so on) is a separate paid subscription, but that is unrelated to the Copilot+ PC certification.

The Bottom Line

"AI PC" and "Copilot+ PC" are not the same thing. AI PC is a marketing label that says a laptop has an NPU, regardless of how big. Copilot+ PC is a Microsoft certification that requires an NPU of at least 40 TOPS, 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB of SSD, Windows 11 version 24H2 or newer, and a processor from one of the approved silicon families. The gap between them is the difference between a laptop that can run some on-device AI features and a laptop that can run all of them, including Recall, Cocreator, and Live Captions with Translation.

For business buyers in 2026, our recommendation is straightforward: if you are buying a Windows laptop to keep for three or four years, choose a Copilot+ PC. The premium has narrowed enough that the future-proofing argument now outweighs the saving on a tier 2 model in most cases. If you have a specific reason to choose tier 2 (price, fleet consistency, a workload that does not benefit from the Copilot Plus feature set), the AI PC tier offers genuinely good laptops at sharp prices across HP, Lenovo, Dell, and Dynabook. Just go in knowing what you are buying and not buying.

If you are choosing MacBook instead, the Apple Intelligence feature set is the equivalent value proposition, and all current Apple silicon MacBooks support it. The choice between platforms comes down to ecosystem and workflow fit, not raw NPU specs.

The single biggest mistake to avoid is paying a premium for "AI PC" branding under the assumption that it means Copilot+ certification. It does not. Always cross check the NPU TOPS figure, the processor family, and ideally the Copilot+ badge before you commit. The product name on a retailer site, including ours, is not enough on its own.