Microsoft drops its insistence on 'Copilot+ PC' branding for new Surface laptops

Microsoft appears to be stepping back from its heavy promotion of the "Copilot+ PC" branding, with the company's newest Surface laptops forgoing the label that had been front and center in its marketing of AI-focused Windows hardware.

The Copilot+ PC designation was introduced to distinguish a new class of Windows laptops built around on-device AI features, typically requiring specific neural processing unit (NPU) hardware capable of a minimum number of trillion operations per second. Microsoft and its hardware partners used the branding extensively to market these machines as a distinct, premium tier of Windows devices.

A shift in emphasis

The move away from foregrounding the Copilot+ label on new Surface hardware suggests Microsoft may be recalibrating how it talks about AI features in its devices, potentially folding AI capabilities into the broader Windows and Surface experience rather than treating them as a separate marketing category.

Since the Copilot+ PC category launched, adoption of the dedicated AI features tied to the branding, such as Recall and other on-device AI tools, has been mixed, with some features facing delays, privacy scrutiny, and reworked rollouts. That backdrop may be informing how Microsoft chooses to position its newest machines.

Microsoft has not detailed a broader change in strategy for AI branding across its product lineup, and it remains to be seen whether other manufacturers producing Windows laptops will follow a similar approach or continue to lean on the Copilot+ PC designation.