A while back some PC manufacturers came out with a new line of PCs and laptops, called Copilot+ PCs. The branding’s a little goofy: the Copilot label is getting slapped on practically everything, and it hasn’t been clear exactly what the unique selling point of these Copilot+ PCs is.
They’re built for the era of AI, so they say, but what does that mean exactly? Microsoft is already rolling out Copilot features in all sorts of products and places, and those features work perfectly well on regular ol’ vanilla PCs.
Now, Microsoft is starting to differentiate this more clearly: the company recently announced a powerful new capability coming to Windows 11… but only for users with a Copilot+ PC.
Let’s talk about the feature first, then about what makes these Copilot+ PCs different. Last, most importantly: has Microsoft finally given you a good reason to upgrade?
New Windows 11 Feature: Natural Language Search
We’ve all used the search function in Windows before. Sometimes it does a great job, but let’s be honest: most of the time it’s pretty disappointing. You search for a term or two that you think you might have used in the file name of some document you need, and what does Windows Search give you? An irrelevant file from years ago and 5 website recommendations in Edge.
If it feels like search should be smarter, well, we don’t disagree. Mac users have had Spotlight Search for years, and it’s a genuine advantage: one easy search bar can surface files, websites, and even specific information within a file (like specific information within a Note in the Notes app).
Now, back to Microsoft: the Windows maker looks set on leapfrogging its fruit-loving rival by rolling out systemwide natural language search. This new capability should allow users to search using everyday conversational language, and your laptop should be able to understand what you’re after. For example, you could tell it “I need the slide deck from the last meeting I had with Client A” or “Find pictures of the CEO from the holiday party three years ago” and it will understand what you mean—and find the files for you.
That’s a huge leap forward in capability: now even vague search descriptions have a much better success rate, and you’ll waste less time trying to find files manually.
The Catch: Copilot+ Only (For Now)
There’s a big catch to this new feature. For now, it’s available in test builds of Windows 11 only for Copilot+ PCs. This could change in the future, but for now, natural language search requires advanced on-system processing that older PCs can’t do.
What Is a Copilot+ PC?
Copilot+ PCs have a separate chip (or a dedicated part of the system-on-a-chip, the all-in-one hardware inside most laptops) that regular PCs don’t have. It’s called a neural processing unit, or NPU. This dedicated unit handles neural-network types of tasks, like machine learning and certain types of AI processing, so that your CPU and GPU don’t have to shoulder that load.
Which brings us back to this new, Copilot+ only feature. When Copilot+ first launched, some tech journalists asked “what’s the point?”: All of Microsoft’s AI-powered features were running in the cloud anyway. All the hard processing work happened on a massive server somewhere else, and the results were delivered over the internet. So, if PC laptops aren’t actually doing AI things, what’s the point of paying more for hardware that can, well, do AI things?
Now we know: Microsoft is beginning to launch on-device AI features, starting with natural language search.
Bottom Line: Should You Upgrade?
Quick answer: not necessarily— yet. Natural language search will be a huge quality of life improvement, but on its own it probably isn’t the killer feature that demands you upgrade immediately.
Here’s the thing, though: this is the first on-device AI feature, and it almost certainly won’t be the last. As this tech space continues to mature, expect to see more and more “Copilot+ exclusive” features. Next time you’re up for PC upgrades, you’ll probably want to investigate the state of on-device NPUs.
Better yet, work with us: we’ll handle the technical details so you don’t have to. Reach out anytime.