Microsoft is discontinuing the "Copilot Plus PC" branding just 2.5 years after introducing it to the market. Despite new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models technically meeting the requirements for the designation, Microsoft and Qualcomm executives have confirmed the brand is being retired in favour of a new approach. This represents a strategic retreat from Microsoft's initial push to differentiate AI-equipped PCs and signals a shift in how the company will market its artificial intelligence initiatives.

The brand's decline stems from several contributing factors. Microsoft's flagship Recall feature received poor reception, marketing fatigue set in as users grew tired of constant AI upsells, and most PCs are becoming equipped with basic AI hardware anyway, rendering the distinction increasingly obsolete. Microsoft's forthcoming hardware will feature Nvidia chips rather than Qualcomm processors, and the company is expected to unveil a replacement brand on 7 October during a Microsoft event focused on how local AI will shape the future of personal computers.