Microsoft has updated Windows Task Manager to display per-process activity for neural processing units (NPUs) and GPU neural engines, allowing users to see which AI workloads are consuming which hardware resources. The addition reflects the growing prevalence of AI processing on Windows devices and gives developers and power users a familiar interface to diagnose performance and power issues, particularly on battery-powered laptops, though it also raises questions about whether the venerable utility is drifting from its original purpose.

Previously, the Processes tab could not show NPU or GPU neural engine usage by individual process; this is now visible on supported newer devices, alongside CPU and GPU activity, with the Performance tab showing overall utilisation. Task Manager, originally built by Dave Plummer in the 1990s, has steadily expanded well beyond its original remit of monitoring and killing errant processes, prompting comparisons to Notepad's feature creep. Commentators note that while the metrics will be useful to developers, more advanced system analysis has traditionally been the domain of Performance Monitor, and Microsoft risks compromising the tool's simplicity as it adds more capabilities.