Microsoft has discontinued the "Copilot+ PC" branding on its new Surface laptops announced this week, despite the devices meeting all technical specifications for the label. The move marks a significant departure from Microsoft's two-year marketing initiative to establish AI PCs as a distinct product category. Microsoft's Surface VP confirmed the new models—Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch, launching 13 October—are not being marketed as Copilot+ PCs, though they meet every requirement including 16GB RAM, 256GB storage, and an 80 TOPS neural processing unit.

The shift reflects multiple underlying factors eroding the appeal of AI PC branding. Security concerns surrounding the Copilot+ PC-associated Recall feature, which faced persistent privacy criticism, damaged the label's reputation. Additionally, consumer interest in on-device AI capabilities has waned considerably as cloud-based alternatives proved adequate for most use cases, whilst industry competitors including Dell have similarly de-emphasised AI PC messaging in their 2026 lineups. Though Copilot+ PCs achieved 15 per cent of premium US laptop sales during the 2025 holiday season, the marketing initiative appears to have served its purpose in rebooting PC demand following the post-COVID sales slump. Microsoft now plans to prioritise Nvidia's forthcoming RTX Spark laptop GPUs in marketing, signalling a shift in AI laptop positioning away from Copilot and neural processors.