Announced at a Seattle event back in May, Copilot+ is Microsoft's suite of on-device AI features that runs on devices with a dedicated NPU. Up until this point, those features have been exclusive to Qualcomm's Snapdragon laptops, and while Intel and AMD make supported hardware, Microsoft's been quiet about when x86 devices will get Copilot+. The company finally announced today that supported x86 PCs will be able to test it beginning in November.

It's going to start out in the Windows Insider Program; indeed, after the PR disaster with Recall, Microsoft is committed to testing out new things with Insiders before sending them out to the public.

Supported PCs for Copilot+

Obviously, not all x86 PCs are getting Copilot+. You still need an NPU capable of at least 40 TOPS, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage, and yes, that does mean you need new hardware.

The products shipping right are anything with AMD Ryzen AI 300 or Intel Core Ultra Series 2. And of course, you'll need to opt into the Windows Insider Program.

That means that Copilot+ is still exclusive to laptops, something that isn't going to change in the short-term, as long as the 40 TOPS Microsoft is requiring has to run on the NPU. After all, any decent graphics card can still run circles around any laptop NPU. The company did confirm to me back in May that it has a plan for desktop users, but as Stevie Bathiche told me back in May, "Our customers buy laptops". That means that since most Windows customers buy laptops, that's the starting point.

And of course, the Redmond firm started with Snapdragon laptops because it had a temporary exclusivity deal with Qualcomm, according to my own sources.

The new features

One of the features you'll be able to test with an x86 PC is Recall, the controversial feature that's meant to act as your PCs photographic memory. It takes screenshots of what you do, and Windows will make those screenshots searchable with natural language. It was supposed to be a launch feature of Copilot+, but was delayed due to privacy issues.

Another new feature is new Windows Studio Effects. You've already got access to the ones that have been there since the Surface Pro X debuted, such as background blur and automatic framing. The Copilot+ upgrade lets you add animations, portrait effects, and more.

You'll find Cocreator in Paint, and Live Captions will add captions or translations to any audio coming from your PC. And of course, there are the new features announced today like Click to Do and new Windows Search functionality.

While Microsoft confirmed November availability in the Windows Insider Program, it didn't confirm when the features will be available beyond that.