AI PCs: what the "NPU" in new laptops actually does

A third kind of processor

Computers have long had two main processors: the CPU, which handles general work, and the GPU, which handles graphics. New laptops now add a third, the NPU (neural processing unit). It is designed for the kind of maths AI uses, and it does that work using much less power than the CPU or GPU.

Think of a kitchen with a general chef, a pastry chef and now a specialist who only makes sauces, very quickly and without using much gas.

What "AI PC" and "Copilot+ PC" mean

"AI PC" is a loose marketing term for any computer with an NPU. Microsoft uses a stricter label, Copilot+ PC, for Windows laptops whose NPU can perform at least 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), plus minimum memory and storage. Apple's Macs and many phones also have NPUs, under names such as the Neural Engine.

What the NPU is used for

• Video calls: background blur, eye-contact correction and noise reduction without draining the battery.
• Live captions and translation of audio on the device.
• Photo and video editing: removing objects, upscaling and smart selection.
• Search and assistants that understand your own files.
• Running smaller AI models locally, without sending data to the cloud.

The benefits and the questions

Benefits: AI work done on the device can be faster, works offline and keeps your data on your computer, which helps privacy. Offloading tasks to the NPU can also extend battery life.

Questions: some features need specific hardware, so older or cheaper laptops may miss out. Some AI features, such as tools that take regular snapshots of your screen to help you search later, raised privacy concerns and were redesigned to be opt-in. Read what a feature does before turning it on. See AI and your privacy.

Do you need one?

• Not essential if you mainly browse, write documents, watch videos and use email.
• Worth considering if you are buying a new laptop anyway and plan to keep it for many years, as software will increasingly use the NPU.
• Useful now if you do a lot of video calls, content creation or want to try local AI tools.

Tip: Battery life, screen quality, memory (16 GB is a sensible minimum for a new Windows laptop) and years of software support still matter more than the NPU for most buyers.

Our guide Hardware and software explains the other parts of a computer.

On-device AI versus cloud AI

Not every AI feature on an AI PC runs on the NPU. Large chatbots still run in the cloud because they need far more computing power than a laptop has. A useful rule: quick, personal tasks such as blurring your background, transcribing a meeting or finding a photo by describing it are increasingly done on the device; big, open-ended tasks such as writing a long report usually go to the cloud. Settings menus are getting better at telling you which is which, and it is worth checking when the task involves private documents.