Many IT leaders are evolving their PC strategies to further optimise for AI transformation, as well as reacting to the imminent (October 2025) end of support for Windows 10.
It poses the question as to what businesses will need from modern PCs as the age of digital gathers pace.
In an era of globalised and hybrid working, employees need computers that enable high quality virtual meetings, as well as ensuring those who are on-the-move have the features they need (e.g. extended battery life).
But any new fleet will also need to be future proofed to deliver business outcomes for the enterprise. With research from Foundry showing that 41% of companies are researching AI or piloting AI initiatives,[1] for many businesses this will include factoring in their AI ambitions.
As Tom Mainelli, a group vice president at IDC, says: “The appeal to CIOs will be the ability to run LLMs locally, driving potential cost, performance, privacy, and security benefits.”[2]
Currently, many CIOs are using the refresh cycle to deploy AI-capable devices with built-in NPUs (Neural Processing Units), ensuring their organisations are ready for the next wave of AI-driven productivity. With a three-to-five-year lifecycle in mind, these upgrades are critical to future-proofing the workforce and enabling business outcomes including automation, real-time insights, and employee experience.”
AI PCs turbocharge productivity and efficiency
The performance gains of AI PCs alone are enough to justify the investment.
Rahul Tikoo, Senior Vice President & GM, Client Business Unit at AMD, explains: “AI PCs can enhance employee productivity by enabling the automation of time-consuming tasks. With solutions like Microsoft Copilot+, functions including summarising meetings, semantic search, prioritising emails, and transcribing video conferences can be completed in seconds.”
AI capabilities are continuing to evolve throughout the industry into the space of agentic or generative AI, pushing efficiency gains even further. These powerful devices can also take on more complex activities, like assistance in drafting documents, creating software applications, and enabling users to focus on delivering higher-quality outcomes.
Multitasking performance is another win. As employees routinely use an increasing number of applications, the ability of their PCs to keep up is critical. AI PCs can improve efficiency, enabling businesses to focus on improvement and growth.
The benefit to the bottom line is significant. For example, according to analysis by signal65, enterprises can save up to $50 million in employee productivity and upfront acquisition costs in the first year alone with the adoption of systems using AMD Ryzen™ AI PRO processors.[3]
AI PCs also offer unique security by processing sensitive data locally, which is often required by compliance and regulatory bodies.
All the while, AI PCs drive cost and performance benefits, enabling fast, low-latency AI experiences directly on the device.
Aligning investments with business demands
In terms of raw capability, Tikoo recommends that CIOs prioritise devices with a dedicated NPU delivering over 40 Tera Operations per Second (TOPS) to support Microsoft Copilot+ and future AI features.
“CIOs need devices that not only perform well, but inspire users,” Tikoo says. “That means investing in thin and light devices that end users connect with emotionally and are proud to carry while delivering enterprise-grade performance, strong security features, and manageability.”
Additionally, CIOs should look for a balanced architecture where CPU, GPU, and NPU work in tandem to handle hybrid AI workloads efficiently and reliably. The right selection of PCs can future-proof the fleet and give employees the AI “superpowers” they need to be productive.
Compatibility with Windows 11 AI capabilities including Recall and Live Captions, as well as a robust enterprise software ecosystem is also desirable, along with business-grade manageability and hardware-based security capabilities.
Research from Foundry shows that 52% of businesses currently have AI PCs in production or are piloting or upgrading AI PC fleets.[4] With this figure only likely to grow, CIOs must make the right investment decisions now.
Choosing platforms with powerful NPUs helps ensure that businesses can meet today’s performance and security needs while readying your infrastructure for the AI-centric future. CIOs should also focus on delivering enterprise-grade performance, battery life, and manageability as they set about refreshing their fleets.
Find out more about the future of AI PCs.
[1] Foundry, “AI Priorities Study 2025,” February 2025
[2] CIO, Will the end of Windows 10 accelerate CIO interest in AI PCs?, February 2025
[3] Signal65, “AMD Ryzen™ AI PRO Processor Leadership and TCO Benefits” February 2025
[4] Foundry, “AI Priorities Study 2025,” February 2025