Unlocking Productivity: The Power of AI PCs for Hybrid Teams

The one aspect that truly sets artificial intelligence PCs apart from traditional laptops is productivity. Organizations that equip their teams with AI PCs invest in efficiency by integrating advanced capabilities into users’ day-to-day workflows. Empowering users to reduce friction and eliminate mundane tasks enables them to accomplish more valuable work. Ultimately, the AI fades into the background and becomes a natural extension of familiar processes.

For example, a user who returns to work after a week’s vacation might spend days sorting through emails, reviewing meeting notes and getting updates from colleagues. An AI assistant, such as Microsoft Copilot, can deliver a prioritized summary in seconds, including action items, relevant documents and time-stamped portions of video meetings that a user may want to watch.

Microsoft launched the first AI PCs this spring, starting with the Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro 10. One key feature is a new neural processing unit that enables users to leverage AI without degrading performance or quickly depleting the battery. By dynamically allocating workloads among the neural, central and graphics processing units, the Surface architecture easily supports AI features so users can stay productive wherever they are.

Hybrid work has highlighted the need to maintain productivity: Organizations want to know where employees can be most productive and what they need to accomplish that. By creating a whole ecosystem powered by automation, AI PCs eliminate many of the minor points of friction that hamper momentum and slow workflows.

To start, Copilot gives users their own AI productivity companion, driving a level of efficiency that’s never been possible before. With Copilot for Microsoft 365, it can create presentations using existing documents, suggest action items based on emails, summarize websites and identify next steps for Teams meeting participants. Employees can leverage Copilot in their own way, achieving a truly customized experience tailored to individual needs.

Surface devices also include Windows Studio Effects, a suite of AI tools that enhance the ease and quality of video collaboration. For example, if a user needs to call into a meeting from the airport, Studio Effects’ Voice Focus automatically moderates the background noise so the user’s audio stays clear. By removing these types of friction, AI PCs enable users to be more productive, agile and creative.

AI PCs also serve to future proof workforces. As AI becomes more integrated into daily workflows, organizations whose employees are proficient with these tools will be far ahead of those who aren’t. AI is here to stay, and organizations should be preparing their staff for what’s to come today and tomorrow. With generative AI, for example, it takes practice to learn to write high-quality prompts that produce excellent results. The more comfortable users are with creating these prompts, the better they can leverage AI.

Investing in AI PCs shows employees that leaders value their time and are willing to provide devices to help them maximize that time — and the ROI can be immediate. Employees gain instantaneous wins, and suddenly the 40-hour week becomes 40 hours of work that is focused and productive.