Microsoft is killing off the ‘Copilot Plus PC’ brand

Microsoft appears to be stepping away from the "Copilot Plus PC" label for its latest hardware, according to reporting by Windows Central cited in The Verge. Although the new 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop meet the technical requirements Microsoft set for Copilot Plus devices, Microsoft Surface CVP Brett Ostrom told Windows Central that the company is not using the Copilot Plus name for those products.

Qualcomm also indicated the branding may be fading. Kedar Kondap, the chipmaker's SVP of compute and gaming, told Windows Central that machines offering similar AI experiences will "probably" not carry the Copilot Plus badge going forward. The original Copilot Plus initiative was intended to identify PCs with built-in AI hardware sufficient to run local AI features, but that distinction has become less clear as more machines include capable components.

Criticism of some Copilot-era features has accompanied the branding's decline. The Verge excerpt notes that Microsoft's Recall feature drew lukewarm reception and that users pushed back against frequent AI upsell prompts; Microsoft has also allowed remapping of the dedicated Copilot keyboard key after complaints. Those factors, combined with broadening hardware capabilities across the PC market, have been raised as reasons the specific Copilot Plus label may no longer make sense.

The timing comes as Microsoft shifts hardware strategies: the excerpt points out Microsoft is preparing flagship devices that will use Nvidia chips, and the company has scheduled an event on October 7 described as a "conversation on how local AI will shape the next chapter of the PC." The Verge writer suggests Microsoft may introduce a new brand or framing for its AI-focused PCs at that event, but that is presented as speculation rather than an announced plan.