How small businesses can take advantage of the AI PC productivity surge

Often in business we see the recurring phenomenon of the first-mover advantage that comes when organisations pounce on a trend to steal a march on rivals.

The opportunity to be an early adopter in AI is here now as new products provide big advantages for those bold enough to commit to change.

An example presenting itself today comes with AI PCs. Gartner says worldwide shipments of AI PCs – and generative AI (genAI) smartphones – are projected to total 295 million units by the end of 2024, up from 29 million units in 2023. ¹

Hand off to the Copilot

AI PCs offer ways to accelerate into hugely powerful business automation.

The practical effects of this are boosted productivity, access to innovation and, not least, job satisfaction, because mundane tasks can be taken care of with ease thanks to AI.

In the new generation of Copilot+ PCs, computers incorporate a neural processing unit within the core Qualcomm Snapdragon® X Series CPU to optimise algorithmic AI processing.

Copilot+ PCs also a feature a new addition to the keyboard. Just as the Windows key hastens access to key Windows operations, the intertwined ribbon key hastens users to features of Copilot, Microsoft’s “everyday AI companion”.²

A day in the life of an AI-enabled team

Let’s look at what this means in real, everyday terms.

• In a small agency, it’s already a busy day when the last-minute opportunity for a business pitch comes in. Using Copilot, the marketing team researches the market, prospect and its rivals and scopes the scale of the opportunity. The team then produces a PowerPoint deck, inserting suggested text based on prompts. It augments these using Paint Cocreator³ to build unique images and lay them out for a compelling business proposal completed in a fraction of the time than would have been possible in a pre-AI world.
• The incoming CEO of a struggling company asks teams to brainstorm ideas for the next generation of the business. The creative team gets to work to establish what are adjacent markets, size their potential scale and seek examples of innovation. Then, members assemble mock-ups of new products with accompanying images and an accompanying table comparing opportunities versus risk factors. To complete the package, they draft a launch press release and even a logo and tagline for the projected spin-out.
• A critical influencer in a company’s sector has just published a book that is sure to make a splash… right on the eve of a major industry conference. Quickly, an executive downloads the book and asks Copilot to make a SWOT assessment of key points to inform fellow leaders of the latest ideas. Working through the night for the same conference, the executive realises she has lost track of a core financial statement created several hours before and worries that is may have been deleted accidentally. Using Microsoft’s Recall⁴ snapshotting technology, the file is safely discovered.
• At the airport, an executive traveller needs to collaborate with colleagues and partners on a Teams call. With Windows Studio Effects it’s easy to broadcast to the group without extraneous airport lounge noises seeping through. It’s also easy for them to hear in crystal-clear, thanks to quad speakers on the Dell XPS 13 and Latitude 7455 laptops. 

Start your AI PC strategy now.

1 Gartner, Gartner Predicts Worldwide Shipments of AI PCs and GenAI Smartphones to Total 295 Million Units in 2024, February 2024 https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-02-07-gartner-predicts-worldwide-shipments-of-ai-pcs-and-genai-smartphones-to-total-295-million-units-in-2024

2 Copilot in Windows – Timing of feature delivery and availability varies by market and device. Use Copilot with a Microsoft Account or use Copilot with commercial data protection at no additional cost by signing into a work or school account (Microsoft Entra ID) with Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F3, A3 or A5 for faculty, Business Premium, and Business Standard. Coming to more Entra ID users over time.

3 Cocreator is optimized for English text prompts. Requires Microsoft account.

4 Recall is coming soon through a post-launch Windows Update. See here. Recall is optimized for select languages (English, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Japanese, and Spanish). Content-based and storage limitations apply.