AI is changing everything about how work gets done, including upping the ante for local processing power capable of handling high-intensity mathematical workflows without the costs and latency often associated with the cloud.
Demand for AI PCs, models outfitted with specialized hardware to handle AI workloads, is soaring. Gartner estimates that AI PC shipments will total 143 million units this year, representing 55% of the total PC market in 2026. By 2029, Gartner expects, AI PCs will become the norm. Meanwhile, Foundry’s 2025 CIO Tech Poll found that 77% of the respondents are researching, piloting, or in production with AI PCs.
Jinyu Mao, HP’s senior director, Product Planning and AI Experiences, explains why AI PCs are important to the future of work and what IT leaders need to consider as they map out the latest hardware upgrade cycles.
Q: How are AI workflows reshaping requirements for PC hardware, and why should organizations consider a hardware refresh for the AI era?
A: AI is a true token economy, because the large language models [LLMs] are in the cloud and users and enterprises are paying for usage via tokens, with specific amounts based on the questions asked and the model’s response. Imagine you have 1,000 employees making even simple queries every day — those costs add up quickly. With model size continuing to grow, the economies of AI in the cloud are not very scalable for the majority of companies.
Hybrid AI is becoming very important as the industry thinks about how to structure cloud and local processing to work together to be more economically viable for organizations. Open AI’s GPT OSS, introduced last year, runs 100% locally on a PC and is equivalent to what used to be available only in the cloud two years ago. Microsoft is introducing Copilot-native AI experiences for local platforms, and Gartner predicts more than 40% of software ISVs [independent software vendors] will invest and build AI capabilities for on-device processing.
As AI models evolve from cloud to local platforms, it’s important for CIOs to determine whether they have the right devices, from an endpoint perspective, to support those use cases. They want devices that allow employees to run AI securely, because data will be stored on local devices, not in the cloud.
Q: What specific capabilities differentiate AI PCs from more traditional systems?
A: The key differentiator of an AI PC is having dedicated next-generation neural processing units [NPUs] as well as a GPU. The combination sets up for managing high-performance AI models. For example, an NPU could very comfortably process a 7-billion- to 10-billion-parameter AI model, while the GPU’s capabilities can boost capacity even further. Onboard camera sensors and microphones can deliver additional functionality, such as translating hand gestures into descriptions that are accessible to users.
Q: How do you determine who gets an AI PC?
A: As ISVs incorporate AI capabilities into their software, different roles and personas will have access to different AI capabilities, depending on the tools they use. IT leaders need to start thinking about what type of roles are critical for the organization and assess how AI capabilities might transform those roles. Roles that intersect with computer vision, for example, would be well served running jobs on a local AI PC as opposed to the cloud, as would speech and audio processing use cases. Creator teams like product marketing can also benefit from AI PCs, as they can do AI-enabled content creation without the need for an external agency or staffing a dedicated person.
Q: What capabilities do HP and AMD offer to make AI PCs stand apart from the competition?
A: HP’s new EliteBook X G2 Series, with AMD processor options, are premium business laptops that deliver enterprise-grade security, all-day power, and future-ready performance for AI-driven workflows. The notebook family is available with up to 85-TOPS NPU performance for processing and running concurrent AI apps. The EliteBook X G2a model is loaded with up to 55-TOPS NPU and the latest AMD Ryzen™ AI processor.
HP and AMD have also worked to reimagine the desktop experience. The HP EliteBoard G1a Next-Gen AI PC fits Copilot+ PC AI performance into an ultracompact keyboard form factor. The keyboard, powered by an AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processor, delivers over 50-TOPS NPU to keep workloads responsive and lag-free wherever users are working.
HP IQ, a workplace intelligence layer that coordinates experiences across HP devices, made its debut on the HP EliteBook X G2 Next Gen AI PCs. HP IQ is designed to make work more seamless across devices and spaces. It also integrates with the HP Workforce Experience Platform [WXP] to give CIOs centralized visibility to stay on top of operations and governance.
Learn more about how HP and AMD can help your business run AI workloads.