Partner Content: The year of AI PCs? Examining end user attitudes

AI PCs are devices equipped with specialised hardware including high-performance GPU, CPU and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), localised processing, and AI features such as assistants.

Some have hailed AI PCs as being transformational for the PC market, forecasting that personal computing devices will AI PCs as default in a matter of years. Others are more hesitant, wary of the hype that inevitably comes with a new technology and preferring to “wait and see” how early adopters fare.

But how far along are end users on the AI PC maturity curve?

Attitudes towards AI PCs

To find out more about attitudes towards AI PCs and current adoption levels, Computing surveyed endpoint estate decision makers from end user organisations.

Just 12 per cent of survey respondents have no interest at all in AI PCs. Meanwhile, 10 per cent are already implementing a rollout, with a further 18 per cent reviewing devices. The remaining 61 per cent said they have an interest in AI PCs but with no active trialling or deployment plans.

From the findings, respondents appear to be early on in their AI PC rollouts, but there is a widespread interest in the technology. They cited accelerated workflows and improved productivity as the biggest benefit of AI PCs, but concerns around upfront cost are the biggest drawback. Over a third of respondents cited a lack of understanding around benefits and difficulties building a business case as barriers to adoption.

Future plans

As with any emerging market, a degree of hesitancy is to be expected. But the true value of AI PCs will take time, and respondents appear to acknowledge this.

Almost a third of organisations anticipate that within two years all new devices deployed will be AI PCs by default. Almost three-quarters of respondents agree that “the core value and payback in AI PCs will be over the next few years, rather than at launch”. Furthermore, “The benefits of AI PCs will outweigh the additional costs within our next refresh cycle”, was met with confidence, with almost one in three agreeing with this sentiment.

Any device-purchasing decisions require stakeholders to be forward thinking. Refresh cycles are typically three to five years long, so hardware must be selected with future needs in mind, and be equipped to meet future computing demands. The findings indicate that end users are aware of this, and anticipate that adoption levels will soon increase.

The need for use cases

A number of benefits of AI PCs have been touted, including the computational power to handle AI workloads, security benefits of running AI processes locally rather than in the cloud, longer battery life, and increased availability of AI assistants and other tools. But ultimately, adoption will be driven by killer use cases. Compelling AI-powered applications are needed to create a value proposition decision makers cannot ignore.

Vendors, device manufacturers, and OEMs will have to make a strong case for AI PCs, demonstrating why their value outweighs the cost of new hardware. This means Providing resources to fill any knowledge gaps around the technology, and pinpointing use cases and how they relate to specific industries and business departments.

IT leaders must get on top of their AI PC strategies today, or risk missing out on the business and commercial benefits of what has the potential to be one of the fastest growing markets in the enterprise hardware space.

This article is sponsored by Intel