Microsoft expands Copilot Plus PC AI features to Intel and AMD

If you spent good money on a shiny new Copilot Plus PC powered by Intel or AMD, you’ve probably felt like a second-class citizen while Qualcomm users hogged all the flashy AI features.

That disparity is finally coming to an end. Microsoft is pushing out a new Windows 11 update that makes its core Copilot Plus AI features widely available across both Intel and AMD machines.

Catching up on the fun stuff

The headline upgrade here is Live Captions. The tool can take audio from dozens of different languages and translate it into English subtitles in real time on your machine.

Microsoft started testing the feature on Intel and AMD silicon back in December, but it is now officially live for everyone via the latest Windows 11 update.

Creative tools are arriving in tandem. The Paint app is getting Cocreator, which merges rough sketches with text prompts to spit out generated images. Microsoft is also expanding its native AI image editor and generator inside the Photos app.

Prior to this update, all of these tricks were locked exclusively to Qualcomm Snapdragon-based Copilot Plus PCs.

Qualcomm still holds an edge

While Intel and AMD are catching up, Qualcomm devices still retain a few exclusive perks for now.

The controversial Recall feature, which periodically captures screenshots of your workflow so you can search back through them, is still in testing on Intel and AMD. Microsoft offered no timeline on when it will actually roll out to the public.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm-powered laptops are getting an upgraded Voice Access tool that understands more natural, descriptive language for controlling the OS. It also gains the ability to translate 27 different languages into Simplified Chinese.

Microsoft claims those upgraded voice tools will eventually land on Intel and AMD machines, but for now, they remain out of reach.

Why it matters

We think this rollout marks the moment Copilot Plus PCs become a real market category rather than an awkward marketing testbed. Giving Qualcomm exclusive access made sense as an initial sales nudge for ARM laptops, but leaving the vast majority of PC buyers behind risked souring mainstream enthusiasm entirely.

For everyday users, getting Live Captions and basic generative tools built right into the system makes these AI PCs immediately more useful, especially for remote workers juggling foreign-language video calls.

However, the ongoing hesitation around Recall highlights an unresolved elephant in the room. If the most ambitious system-level agent remains stuck in test purgatory due to privacy fallout, Microsoft is mostly selling fancy photo filters and captions. As hardware parity returns, chipmakers will once again have to compete on raw performance and battery life rather than software exclusivity.