By 2025, artificial intelligence is becoming a common term among the public, yet for businesses, it’s an integral part of everyday operations and a crucial element for growth. An IDC white paper, commissioned by AMD, highlights that AI-enabled PCs are sparking a significant upgrade cycle in the PC market, as businesses shift toward machines equipped with neural processing units (NPUs) for local AI task execution.
This paper draws from a survey conducted in November 2024, targeting IT decision-makers. It involved 670 participants from sizable companies with at least 500 employees globally, including a notable number from large enterprises — 195 respondents held managerial positions in organizations with over 5,000 employees. The survey encompassed a diverse range of industries, such as manufacturing, finance, and telecommunications.
A significant 73% of businesses surveyed report that the introduction of AI PCs in recent years has substantially influenced their strategies, accelerating the urgency for hardware upgrades. Notably, 58% of these organizations still utilize Windows 10, which further emphasizes their need for timely upgrades given that Windows 10 is nearing the end of its lifecycle, increasing security vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, 60% of those relying on Windows 10 intend to transition to AI PCs running Windows 11 with Copilot+ support.
The surveyed businesses are already leveraging AI in various facets of their operations; an impressive 95% currently use or are testing AI technologies in the cloud. AI applications span numerous sectors, including manufacturing (predictive maintenance), retail (AI-driven suggestions), finance (fraud detection), and healthcare (AI-assisted diagnostics). Employees employ AI for various tasks, such as summarizing documents, creating content, and automating processes.
Get your weekly breakdown of tech in PC gaming
The advantages of AI for businesses are substantial, and decision-makers are fully conscious of this fact. Personalization of user experiences (77%), improved data privacy (75%), and enhanced security (74%) rank as the leading benefits in a corporate context.
Organizations also look forward to AI enhancing employee experiences, with 82% of respondents expecting a positive influence on their workforce. They believe AI will reduce repetitive tasks (as indicated by 83% of participants), enable employees to concentrate on more significant priorities (79%), and boost productivity (76%).
However, executives are also aware of the challenges that come with adopting AI. Issues such as data privacy concerns (36%), security vulnerabilities (26%), high expenses (31%), and regulatory compliance (25%) are among the primary hurdles organizations face. Using AI PCs can help mitigate these risks by processing data locally rather than relying on cloud solutions.
AMD is a pivotal player in the advancement of AI PCs. The company collaborates with OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo to directly integrate AI into their systems, while also focusing on software optimization to ensure popular AI applications perform well on AMD platforms.
This survey underscores that AI PCs are here to remain, with businesses ready to adopt this new technology. As Windows 10 approaches its end-of-life phase in October, the uptake of AI PCs is likely to increase significantly in the coming year.
