Google is making a bold move in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) PCs. The tech giant is trying to slow down Microsoft’s dominance in the field by promoting its own brand of AI-powered Chromebooks, which are running with Gemini AI services integrated into their operating system.

The goal is to make Google’s AI PCs a viable alternative to Microsoft’s Copilot, which comes pre-installed on Windows 11. Microsoft has been leading the charge in AI PC technology with its Copilot+ line of laptops featuring specialized neural chips that can run generative AI tools offline. But Google isn’t far behind.

Google’s Chromebook AI PCs also come equipped with specialized AI chips, allowing users to run genAI tasks on their devices without needing an internet connection. This move is seen as a strategic play by Google to take advantage of the growing demand for AI PCs in both consumer and enterprise markets.

“When people talk about AI PCs, they’re usually referring to Copilot+ on Windows or Apple’s Intelligence,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at IDC. “But now there are more Chromebooks with neural processing units (NPUs) that can run genAI tasks.”

One such example is Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus 14, which was released last month and features a MediaTek AI chip capable of running at 50 TOPS (tera operations per second). This device is being hailed as the most advanced Chromebook Plus yet by Google.

The move comes at a time when IT buyers are facing pressure to upgrade their PCs to Windows 11 due to the end-of-support for Windows 10 in October. Chromebooks have traditionally been popular in education markets, particularly in the US and Japan, but they’re starting to gain traction in other areas as well.

But here’s the thing: while AI PCs may sound like a game-changer, many IT buyers are still unclear on how to use these specialized chips for on-device AI. Instead, they see it as a way to future-proof their hardware or get ahead of potential economic tariffs that could drive up PC prices.

So, what exactly do these NPUs in Chromebooks do? According to Ubrani, “you essentially can’t get a processor without an NPU at certain price points – so take it or leave it. That’s where we’re seeing NPUs in Chromebooks more and more.”

This raises interesting questions about the future of AI PCs and how they’ll be used. While Google has no immediate plans for offline AI capabilities with its Google Workspace, client-side acceleration through AI chips could make large language models run faster on Chromebooks.

It’s clear that both Google and Microsoft are creating their own “AI moats” for PCs with NPUs. But as Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, points out, “increasingly, like browsers today, AI in the browser is becoming more prevalent.”

Inspired by

• https://www.computerworld.com/article/4030325/google-makes-an-ai-play-with-chromeos-pcs.html

Sources

• chromeos.google