Explore how artificial intelligence can elevate your 9-to-5 — and energize your 5-to-9.
Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm, but perhaps its best use case right now is productivity. Where do you achieve most of your productivity? Well, that depends on your work, but for most of us, our work is best done on our computers — especially if our computers are NPU-equipped and AI-ready. Over the past year or so, companies from Microsoft to Apple have been building AI-powered productivity tools, packing these features into their latest and greatest laptops in an effort to help users benefit more of their equipment.
Not only is AI super useful for productivity, it can also play a role in how you use your laptop for relaxation. Here’s a look at the best AI laptop features, both for work and play, out there right now.
AI assistants at the push of a button
Many laptops now have AI assistants that can be requested from the keyboard.
Microsoft, for example, was relatively quick in the AI revolution with Copilot, which is available in power on Copilot+ computers, such as the Microsoft Surface Laptop. Copilot works kind of like ChatGPT and allows you to chat about basically anything you can imagine, including researching or coming up with outlines for that presentation you haven’t made yet. Copilot+ computers even have a dedicated Copilot button that you can press to easily bring up the AI assistant whenever you need it.
Improve your writing with the help of built-in artificial intelligence
Laptops are the best tools around for writers, and having a built-in AI writing assistant seems like a no-brainer.
Mashable’s Speed of Light
Apple, which may not have been as quick as Microsoft to bring AI features to its laptops, is making up for lost time now that macOS 15.1 Sequoia is available. All of Apple’s top-of-the-line laptops, like the new M4 MacBook Pro, have access to some Apple Intelligence features. Many of these features are a bit more subtle than Microsoft’s, being easily accessible when you need them but not in your face. A perfect example of this is the new Apple Intelligence Writing Tools feature. All you need to do is highlight a text, right-click on it and go to the menu item “Writing Tools”. From there, you’ll be able to proofread the text from Apple Intelligence, rewrite it, or completely change its tone to be friendlier or more concise. It’s very useful for everyday use and it’s great that it’s easily accessible anywhere you might type text.
Create AI images quickly and easily
AI-generated images are becoming a popular part of the online world, but the tools built into the latest laptops are making it easier than ever to create them.
Looking for that perfect image to accompany the PowerPoint presentation you’re creating? Or just want to create something for fun to send to a friend? The Microsoft Photos app can generate AI images for that exact purpose. Using Microsoft Photos, all you have to do is come up with a request that describes the image you’re looking for, after which Photos will generate it, and then you can refine it with additional instructions. It works pretty well, and while you may have to spend a bit of time asking Photos to perfect its creation, you’ll spend far less time than if you designed the image yourself. Microsoft Photos is available on all Windows PCs, however the image creation feature works on Copilot+ PCs like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i.
Access and analyze your documents and files
If AI software is going to act as your “assistant,” you’ll need access to the documents you use to do business. This is part of the full AI-powered laptop service of the future.
Perhaps the most powerful thing about Google’s Gemini, for example, is its ability to integrate with the rest of your Google services. So you can ask it for information about documents you’ve written and summarize those documents directly in the Gemini interface. Gemini even integrates with Gmail, so you can have the assistant summarize emails into a tiny bullet point without having to go through them all individually. Gemini’s features work best on so-called “Chromebook Plus” laptops, such as the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714. These laptops come with a free year of Google’s Gemini Advanced subscription.
Avoid digging through settings
Who wants to dig into the settings menu on their computer to find every little setting? Both Copilot and Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, can change settings for you—all you have to do is ask. Some advanced settings may not work yet, but you can easily ask these assistants to do things like turn Wi-Fi on and off, manage Bluetooth connections, and more. It works quite well and is available on both Apple Intelligence-powered computers, such as the MacBook Pro, and even cheaper Copilot+ computers, such as the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.