Microsoft revealed new plans to integrate AI agents into Windows, alongside expanded details about the Surface Laptop Ultra computer, during its Windows and Surface event, which focused heavily on developers. The company is presenting an approach that relies on running some AI models locally while turning to the cloud when additional computing power is needed.
Windows Becomes an Interface for Executing Commands
Microsoft said Copilot will be able, after receiving the user's permission, to perform actions using local files, and will also be able to create applications and interface elements. The company plans to make thousands of quick actions available through Windows Search in the taskbar starting in the fall, including enabling dark mode, taking screenshots, adjusting the volume, answering questions, and sending text messages.
It also unveiled the Get Started tool to facilitate running AI agents within Windows. Among the tools mentioned is Portable Computer, which will operate locally without consuming Perplexity cloud credits, in addition to making Muse available as a native Windows application. Microsoft is also preparing to change the Copilot icon by adding a face to it.
What Is Changing for Users in Practice?
The most significant change is shifting AI from being an assistant that provides answers to tools capable of performing actions within the system and handling users' files. Local operation gives some tasks independence from cloud services, but the article does not precisely define the scope of permissions or the detailed mechanisms for controlling agents' access to files.
Trust and privacy remain open questions, particularly following earlier negative reactions to Recall and some Copilot features that Microsoft removed from Windows. Therefore, adoption of these functions will depend on clear permissions and the ability to disable them, details that were not fully explained in the article.
Surface Laptop Ultra with Components Designed for Developers
The Surface Laptop Ultra comes with a 15-inch mini-LED display, brightness of up to 2,000 nits, and a 3:2 aspect ratio. The device weighs less than 4.5 pounds and is less than 18 millimeters thick, while Microsoft says its thermal capacity is 2.5 times that of the seventh-generation 15-inch Surface Laptop.
The device includes USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI ports, a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, and a full-size SD card reader, along with a trackpad that is 30% larger than the seventh-generation model's. Microsoft also pointed to a repair-friendly design with a replaceable SSD storage module.
The computer is powered by the NVIDIA RTX Spark chip, built on the Arm architecture, with graphics capabilities that Microsoft compares to the GeForce RTX 5070, as well as support for ray tracing, DLSS, and NVIDIA Reflex. The chip includes 20 processor cores, up to 128 gigabytes of unified memory, and power consumption of no more than 80 watts, according to the company. The neural processing unit also meets Copilot+ requirements.
Pricing and Availability
The Surface Laptop Ultra starts at $2,599, and preorders began on October 7, 2026, with the device set to become available on October 16. Microsoft also unveiled the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a compact device intended for heavier AI workloads, starting at $5,999, with preorders open.