The PC Is About To Be Reset, And AI Will Dictate Its New Future

I’ve seen the personal computer go through many transitions, from the DOS era to graphical interfaces, laptops, and mobility. Each time, the industry had to go through a painful period before moving forward. Intel’s statement this week suggests we might be living through another such period now.

(Disclosure: Intel, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Nvidia are among the many global technology companies that subscribe to research from Creative Strategies, the firm I founded.)

Here are the facts. Intel expects PC shipments to drop by around 12% this year and another 10% in 2027. The company says the pace of this correction has accelerated over the past two months and expects conditions to worsen over the next couple of quarters. Wall Street reacted sharply. Intel’s shares fell more than 28%. Shares of its customers also declined: Dell by 10.7%, HP by 9.6%, and Lenovo by 7.4%.

But I think there is another message behind these headlines.

Where the Growth Is

Even though Intel’s overall client computing revenue dropped 5%, revenue from processors for AI-capable PCs rose 35% in Q3 compared with the same period last year. This suggests that traditional PCs are losing momentum, while AI-capable PCs are becoming a source of growth.

PC vendors clearly understand that and are positioning themselves accordingly. AI-capable PCs accounted for 46% of HP’s Personal Systems unit shipments in its latest reported quarter, but it gives targets of 50% by year-end and more than 70% by 2028. Meanwhile, Lenovo reports holding a quarter of the global AI PC market and is developing personal AI agents capable of operating across multiple devices. I find this especially interesting.

If the agent accompanies the user from device to device, the PC becomes one node in a broader personal computing system rather than its center. The intelligence follows the user instead of remaining tied to a single machine.