Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
What if your laptop could run AI without the cloud?
In this video, I put that idea to the test by building a simple AI app that runs entirely on a Copilot+ PC - using the NPU inside the new Intel Powered Surface Pro and Laptop models.
The goal wasn’t to build something complex. It was to answer a practical question: Can local AI actually work on a laptop… and is it useful?
I built a side-by-side comparison app:
One response from a local AI model running on the device
One response from a cloud-based model
Same question. Two environments. Very different behaviours.
Along the way, I explore:
What the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) actually does
How local AI compares to cloud AI in speed and quality
Where this becomes valuable - especially for data sovereignty, cost, and offline scenarios
Why this matters for organisations working with sensitive or regulated data
This is running on the latest Surface Copilot+ PCs, powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 processors and shows what’s possible today - not in theory.
Thank you to Intel for Sponsoring this video.
🔗 Resources
Frank Buchholz blog: Vibe Coding for the NPU - Vibe Coding for the NPU | Microsoft Community Hub
AI Toolkit / Foundry Local docs - What is Foundry Local? - Foundry Local | Microsoft Learn
Previous video interview with Frank - youtube.com/watch?v=r8gqHQs5DpA
What if your laptop could run AI without the cloud?
In this video, I put that idea to the test by building a simple AI app that runs entirely on a Copilot+ PC - using the NPU inside the new Intel Powered Surface Pro and Laptop models.
The goal wasn’t to build something complex. It was to answer a practical question: Can local AI actually work on a laptop… and is it useful?
I built a side-by-side comparison app:
One response from a local AI model running on the device
One response from a cloud-based model
Same question. Two environments. Very different behaviours.
Along the way, I explore:
What the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) actually does
How local AI compares to cloud AI in speed and quality
Where this becomes valuable - especially for data sovereignty, cost, and offline scenarios
Why this matters for organisations working with sensitive or regulated data
This is running on the latest Surface Copilot+ PCs, powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 processors and shows what’s possible today - not in theory.
Thank you to Intel for Sponsoring this video.
🔗 Resources
Frank Buchholz blog: Vibe Coding for the NPU - Vibe Coding for the NPU | Microsoft Community Hub
AI Toolkit / Foundry Local docs - What is Foundry Local? - Foundry Local | Microsoft Learn
Previous video interview with Frank - youtube.com/watch?v=r8gqHQs5DpA
