Microsoft has shown how it plans to turn Windows into a platform for AI agents, with Copilot set to work with local files and carry out tasks on a user’s behalf. At the same event in San Francisco, the company unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra, which it calls its most powerful Surface laptop to date.
What happened
Dutch technology and e-commerce site Emerce reports that Microsoft used the event to set out more detail on its plans for Windows and its Surface hardware. Artificial intelligence dominated, and one theme stood out: AI agents that can run locally on a PC rather than only in the cloud.
Microsoft wants Windows to be ready for what the industry calls agentic AI. According to Emerce, Copilot will be able to use local files and perform certain actions on its own, but only with the user’s permission. The assistant can draw on AI models stored on the PC and switch to cloud computers when a task needs more power. Users will also be able to ask AI to build apps and widgets for them.
A new Get Started feature gives people another route into AI agents on Windows. Emerce says this includes Portable Computer and a Windows version of the AI agent Muse.
Windows Search is changing too. Citing Engadget, Emerce reports that from this autumn users will be able to carry out thousands of quick actions straight from the search box on the taskbar. Examples include switching on dark mode, taking a screenshot, adjusting the volume, answering questions and sending text messages. Search is steadily becoming a central hub for actions and AI features rather than a simple way to find files.
Security got its own share of attention. Microsoft says, via its Windows Blog, that Windows is being set up as a safe platform for agents. New controls will limit an agent’s access to files and other parts of the system, and will show which agent carried out a particular action.
On the hardware side, the Surface Laptop Ultra is aimed at developers, creators and anyone who needs plenty of computing power on the machine itself. It has a 15-inch mini-LED screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio and brightness of up to 2,000 nits. The trackpad is roughly 30 percent larger than the one on the seventh-generation Surface Laptop. The laptop weighs under 2 kilograms and is less than 18 millimetres thick. Microsoft says it has far more thermal capacity than the previous 15-inch Surface Laptop and that the battery should last a full working day.
Connectivity is generous: USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a full-size SD card reader, plus a magnetic charging connector that uses USB-C. Inside is the Arm-based RTX Spark system chip, which Microsoft says delivers graphics performance comparable to a GeForce RTX 5070. It supports ray tracing, DLSS and NVIDIA Reflex. The chip has 20 CPU cores, can be paired with up to 128 GB of unified memory and, according to NVIDIA, draws a maximum of 80 watts. The system is designed to run large AI models locally, and Emerce notes that Microsoft is clearly positioning it as an alternative to the MacBook Pro for developers and other professionals.
Microsoft showed Gears of War: E-Day running on the laptop and said Call of Duty will arrive later this year. The Surface Laptop Ultra starts at 2,599 dollars, pre-orders are open and the first units ship from 16 October. Microsoft also introduced the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a compact desktop for developers and AI engineers who work with heavy AI models locally. It starts at 5,999 dollars and can also be ordered now.
Why it matters if you live in the Netherlands
If you use a Windows PC at home or at work, these changes will reach your desktop. The Windows Search upgrade is due this autumn, so the taskbar you use every day could soon do far more than look up documents.
The bigger shift concerns control over your own files. Copilot will only act on local files with your permission, and Microsoft is adding tools that limit what agents can reach and record which agent did what. Plenty of internationals here handle sensitive paperwork on their laptops, from rental contracts and payslips to residence permit documents. Those settings will be worth checking once the features appear.
For developers, designers and other professionals in the Dutch tech sector, the Surface Laptop Ultra gives you a Windows option built for running AI models without relying on the cloud. Emerce quotes prices in US dollars only and does not say what the laptop or the Dev Box will cost in the Netherlands, or when Dutch buyers can order them. Check Microsoft’s Dutch store before assuming the dollar figure carries over.
Gamers may want to know that the Arm-based machine ran Gears of War: E-Day on stage, with Call of Duty to follow later this year.
What to watch next
The first Surface Laptop Ultra units ship from 16 October, which will be the first chance to see whether Microsoft’s claims about battery life and graphics hold up in independent testing. The Windows Search update follows this autumn.
Europe is also worth watching. Emerce has previously reported that Copilot in Windows would become a separate app in the Microsoft Store in Europe. Whether the new agent features reach European users at the same time and in the same form as elsewhere remains an open question. Watch the permission controls closely: they will decide how much freedom these agents actually get on your PC.
Source: Emerce
Sources
- Emerce: Microsoft presenteert nieuwe Windows-functies en Surface Laptop Ultra, accessed 8 October 2026
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