The new Dell XPS at CES 2026. Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET
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ZDNET's key takeaways
Dell executives have been disappointed by the response to AI PCs.
Dell's head of product said AI features are likely confusing consumers.
Microsoft's CEO has become the company's "most influential product manager" to try to fix things.
Microsoft wants you to replace your old Windows 10 laptop with a new Copilot PC, one that's ready for the AI-powered "agentic OS" that Windows 11 will become. But one of the world's biggest PC makers says consumers aren't buying the Copilot hype.
Also: The 7 most exciting laptops we saw at CES 2026 - including this trackpad beast
At a press briefing ahead of CES 2026, two of Dell's top executives threw a bucket of ice-cold water on the idea that consumers are clamoring for AI. Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke, in his opening remarks, referred to the "unmet promise of AI." The company had "an expectation of AI driving end-user demand," he noted, but "it hasn't quite been what we thought it was going to be a year ago."
In the Q&A portion, the company's head of product, Kevin Terwilliger, stressed that Dell's messaging about its 2026 PC lineup is not "AI first."
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