Government procurement officers have witnessed numerous tech cycles rise and fall, including thin clients, netbooks and virtual desktops. However, some shifts, such as mobile and cloud computing, have endured and reshaped everything.  

The difference matters. Agencies that buy the wrong way risk saddling themselves with devices that can’t support tomorrow’s workloads. Make no mistake: AI is already changing how enterprises operate, and AI PCs are emerging as a practical way for agencies to keep pace even as the long-term picture comes into focus. 

From Data Centers to Devices 

Mentioning AI often evokes images of massive data centers operated by hyperscalers, where centralized infrastructure powers both training and inference. That model still has its place. But agencies are beginning to realize that there are plenty of open-source models that provide what they need for their enterprise workloads without additional training. Additionally, they are finding they don’t need trillion-parameter public Generative AI models in the cloud for every task. 

A lot of the day-to-day work at agencies can be handled by smaller, localized AI models that run directly on devices. Consider a food and drug inspector in the field: not long ago, inspections required hours of recording, transcribing, uploading and reporting from the hotel’s Wi-Fi after a site visit. With an AI PC, the same inspector can now dictate notes, capture images and return with a ready-to-submit report already drafted — all without sending sensitive data outside the device. 

That’s the difference between hype and reality. AI PCs are now a practical response to evolving workloads, especially in environments where devices must operate offline, under pressure, or with elevated security requirements.   

What to Consider When Buying 

If AI is changing the work, procurement needs to change the specs. Traditional checklists of CPUs, memory and storage don’t reflect the requirements of modern AI workloads. The first step is unlearning some misconceptions. GPUs matter for training large models, but piling on more GPUs isn’t the answer for AI PCs. This is a process that results in high power draw, high heat and short battery life. 

AI PCs take a different approach. They combine CPUs and GPUs with a third engine: Neural processing units (NPUs), which are purpose-built for inference. Orchestration software routes tasks to the right engine, reinventing endpoint computing for greater speed, autonomy and security. This architecture changes what procurement should look for: It’s not about stacking GPUs, but about choosing systems built to balance performance, efficiency and longevity. 

From there, procurement needs to weigh two practical factors. Battery life must be measured under AI workloads, where NPUs extend runtime from four hours to 14. And benchmarks are less telling than ecosystem support: Does your agency’s everyday software — from Office to video conferencing to security tools — actually use the hardware? Does a robust ecosystem of apps already exist, or is it just a future goal? 

Viewed through these lenses, AI PCs shift from an abstract concept to a practical tool agencies can deploy today. 

From Specs to Strategy 

Even with new evaluation criteria, procurement officers can’t make these critical decisions in isolation. AI demands a closer partnership between CIOs and procurement teams. One way to start is by asking the right questions together: 

• Which workloads belong in the cloud, and which should run locally? Not every task needs hyperscale compute; some mission-critical work is better handled on secure devices. 

• Do we have the right data architecture in place? Strong frameworks for managing and protecting data are the foundation for any AI effort. 

• Are we chasing the right goals? It’s easy to get distracted by GPU farms or bleeding-edge demos. The focus should be on back-office processes and everyday operations where AI is already producing value. 

This is also where procurement needs to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach. Workloads are evolving so fast that by the time requirements are written, they may already be outdated. Getting ahead of the curve means learning how AI is changing work now — and deciding how your agency wants to use it before the requirements are established. 

This Time, the Tide is Real 

Many tools are labeled as ‘AI’ without offering much beyond existing features. AI PCs, however, are built differently. They include hardware designed specifically for AI tasks, allowing them to handle current workloads effectively while leaving room for future needs. 

For procurement officers, that’s the real choice: treat AI as another passing label, or recognize it as a real sea change in how government work gets done.