At CES 2026, Dell executives candidly revealed that consumers are not primarily purchasing new PCs based on artificial intelligence (AI) features. Kevin Terwilliger, Dell's Head of Product, stated that the company has learned over the past year that "from a consumer perspective, they're not buying based on AI." He added that "AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome." This marks a significant pivot from Dell's previous strategy, where AI PCs were a central marketing focus. Dell's Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Clarke, also acknowledged an "un-met promise of AI" regarding driving end-user demand. While Dell's newly announced products at CES 2026, including the revived XPS lineup, still feature Neural Processing Units (NPUs) to support AI capabilities, the company deliberately avoided an "AI-first" marketing message. Instead, Dell is re-emphasizing traditional PC attributes such as battery life, performance, and display quality, which consumers value more. This admission from a major hardware partner places Microsoft's aggressive push for "Copilot+ PCs" and Windows 11 AI features in an awkward position, suggesting that the anticipated AI-driven upgrade cycle isn't materializing as expected. Several credible tech publications, including Thurrott.com, The Times of India, TechRadar, 9to5Mac, and Windows Central, corroborated Dell's statements, highlighting a potential cooling of the AI PC hype among mainstream consumers. The news suggests a broader industry reckoning with the practical, perceivable benefits of on-device AI for the average user, moving away from buzzwords towards tangible value.