system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are there separate folders for Program Files and Program Files (x86)?

Seems like they serve the same purpose. When I download new programs it seems random which folder it ends up in. Why not have one big folder for program files?
gpt
It's not random. x86 is a repository for 32-bit programs. 64-bit programs go in the regular folder. Your computer can run both, but they're not readily interoperable with each other. They're kept separate so programs that interact with other programs can easily distinguish which is which.