7 AI Trends to Look Out for in 2026

AI is entering a new stage marked by noticeable influence in daily life and across major industries. After years of trial runs, experts say 2026 is emerging as the year when AI moves from an experimental tool to an active collaborator, reshaping how people invent, work, and make decisions. Instead of simply responding to prompts, new systems are beginning to partner with users in ways that boost human judgment and skill. 

Signs of this shift are visible in medicine, software development, scientific work, and even the race toward quantum computing. As these systems become part of the daily workflow, companies are tightening security controls to manage new risks. The underlying technology that supports these systems is also becoming more efficient, allowing organizations to do more with less. Taken together, these changes highlight seven trends that analysts expect to define 2026. 

Collaboration Between People and AI 

According to Microsoft’s AI experiences chief product officer, Aparna Chennapragada, next year will highlight partnerships between people and AI rather than one replacing the other. She believes small teams could soon run global projects in a matter of days by letting AI handle heavy analysis, content production, and personalized outreach while human teams guide the vision. 

Her advice to workers is to learn how to operate alongside these tools rather than compete with them. 

Stronger Safeguards for AI Agents 

Vasu Jakkal, CVP of Microsoft Security, expects organizations to deploy more AI agents that help staff carry out routine tasks and decisions. She says trust will depend on clear identity controls, strict limits on what each system can access, and stronger protections against attacks. She also expects security tools powered by AI to help defenders react faster as cyber threats evolve. 

Narrowing Global Health Inequalities 

Dr. Dominic King, VP of health at Microsoft AI, says new systems are beginning to support triage, planning, and common medical inquiries. With millions of people lacking essential services, he believes AI can help ease shortages. 

He points to Microsoft’s Diagnostic Orchestrator, which reported an 85.5% accuracy in solving complex cases, as an early sign of what is possible. 

A Larger Role in Scientific Discovery 

AI will soon help generate hypotheses, operate lab tools, and join research teams as a steady partner, according to Microsoft Research president Peter Lee. He compares it to the way coders use pair programming today. 

Lee expects every scientist to eventually have an AI assistant that can suggest new research directions and manage routine steps in the lab. 

More Efficient AI Infrastructure 

Microsoft Azure’s chief technology officer, Mark Russinovich, says the focus is shifting from building larger datacenters to using computing resources more effectively. Future systems will spread workloads across networks so capacity is rarely idle. He compares it to air traffic control that constantly redirects tasks to keep the system running at full efficiency. 

AI Will Understand Code in Context 

GitHub activity reached record levels in 2025, and chief product officer Mario Rodriguez says this growth sets the stage for what he calls repository intelligence. These systems study the history and structure of codebases, which helps them catch errors earlier and recommend more reliable fixes. He expects this context-aware assistance to become a key advantage for development teams. 

Quantum Progress May Arrive Sooner Than Expected 

Jason Zander, head of Microsoft Discovery & Quantum, says the field is entering a period in which quantum systems will begin to tackle problems that traditional computers cannot. Hybrid approaches that combine quantum hardware, AI, and supercomputers are already improving accuracy in molecular and materials research. 

He highlights the company’s Majorana 1 chip, designed with topological qubits that are more stable and capable of correcting their own errors. Zander believes these breakthroughs will open the door to machines powerful enough to address complex scientific and industrial challenges. 

The prediction about quantum computing is particularly noteworthy given the pace at which firms like D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) are hitting significant milestones in their bid to bring this technology to a broader section of the global market. 

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QBTS 

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