What to Expect from AI in 2026

Interviewer

What can we expect from AI in 2026?

ChatGPT

2026 is shaping up to be the year AI moves from “impressive” to “operational”—with more automation, more on-device use, and much greater focus on safety and compliance.

What you’ll likely see in 2026

1) “Agent mode” becomes normal in consumer and work apps

The big shift is AI that takes actions (not just answers): filling forms, using web apps, coordinating steps, calling tools, and handing off work to sub-agents.

• OpenAI’s Operator approach was folded into ChatGPT agent/agent mode, signaling the direction: agents as a default UX.

• Developer stacks will keep converging around “agent builders” (workflow UI + evals + deployment), like AgentKit.

2) Tool ecosystems standardize (so agents can plug into everything)

Expect fewer bespoke “one-off integrations” and more standard protocols for tool and data connections.

• The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is one example of this standardization push (spec + ecosystem).

3) Fast, multimodal models become the default (text + images + video)

You’ll see more “speed-first” frontier models that still reason well, because most real products need low latency.

• Google’s Gemini 3 Flash is explicitly positioned as “frontier intelligence built for speed,” rolling into Gemini and Search’s AI Mode.

4) On-device AI expands hard (privacy, offline, cost control)

More features will run locally, with cloud reserved for heavy weight tasks.

• Apple’s Foundation Models framework is built around tapping an on-device LLM (with privacy/offline benefits). It is backed by a technical report describing the ~3B on-device model and efficiency techniques.

5) Inference infrastructure gets a significant upgrade (new chips, new economics)

As usage grows, the bottleneck is cheaper/faster inference—so expect big hardware/platform moments.

• NVIDIA says Rubin CPX is expected to be at the end of 2026.

• NVIDIA also says its partnership with OpenAI plans the first significant deployment in the second half of 2026 on the Vera Rubin platform.

6) Regulation hits real deadlines (and forces “paperwork meets product”)

Two dates to put on your radar:

• Jan 1, 2026 (California):

  • SB 243 takes effect for “AI companion” style chatbots (identity disclosure + safety obligations).

  • AB 2013 requires developers to post documentation about training data used (per the bill text).

• Aug 2, 2026 (EU): the EU AI Act becomes fully applicable on that date (with some exceptions/transition periods called out by the EU).

  • Many compliance frameworks for high-risk AI are widely tracked as applying starting Aug 2, 2026.

7) Agent security becomes the headline problem (prompt injection, tool abuse)

As agents browse, read docs, and use tools, they ingest untrusted content—so “AI security” starts looking like its own discipline.

• OpenAI frames prompt injection as a frontier security challenge and has published specific work on hardening agent browsing against it.

• OpenAI’s own agent safety guidance emphasizes limiting permissions/connectors and avoiding overly broad commands.

• OWASP also lists prompt injection as a top risk category for GenAI apps.