By Alice Chambers |
Microsoft has identified several trends to watch in 2026, led by the growing role of AI in amplifying what people can achieve together. Central to this shift is the rise of AI agents as digital workers, supporting individuals and teams in their day-to-day work.
“The future isn’t about replacing humans,” says Aparna Chennapragada, chief product officer for AI experiences at Microsoft, in a Microsoft blog. “It’s about amplifying them.”
Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, noted that many organisations have now embraced AI, having “moved past the initial phase of discovery” and are “entering a phase of widespread diffusion”. However, he stressed that real value will only be realised if businesses move beyond standalone models and instead build complete AI systems that can deliver impact at scale.
“We are now entering a phase where we build rich scaffolds that orchestrate multiple models and agents; account for memory and entitlements; enable rich and safe tools use,” said Nadella in his ‘Notes on advances in technology and real-world impact’. “What matters is not the power of any given model, but how people choose to apply it to achieve their goals.”
As AI agents take on more responsibility, trust and security will become increasingly important. Vasu Jakkal, corporate vice president of Microsoft Security, emphasised the need to treat AI agents with the same safeguards as human users.
“Every agent should have similar security protections as humans,” she said, “to ensure agents don’t turn into ‘double agents’ carrying unchecked risk.”
Supporting this expansion of AI will also require more intelligent and efficient infrastructure. Microsoft expects data centres to evolve into flexible, global AI systems that reduce costs while improving performance and efficiency.
“The most effective AI infrastructure will pact computing power more densely across distributed networks,” said Mark Russinovich, chief technology officer at Microsoft.
AI is also transforming how software is built. Mario Rodriguez, chief product offer at GitHub, explained that the platform is focusing on repository intelligence, enabling AI to understand the relationships and history behind code so it can make smarter suggestions, catch errors earlier and automate routine fixes.
“It’s clear we’re at an inflection point,” said Rodriguez. “Repository intelligence will become a competitive advantage by providing the structure and context for smarter, more reliable AI.”
For Microsoft, the measure of AI’s success will be the outcomes it delivers for people and organisations, rather than technical capability alone.
“Ultimately the most meaningful measure of progress is the outcomes for each of us,” said Nadella. “It will be a messy process of discovery, like all technology and product development always is. Computing throughout its history has been about empowering people and organisations to achieve more, and AI must follow the same path. If we do that, it can become one of the most profound waves of computing yet.”