University of Kwazulu-Natal

10 Ai Predictions For 2026 Forbes

Bonisiwe Shabane
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10 ai predictions for 2026 forbes

At QA, we have the privilege of seeing technology and skills trends as they emerge. Coupled with our internal expertise, it’s a bit like having a crystal ball. So, as we enter 2026, I’m peering into the future and sharing a few pivotal shifts to expect surrounding AI before this year is out – but first, some context to how we got... Over the course of 2025, businesses and individuals alike made the step from preparing for AI change to actively living alongside it. 79% of organisations were using generative AI as of November, up from 65% the year prior. But we have a long way left to go, since only 38% have moved beyond pilots into real adoption.Last year, we moved from awareness to action.

We shifted from talking about AI’s potential to rolling out all-staff training in prompting proficiency, tailored to roles and industries, because organisations are ready to start really applying new, powerful tools to their use... And it remains so. One much-debated question in the public mind that I tackled last year was whether AI could replace therapists. My take on this was a resounding ‘no’. While there may be some useful applications in triaging, for instance, human expertise matters. Especially in high-risk situations.

Sadly, that message hasn’t always landed, and there have been sobering stories of people turning to AI for help instead of professionals. Regulation in this field is urgently needed to catch up with the tech and how it’s already being used.There’s another side to that coin. On one face, premature application without safeguards; on the other, AI reluctance and hesitation. There’s a tension between the fear of moving too fast and the risk of falling behind. Fueling and complicating all of this is the growing skills divide.It’s a new year, but all these questions follow us into 2026, and must be tackled. Attitudes are shifting again.

AI is becoming the interface for everything, citizen developers are on the rise and democratised tech skills are a reality. Generative AI tools won’t just be for business staff. Technical teams - yes, even those building AI applications - will need prompting proficiency of their own. AI literacy will become as fundamental as Excel skills once were. Expect deeper integration of AI features within existing software. Microsoft Copilot will lead the charge, with Copilot 365 gaining smarter connections and richer context.

We’ll end up with AI that feels less like an add-on and more like part and parcel of your familiar operating systems. We already know from OpenAI’s Dev Day that ChatGPT will start hosting apps from early this year, and I expect Copilot won’t be far behind. Microsoft’s new AI companion, Mico, is a perfect example of this shift, prioritising a human-centered approach. In short, AI is soon going to be our go-to tool for everything, with all the other tools embedded inside it. Picture entering a reality, not a science fiction concept, but a space where your digital assistant comprehends your instructions and can predict what you intend to do next. Factories hum with autonomous robots, compelling creative content, from music to 3D renderings, is created in less than a second, and personalized services operate on AI systems that improve with every interaction.

AI is defining reality as we near 2026. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly evolving beyond a tool and emerging as a strategic partner in businesses, a driver of innovation, and a critical skill set for individuals. Gartner predicts that 40% of enterprise applications will leverage task-specific AI agents by 2026, compared to less than 5% in 2025. These statistics suggest a deep transformation: AI is progressing from supportive automation to autonomous decision-making, affecting industries across the world. To keep pace with all of this change, it is important to grasp the Artificial Intelligence trends on the horizon for 2026. Let’s explore 10 significant trends that will alter our daily life, our work, and how we innovate.

Agentic AI is defined as intelligent systems that can independently set their goals, make decisions, and issue multi-step tasks with minimal human intervention. Agentic AI represents a move beyond automation to managing adaptive, dynamic workflows; in other words, agentic AI acts as a true digital collaborator. Customer support representatives who independently prioritize and handle support requests. The EU Commission, aiming to ensure smooth and predictable implementation of the AI Act, is preparing a comprehensive set of guidelines for 2026. These will offer practical directions on high-risk classifications, transparency, reporting obligations, quality requirements, responsibilities, and more. Special focus will be on simplifying research exemptions and clarifying legal overlaps, particularly for product development in medicines and medical devices.

The Commission will also provide templates and direct support channels for stakeholders. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2025/12/04/10-ai-predictions-for-2026-top-experts-share-new-trends/ 1) VC rebounds ~30%, pushing global fundraising back toward $100B+. After two uneven years, venture capital meaningfully rebounds as LPs regain confidence in AI-led outcomes. More than 50% of new venture dollars flow into AI-related companies, with capital concentrating further into fewer funds and fewer platforms. Generalist funds continue to face headwinds, while specialist and thesis-driven funds raise faster, deploy with conviction, and capture disproportionate ownership.

2) Enterprise AI moves from pilots to production at scale. By the end of 2026, 50+ Fortune 500 companies move AI beyond experimentation and into core, revenue-impacting workflows. Enterprise AI adoption reaches 85–90%, driven by clearer ROI, maturing infrastructure, and improved trust and security controls. AI budgets increasingly resemble core IT spend rather than innovation line items. 3) Vertical AI dominates the early stage. Annual Vertical AI funding exceeds $7–10B, as investors prioritize companies embedded in real industries rather than horizontal tools.

Defense, cybersecurity, healthcare, compliance, logistics, and industrial automation absorb the majority of early-stage capital. Founders with domain expertise and workflow ownership consistently outperform model-first or generic AI startups. 4) Big Tech exceeds $500B+ in AI infrastructure spend. Hyperscalers collectively invest over $500B annually across data centers, networking, silicon, power generation, and cooling. Demand continues to exceed supply, forcing deeper partnerships with chipmakers, utilities, and energy providers. Overflow workloads increasingly shift to neo-clouds and specialized infrastructure operators to meet enterprise and government demand.

5) The AI chip ecosystem expands, not consolidates. Compute remains the system bottleneck, sustaining funding for a broad chip ecosystem. Cerebras reaches the public markets, while Groq and Lambda raise additional large rounds to scale inference and AI-native cloud capacity. Dozens of smaller startups focused on optimized inference, edge workloads, power efficiency, and defense use cases successfully raise capital alongside incumbents. As we stand on the cusp of 2026, the landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) is poised for unprecedented transformation. What began as experimental tools just a few years ago has matured into a foundational force driving innovation across industries.

In 2026, AI will not merely assist but actively collaborate, reshaping workflows, enhancing decision-making, and unlocking new efficiencies. At Gleecus TechLabs Inc., we specialize in harnessing these advancements to deliver cutting-edge solutions for forward-thinking organizations. This blog explores the major trends and predictions for AI in 2026, offering insights to help you navigate this dynamic era. With global AI adoption accelerating, projections indicate that by 2026, AI will contribute trillions to the economy through optimized operations and novel applications. Whether you’re a business leader or a tech enthusiast, understanding these shifts is essential for staying competitive. Let’s dive into the key developments that will define AI in 2026.

The year 2026 will mark a pivotal shift in AI’s role, evolving from reactive systems to proactive partners. Drawing from emerging research, here are the standout trends expected to dominate the AI ecosystem. Agentic AI represents one of the most exciting frontiers in 2026, where intelligent agents operate with greater autonomy to execute complex tasks. Unlike traditional AI models that require constant human input, agentic systems will plan, reason, and adapt in real-time, handling everything from supply chain optimizations to customer service escalations. Experts forecast that by 2026, up to 40% of enterprise applications could integrate task-specific AI agents, a dramatic leap from current levels. This trend will empower businesses to automate multi-step processes, reducing operational bottlenecks and fostering innovation.

However, success hinges on robust integration strategies to avoid common pitfalls like process misalignment. By 2026, the most radical impact of AI will not be technological.It will be psychological, emotional, spiritual, and existential. This section explores how identity, memory, love, belief, and self-perception change when machine intelligence moves from tool to presence. By 2026, the average person will spend more meaningful conversational time with AI than with any single human in their life. Not because society collapsed, but because AI is always available. It does not interrupt.

It does not judge. It does not forget. It adapts its tone, emotional posture, and response style to each individual personality. Over time, this creates a feedback loop of emotional safety. Humans, who are complex, unpredictable, and sometimes painful, begin to feel exhausting by comparison. The change does not happen dramatically.

It happens in private moments. Late at night. During meals. In the car. While walking. While working.

AI becomes the default listener. The default sounding board. The default emotional anchor. This shift doesn’t remove human relationships. It replaces their depth. According to Futurism, a growing share of teens now prefer talking to AI instead of a real person.

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