Ahead – 3
ChatGPT
- Agents become the primary interface for “getting work done”: Expect more users to delegate tasks to agentic systems that plan + execute across tools, rather than interacting via single prompts. Multi-agent systems are explicitly highlighted as a key strategic trend.
- “AI-native” platforms replace bolt-on copilots: Software will increasingly be rebuilt around AI-first workflows (orchestration, memory, tool-use, evaluation), not just “add an AI button.”
- Domain-specific models proliferate: Many organisations will standardise a portfolio approach: frontier model(s) + domain models + small on-device models for privacy/latency.
- On-device and edge AI expands materially: Running capable models locally (PC/phone) grows fast for privacy, cost, offline use, and responsiveness—pushing hybrid architectures (device + cloud).
- Compute becomes even more geopolitically constrained: Supply, export controls, tariffs, and national strategies will keep shaping what chips and clusters can be deployed where—and at what cost.
- Security posture shifts to “preemptive” and AI-specific defence: More enterprises adopt AI security platforms and provenance tooling to handle model risk, data leakage, deepfakes, and AI-enabled attacks.
- Physical AI keeps moving from pilots to operational rollouts: Robotics, drones, and industrial automation get pulled forward by better perception + planning, and by labour/safety economics.
- Regulation spreads from “principles” to enforcement: Compliance will move from policy documents to audits, technical controls, vendor clauses, and operational monitoring—especially in the EU as timelines progress.
- Marketing: “Agent intermediated buying” changes discovery: Gartner explicitly predicts buying flows increasingly mediated by AI agents, shifting optimisation from human-facing SEO/PPC to making products machine-readable and optimised for agent selection.
- Marketing/commerce: agentic commerce reshapes CX and loyalty: Expect more brands to prepare for consumers using agents to research, compare, and transact—forcing changes in merchandising, loyalty value propositions, and customer experience design.
Here are some more:
Saurav Singh: “Agentic AI Becomes the Digital Workforce. For years, we considered AI as a helper — something that drafts emails, generates code snippets, or answers our questions. But 2026 marks the turning point. AI becomes an agent, not…Imagine an AI system that notices a failing pipeline, diagnoses the root cause, applies the fix, validates the output, and updates the incident ticket — all while you sleep. Or an AI agent in finance that reconciles mismatches, audits numbers, and sends updated reports automatically. This shift isn’t theoretical anymore. Companies have already begun replacing manual operational workflows with autonomous agents that execute tasks similar to those of digital employees. The real question for 2026 isn’t “What can we automate?” It’s “What should the AI handle by default?””
Gaurav Nigam: “The Agentic Economy Will Overtake Traditional Software. 2025 was the year of agentic experimentation; 2026 will be the year of agentic execution. We are witnessing the end of “software as a tool” and the beginning of “software as labor.” The data is compelling: Gartner predicts 40% of enterprise applications will feature task-specific AI agents by year-end 2026, up from less than 5% today. PwC’s research shows 79% of companies are already adopting AI agents, with two-thirds reporting measurable productivity gains. McKinsey’s analysis suggests agentic workflows could automate 60–70% of employee time in sectors like banking and insurance. We will see the first major wave of B2B transactions where an AI agent negotiates, purchases, and executes a contract with another AI agent — no human in the loop.”
Greg Isenberg: “SaaS and agents merge completely in 2026. Every SaaS product becomes an agent platform, and every agent platform builds SaaS features. The ones that don’t adapt die or get bought for pennies.” Fru: “SaaS and Agents Fully Merge. The difference between SaaS and agents collapses. Every product becomes an adaptive agent and every agent quietly builds the features you need in real time. UI-heavy workflows fade as conversational execution becomes the default operating system for work.”
Ricardo Gulko: “Hyper-Personalization at Scale – AI Tailors Customer Experiences in Real Time. AI will enable an unprecedented level of hyper-personalization in customer experience by 2026. Instead of one-size-fits-all service, companies will use AI to dynamically customize each interaction – from product recommendations to pricing – for the individual customer. Advances in real-time data analytics and machine learning mean that every click, purchase, and inquiry can feed into algorithms that instantly adjust the experience. Customers will increasingly expect brands to “know them” and anticipate their needs. Imagine a retail website that rearranges itself on the fly for each shopper, or a banking app that proactively offers tailored financial advice based on a client’s unique spending patterns. This kind of AI-driven personalization drives higher engagement and loyalty, as customers feel understood on a one-to-one basis. In fact, industry research indicates that deeply personalized experiences can boost customer satisfaction significantly and drive up conversion rates. Companies that master this will differentiate their CX – turning data into delight at every touchpoint.”
Andy Markus: “Businesses will begin building on-demand apps, supported by AI agents. Most business applications have traditionally required long development cycles, continued investment, and constant maintenance. AI-fueled coding dramatically accelerates software development cycles, making it feasible for a company to build on-demand apps! Autonomous agents can even independently adapt to new requirements, making redevelopment faster than traditional app cycles. Businesses can respond faster to changing needs, experiment with new solutions, and pivot away from legacy apps that require long-term investment. Traditional apps won’t completely disappear…yet. The ability to launch and iterate on-demand functionality, in a fraction of the time, leveraging agentic AI will enable a more agile and cost-effective choice for immediate business challenges than traditional models in many situations.”
Charles Towers-Clark: “Job Displacement Will Become More Prevalent Due To AI Agents. In September 2025, Saleforce’s CEO announced the reduction of 4000 jobs in customer support due to a greater reliance on AI agents. Arguably, LLMs improve quality, but do not directly replace work. However, as AI agents become better at completing tasks autonomously, more companies will implement them to reduce labor costs in 2026.”
