Artificial intelligence is no longer just a story about model upgrades and viral demos. In 2026, the real battle shifts to economics, infrastructure, trust and distribution. From OpenAI’s monetisation pressure and Nvidia’s customer rebellion, to Google’s AI-native productivity push and the looming backlash against AI-generated content, this year marks a critical inflection point. The companies that win won’t simply have the most powerful models, they’ll be the ones that solve for cost, credibility and control in an AI-saturated world.

2026 is shaping up to be a crucial year for Microsoft, as Google have unlocked AI within their productivity suite, while Microsoft struggles to add AI to Office.