Eight Experts’ Work and Technology Predictions for AI in 2026

Eight leaders from across technology, operations and research share what they expect AI to change about everyday work in the year ahead.

Agents become teammates. Most of the experts expect AI agents to move from pilots into daily routines, taking on multi-step tasks such as preparing account reviews, triaging tickets and drafting first versions of reports for people to refine.

Context beats raw model power. Several predicted that the quality of company context, not the choice of model, will decide which AI rollouts succeed. Assistants that understand people, projects and permissions will earn trust faster.

Costs come under scrutiny. As usage grows, finance and IT teams will look closely at token spend, routing simpler work to smaller models and saving larger models for the questions that need them.

Governance moves upstream. Security and compliance teams will be involved from day one, with central controls for which data, tools and agents each team can use.

Skills shift, roles evolve. Rather than replacing jobs outright, the experts expect AI to reshape them, rewarding people who can frame good questions, review AI output critically and design better workflows.

Taken together, the predictions point to a year where AI at work becomes less about experimentation and more about measurable outcomes, with the organizations that invest in context, governance and skills pulling ahead.