Following a blockbuster year for the growth of artificial intelligence, 2026 is poised to see even more significant growth and innovation in the AI space.
This past year, an increasing number of consumers have begun using AI for everyday tasks, and the nascent technology has been rapidly integrated into the business world. Time magazine even named the architects of AI its annual Person of the Year.
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But 2026 could be an even bigger year for AI. Here is what could be on the horizon.
Integration
One of the most noticeable developments in AI over the past year is the increasing ubiquity of its use, not just by companies, but also by everyday people.
There has been a surge in competition among AI developers to provide AI chatbots, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and xAI’s Grok. Consumers have increasingly used these chatbots to perform tasks such as searching for shows and movies they might like, shopping and reading reviews for products, and even generating new recipes.
James Pethokoukis, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner that in 2026, the integration of AI more into everyday use will become increasingly prominent, and that technology will likely advance to make AI even more useful for consumers.
“By next Christmas, I would expect to be able to use a chatbot to do all my Christmas shopping, right?” Pethokoukis said. “Not just like, do a little advanced searching … like you should be able to tell it what to do, tell it where to go, and what you’re looking for, and make purchases. I don’t think that’s a crazy expectation.”
Business
The business world will also continue to embrace AI in the coming year, with an acceleration that could persist as the technology evolves.
Economists and policymakers have expressed major concerns that AI could lead to mass layoffs at companies, replacing workers with the technology. There has been particular concern about white-collar jobs, which involve tasks that AI could potentially automate.
John Berlau is a senior fellow and director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. While acknowledging that AI will likely drive changes in the labor market, Berlau has a less fatalistic outlook and thinks the jobs market will evolve as it did with the introduction of other paradigm-shifting technology, such as the railroad or farm machinery.
“There are going to be some surprises there, [with] any innovation you have shake-ups, you have things that are difficult for people,” he told the Washington Examiner. “But as long as there is innovation and creativity, there are going to be jobs, better jobs that come with that.”
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien believes that AI could reduce the demand for certain white-collar jobs, thereby placing further emphasis on blue-collar workers, whom the Teamsters, one of the country’s largest labor unions, represent.
During a recent interview with the Washington Examiner, O’Brien predicted that the AI wave will wipe out a whole tranche of white-collar jobs that children might have gone to college to pursue in the past, causing a boost for trade schools and increasing demand for blue-collar jobs.
“Let’s be realistic … AI can’t swing a hammer, unclog a toilet, or wire a house,” he said. “So you’re going to see more people going into the trades, going into blue-collar industries that can’t be replaced by technology or AI.”
Productivity
Increased productivity is also a benefit that has been discussed as a result of AI. The hope for AI proponents is that AI will make the labor force and economy more productive, leading to a boom for the U.S. and countries that have effectively integrated AI.
Pethokoukis said that if companies can figure out ways to incorporate AI into their operations and workflows, making them more productive, and if this happens on a broad scale, it could make the entire economy more productive.
“Some people think maybe we’re seeing that already, like we saw the recent GDP report, but those numbers are really subject to revision,” Pethokoukis said.
Pethokoukis referred to the recent gross domestic product report from the third quarter, which came in well higher than forecasters had expected. GDP, a broad measure of economic output, grew at a 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the best quarterly growth rate in two years.
Additionally, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, the front-runner to be nominated chairman of the Federal Reserve, has recently argued that a positive supply shock from the AI boom could be a reason to lower interest rates. He also believes that AI could be a “bigger story productivity-wise than the computer.”
Chips, inputs, and data centers
The nuts and bolts of AI, including how it is developed and maintained, will also generate headlines in 2026.
Semiconductor chips are key to AI, and innovations in that space have driven massive profits and even affected diplomatic relations. The U.S. and China have been competing in the chip-making space, and the U.S. has restricted some chip imports into its geopolitical rival.
Tensions over chips are likely to continue into 2026 as the developed world races to develop stronger chips. In the process, many have become wealthy from the AI and chip boom; one major example is the remarkable success of chipmaker Nvidia.
“Who would have thought that even five years ago that the NVIDIA company, whose chips were primarily used in bitcoin mining and video games, would surpass Intel and others as the AI leader?” Berlau said.
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AI has also been driving demand for data centers, which require more resources like copper, the price of which has increased nearly 43% since the start of the year. Some fear that if more data centers continue to be built, it will also greatly increase electricity demand.
Silver prices have also surged this year for several reasons, but the growing use of artificial intelligence data centers also drives demand for the precious metal.
