Microsoft Research outlines AI priorities and expectations for 2026

Microsoft Research is setting out how it expects artificial intelligence to evolve in 2026, describing work across its global labs on systems that reason, collaborate and operate in both digital and physical environments, according to a company statement.

The perspectives, drawn from senior researchers and leaders, frame AI not as an add-on to existing systems but as a driver for rethinking computing, intelligence and workflows, and are positioned as part of a unified strategy for how Microsoft plans to help shape the next phase of AI development.

Peter Lee, president of Microsoft Research, said AI will increasingly participate directly in scientific work, predicting that “AI will join in the process of discovery, creating a world where every research scientist has AI lab assistants that suggest and run parts of experiments.”

Other researchers describe autonomous agents that negotiate and transact in digital markets, generative models that treat biology as a language to design new biomolecules, and infrastructure advances such as light-based chips, optical interconnects and robotics-enabled datacenter designs aimed at meeting rising AI demand.

Additional themes include AI systems that support inclusive innovation in education, agriculture and healthcare; models that move from encoding knowledge to reasoning, simulation and “mentalizing” to infer human intent; entertainment experiences that adapt to audiences in real time; and physical AI that enables robots to perceive, reason and act alongside people.

Several contributors emphasise long-term, agentic systems that maintain context over months, stabilise complex workflows and transform how communication unfolds by sustaining context and iteratively refining expression.

The company presents these focus areas as “focal points from the edge of innovation” that trace current progress and signal how AI may be imagined and applied in the coming year, while underscoring that Microsoft aims to help reconstruct the core principles driving technological advancement.

The recap

• Microsoft Research details its vision for AI’s evolution in 2026.
• Leaders highlight AI lab assistants, agentic markets and physical robotics.
• Focus areas span infrastructure, biology, communication and inclusive innovation worldwide.