Snowflake CEO: Big Tech’s grip on AI will loosen in 2026 — plus 6 more predictions that will define the year
The real AI race is starting now, and the organizations that lead in 2026 won't be those with the most AI pilots or the biggest technology budgets.
Over the past year, AI has begun reshaping work in tangible ways, with coding assistants that speed software development and chatbots that handle routine customer inquiries. But 2026 will be the year organizations move beyond these initial use cases to deploy systems that can reason, plan, and act autonomously across core operations.
This next stage has the potential to deliver dramatic gains, driven by shifts already underway in how AI models are built and deployed. The following predictions outline how the landscape will evolve in 2026 — from wider access to competitive models to new standards for measuring AI reliability — and how successful organizations will differentiate themselves to capitalize on these changes.
1 – Big Tech’s Grip on AI Models Will Loosen
For years, conventional wisdom held that only a handful of tech giants could afford to build competitive AI models. In 2026, that will change. New approaches to training like those developed by DeepSeek have shown that building the biggest, most expensive models isn’t the only path to strong performance. Companies are now taking open-source foundation models and customizing them with their own data, creating a faster, cheaper route to competitive AI. This democratization means far more organizations will create their own tailored models instead of relying solely on OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic.
2 – AI Will Have Its ‘HTTP’ Moment With a New Protocol for Agent Collaboration
Much as HTTP allows websites to connect freely across the internet, a dominant AI protocol will emerge next year that will allow agents to work together across different systems and platforms. This move towards standardization will unlock the true potential of agentic AI by allowing specialized agents from different providers to communicate and collaborate without vendor lock-in. Organizations will finally be able to build interconnected AI ecosystems rather than siloed applications tied to single providers. The age of the proprietary AI walled garden is ending.
3 – Teams That Resist ‘AI Slop’ Will Dominate the Creative Landscape
In 2026, a divide will emerge between those who use AI to amplify their own creativity and those who use it as a crutch. One group will leverage AI to expand their creativity and push their own ideas further and faster. The other will take the easy route, churning out generic content that floods the market but doesn’t resonate with customers. Organizations that take the former approach — empowering people to think strategically and use AI to enhance, rather than replace, their own creativity — will dominate their industries.