How People Are Really Using AI in 2026SKIP TO CONTENT
Harvard Business Review LogoGenerative AI<br>How People Are Really Using AI in 2026
by Marc Zao-Sanders
June 1, 2026
Illustration by Clara San Millán
Post<br>Post<br>Share<br>Save<br>Print
Summary.
Leer en españolLer em português
Post<br>Post<br>Share<br>Save<br>Print
It’s been three-and-a-half years since generative AI exploded onto the scene. In this past year, progress has continued its relentless pace: Vibe coding took off, companies embraced agentic workflows, regular users of ChatGPT hit 900 million and Google’s Gemini surpassed 750 million, and OpenAI posted an $852 billion valuation in its latest funding round.
Marc Zao-Sanders is co-founder of filtered.com and the author of Timeboxing–The Power of Doing One Thing at a Time. He also leads AI in the Wild, a research initiative exploring how people use AI.
Post<br>Post<br>Share<br>Save<br>Print
Read more on Generative AI or related topics AI and machine learning , Technology and analytics , Analytics and data science and Algorithms
Partner Center
Harvard Business Review Logo<br>About Us<br>Careers<br>Privacy Policy<br>Cookie Policy<br>Copyright Information<br>Trademark Policy<br>Terms of Use<br>Harvard Business Publishing:<br>Higher Education<br>Corporate Learning<br>Harvard Business Review<br>Harvard Business School
Copyright ©2026 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.