The 2026 IBM Guide to AI

By Amanda Downie, Cole Stryker, Dave Bergmann and Mark Scapicchio

Artificial intelligence (AI) is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy. To fully benefit from AI, it’s important to first understand how it works, the types of AI available, the necessary management and governance, potential use cases and industry applications.

This comprehensive guide to AI is here to help you gain this understanding. In the guide, you will find a collection of AI-related content such as educational explainers, leading expert insights, hands-on tutorials, podcast episodes and more.

Get started

What is AI?

Get an overview of AI terminology, principles, processes and governance. Learn how AI has evolved and what use cases are prevalent today.

Guide to machine learning

Gain in-depth knowledge about machine learning techniques, generative AI, MLOps, model training and the data science related to machine learning (ML) with this comprehensive collection of educational explainers, hands-on tutorials, podcast episodes and more.

Go to the guide

Guide to AI agents

Gain in-depth knowledge about the components, architecture, protocols, governance and use cases related to AI agents with this comprehensive collection of educational explainers, hands-on tutorials, podcast episodes and more.

Go to the guide

The latest AI trends, brought to you by experts

Get curated insights on the most important—and intriguing—AI news. Subscribe to our weekly Think newsletter. See the IBM Privacy Statement.

Go further with AI

Enterprise AI

Explore the integration of AI-enabled technologies and techniques within large organizations, from transformation strategy to adoption and orchestration.

Responsible AI

Explore the set of principles and practices that help guide the design, development, deployment and use of AI.

AI for code

In this section, explore AI code generation, AI software development, vibe coding and more.

Explore AI code generation

Chatbots

Dive into the world of AI chatbots including its types, benefits and use cases.

AI platforms

Get to know different AI platforms and the criteria you can use to pick between them.

AI theory

Explore advanced AI paradigms, from AGI and strong AI to sentient systems and superintelligence.

Guide to prompt engineering

Unlock the full potential of AI with this one-stop solution for learning the art of prompting.

Go to the guide

Use cases

What are the best business uses for AI? Discover where and how AI is making a difference in customer service, HR, sales, marketing and more.

Industry applications

Learn more about AI impact in key industries including banking, fintech, healthcare, retail and telecommunications.

Explore AI in banking

Think Keynotes

How enterprises excel in the AI era

Move beyond AI hype to measurable value. See how IBM is transforming into an AI-first enterprise and turning agentic AI into productivity, reinvestment and real business impact.

Build with watsonx Orchestrate®

Authors

Staff Editor

IBM Think

Staff Editor, AI Models

IBM Think

Senior Staff Writer, AI Models

IBM Think

Mark Scapicchio

Editor, Topics & Insights

IBM Think

Start realizing ROI: A practical guide to agentic AI

Learn how to scale agentic AI for measurable ROI across your enterprise. This playbook outlines the top barriers that limit impact, how to effectively measure ROI and a practical framework to drive successful, enterprise-wide adoption.

Resources

Designing an AI native airline at enterprise scale

When margins are thin, every inefficiency matters. While legacy systems continue to constrain AI’s potential across aviation, Riyadh Air chose a different path. In partnership with IBM, Riyadh Air built the world’s first AI‑native airline, redefining a smarter, faster, more intuitive way to travel.

The enterprise in 2030: Engineered for perpetual innovation

Discover our five predictions about what will define the most successful enterprises in 2030 and the steps leaders can take to gain an AI-first advantage.

Start realizing ROI: A practical guide to agentic AI

Discover ways to get ahead, successfully scaling AI across your business with real results.

Level up your AI expertise

Purchase an individual or multi-user subscription today to access our full catalog of over 100 online courses. Expand your skills across a wide range of our products at a low price.

From AI projects to profits: How agentic AI can sustain financial returns

Discover how organizations are moving from isolated AI pilots to driving core business transformation with agentic AI.

Explore IBM Granite

IBM Granite® is a family of open, high performance and trusted AI models designed for business and optimized to scale your AI applications. Explore options across language, code, time series and guardrails.

Led by top IBM thought leaders, the curriculum is designed to help business leaders gain the knowledge needed to prioritize the AI investments that can drive growth.

Unlock the power of generative AI and ML

Learn how to confidently incorporate generative AI and machine learning into your business.

How to thrive in this new era of AI with trust and confidence

Dive into the three critical elements of a strong AI strategy—creating a competitive edge, scaling AI across the business and advancing trustworthy AI.

Related solutions

IBM® watsonx Orchestrate®

Easily design scalable AI assistants and agents, automate repetitive tasks and simplify complex processes with IBM watsonx Orchestrate.

Explore watsonx Orchestrate

Artificial intelligence solutions

Put AI to work in your business with IBM’s industry-leading AI expertise and portfolio of solutions at your side.

Explore AI solutions

Artificial intelligence consulting and services

IBM Consulting® AI services help reimagine how businesses work with AI for transformation.

Explore AI services

Take the next step

Whether you choose to customize prebuilt apps and skills or build and deploy custom agentic services with an AI studio, the IBM watsonx® platform has you covered.