AI Summary: This guide identifies the critical shift for CTOs in 2026: moving away from generic AI toward 'Vertical AI' that understands specific business context (like healthcare or finance). ' It also highlights the surge in enterprise spending on multimodal technologies, projected to hit $644B this year.
In 2026, embedded AI is no longer a differentiator; it's table stakes. This post outlines seven trends reshaping product development, from the rise of 'Vertical AI' (built for specific industries) to the dominance of multimodal standard interfaces. We explore why 'Agentic AI' is replacing single-prompt workflows and how 'Multimodal as Standard' is mirroring how humans actually communicate and make decisions.
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