I think AI reasoning is one of the most visible breakthroughs of 2026, but I’m not convinced it’s the most important one.

Reasoning models are impressive because they’re easy to experience. You can see them plan, solve multi-step problems, and work through complex tasks in ways that earlier models struggled with.

But the breakthroughs that may have the biggest long-term impact are happening around them.

We’re seeing advances in agentic systems, multimodal AI, robotics, and AI infrastructure that allow these models to operate in the real world rather than just generate responses. A reasoning model is powerful on its own, but its value increases dramatically when it can access tools, interact with systems, and take action.

That’s why I think the bigger story isn’t reasoning itself.

It’s the shift from AI that answers questions to AI that can participate in workflows, make decisions, and collaborate with humans.

Reasoning is a key piece of that puzzle, but it may ultimately be remembered as the capability that enabled a much larger transformation.

The question I’m most interested in is:

Will future AI progress be driven more by smarter models, or by better systems that connect models, data, tools, and humans together?