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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will kick off Build at 12:30 p.m. EDT on June 2 with what is sure to be an announcement-packed keynote, and I'll be in attendance to cover all the news live. The venue this year is the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco; the city is the home to many of the AI sector's biggest players and aligns with Microsoft's intended audience of "AI developers, technical leaders, and enterprise developers.“
Since Build is a more business and developer-friendly event than Apple WWDC or Google I/O, we aren't likely to see much that immediately affects most general Windows users. However, I'm sure that the many AI-focused sessions will inform the future of the consumer-facing Windows experience.
Below, I outline the major trends I'll be keeping an eye on at the in-person sessions I attend, along with what I think they mean for Windows. Follow along with our live blog for all the latest news.
How to Watch Microsoft Build 2026
Before I get into the details, know that you can register to attend Microsoft Build online for free via the registration page. In-person access costs $1,099 and requires Microsoft’s approval. Digital registration includes access to livestreamed and recorded sessions. Even without registering, you can watch the main keynote on the Microsoft Build website or the Microsoft Developer YouTube channel.
Microsoft’s session catalog lists 375 options. However, many sessions are available only for in-person participants and do not offer recordings.
AI Agents Are Coming to Windows Whether or Not You Want Them
Microsoft invited OpenAI’s Peter Steinberger, creator of the OpenClaw AI agent system, as a featured speaker. Microsoft employees are also holding multiple sessions with titles such as Claws on Windows that will discuss building OpenClaw agents. The open-source OpenClaw is an experimental project, but Microsoft imagines AI agents will increasingly become stable, mainstream technology. The company even has a session that promotes using Windows 365 cloud PCs to run AI agents rather than running them locally.
Another session discusses how to “design systems for every user, including people and LLMs.” Technology companies increasingly see AI agents—not just people—as the target users for the software they design.
Agentic coding with GitHub Copilot is yet another major focus. “Agent supervision is the new senior engineering skill,” reads the title of one session.
Microsoft Is Betting AI Will Revive Native Windows Apps
After years of prioritizing web application technologies, Microsoft is turning its attention back to native Windows 11 apps. One Build session discusses using AI agents to create native Windows apps with the WinUI 3 framework. The company likely sees AI-assisted coding as the path to building a compelling and unique ecosystem of native Windows apps.
The Arm version of Windows 11 is already compatible with most existing Windows applications. However, not all x86 applications created for AMD and Intel CPUs run on Copilot PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon hardware. One Build session encourages the use of agentic AI to port x86 applications to Arm versions of Windows.
Microsoft Is Bringing Linux-Based AI Software to Windows
Microsoft will be discussing improvements to Windows Terminal and the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which lets you run Linux software on Windows, in a pair of sessions. The company is focused on AI even as it pertains to these existing developer tools. For example, Microsoft says WSL is getting improvements that enable you “to build AI-powered applications on Windows.” Many of the local AI applications in question are written for Linux.
Microsoft also recently launched Azure Linux 4.0, a Linux distribution designed for Microsoft’s cloud computing platform and WSL. One session will cover “how Azure Linux supports cloud-native and AI workloads.”
What Build 2026 Reveals About Microsoft's Future for Windows
AI is obviously the theme that ties the majority of Build 2026’s sessions together. The OpenClaw AI agent software, despite its major security problems, is a clear influence this year. After all, OpenClaw-style agents need a desktop operating system like Windows to work. This focus isn't anything new, however, as Microsoft previously announced AI agents you can control from the Windows taskbar and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations for Windows 11, the latter of which hasn't yet shipped.
Microsoft is also betting that AI-assisted coding will lead to a productivity boom, a position it shares with many other big tech companies. If Microsoft is right, you will see more high-quality native applications for Windows PCs going forward, with AI coding agents taking over the heavy lifting. Windows might have more to gain from AI-assisted programming than other operating systems, since many developers have shifted their development efforts to Android, iOS, and the web.
Wild Cards: Microsoft Might Announce More Than Usual at Build 2026
Nadella may speak more about Microsoft’s plans to transform Windows with AI in his keynote, but he likely won’t announce significant changes to Microsoft's operating system for regular PC users. As mentioned, Windows 11 is already getting some long-awaited improvements, which Microsoft announced prior to Build.
Don't Expect Much Xbox or Gaming News
Microsoft’s new Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, has publicly discussed changes to Xbox, and the company has already lowered Xbox Game Pass prices. She recently announced the cancellation of Copilot gaming features for Xbox, too, saying that it “[doesn’t] align with where we’re headed.” Microsoft will likely invest in promoting AI-assisted coding for game developers going forward, but Build 2026’s session catalog doesn’t list any sessions involving gaming or Xbox. Gaming in the context of new hardware chips (see below) might get a mention, however.
More Details About the Surface Laptop Ultra
Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra at Computex, and the timing with Build makes me hopeful we'll get even more details. I'm sure it, along with the other similar Arm-based RTX Spark laptops, will play a major role in the company's vision for an agentic Windows.
I'll Be Reporting Live From Microsoft Build 2026
Stay tuned—I'll be reporting from the ground at Build 2026, so be sure to check out our live blog for the latest coverage.