2026 Responsible AI Transparency Report

Microsoft has released the third annual edition of its Responsible AI Transparency Report for 2026. The company presents it as an account of how it advances trustworthy AI and contributes to the wider ecosystem. The page that introduces the report highlights several trends from the past year, features a reflection from Natasha Crampton, Microsoft's Chief Responsible AI Officer, on the people, practices and systems behind the work, and invites readers to move to specific sections of the full document.

The first trend concerns access. Microsoft's Global AI Diffusion Report points to a widening divide in who is using and benefiting from AI, with gaps across geographies and languages, and the company says investment and partnership are needed to close them in the Global South. A second trend is the rise of conversational services as a main way of reaching AI models, with people turning to chatbots for personal advice, health questions and emotional support, which brings both clear benefits and real risks.

On risk, Microsoft says generative AI applications increasingly connect several models, tools and data sources, while agentic systems bring added interconnection, action and autonomy. Risk therefore depends on what can be reached, what permissions exist, what is remembered and how things are used over time, which calls for more dynamic governance. It also notes that malicious actors increasingly use AI to carry out fraud, impersonation, deepfakes and socially engineered attacks at scale, with vulnerable groups affected disproportionately.

Regulation is the final theme. Legislative activity continues to intensify as existing requirements move toward enforcement, yet uncertainty remains over interpretation, timelines and interoperability across jurisdictions. Microsoft concludes that the emphasis is shifting from model capabilities toward deployment, real-world use and societal impact.