Image Line has released FL Studio 2026, a free upgrade to its music production software, headlined by a significant expansion of its AI chatbot, Gopher. Whereas Gopher previously functioned as little more than an interactive instruction manual that pointed users to relevant help topics, it can now carry out actions directly within a project. The reviewer reports that Gopher successfully executed a request to lay down a four-on-the-floor kick with snares on the backbeat and add gated reverb, suggesting the tool is moving towards acting as an "assistant engineer" rather than a mere reference guide.

Gopher still has notable limitations: it cannot draw automation, insert notes or chords into melodic tracks, or select specific presets within plug-ins, so tasks such as finding a particular Rhodes patch remain manual. Image Line stresses that it does not train its AI on user data, keeping recording sessions private. Other headline features include a completely rebuilt Flex virtual instrument with an improved preset browser and lower resource usage, automatic cloud backups for FL Cloud subscribers, and an always-listening "audio logger" that captures the last 60 seconds of the master output so unrecorded ideas can still be saved.