LibreOffice 26.8, the latest twice-yearly release of the free, open-source office suite, has been launched with an explicit “no artificial intelligence” message. The Document Foundation presents it as a local-first application: it runs natively on Windows, Linux and macOS, keeps files on the user’s computer and does not automatically use cloud storage. This stance is notable amid wider AI integration in competing office products, including offerings linked to LibreOffice contributor Collabora.

The release adds improved typography, paragraph and formatting handling, accessibility support through ARIA, and broader internationalisation for different writing systems and alphabets. LibreOffice 26.8 is available in 120 languages and continues to use its own OpenDocument formats by default, although it supports Microsoft Office formats such as DOCX for compatibility. The article notes that LibreOffice remains widely bundled with Linux distributions and faces alternatives including OnlyOffice, WPS Office, Nextcloud-based services and paid European suite SoftMaker Office.