LibreOffice 26.8, released on August 26, became the software's most popular update, with the installer downloaded more than 1 million times in one week—not counting updates via Linux distribution repositories. While improvements to writing and typography may appeal to NGOs, government agencies, and offices, The Document Foundation (TDF) suggests the download surge relates to a 'non-feature': the absence of generative AI capabilities.
The article reports record downloads for LibreOffice 26.8; this screenshot shows the Writer window users open when working with documents.
The Document Foundation is named throughout the article as the organization behind LibreOffice and its AI policy.
TDF elaborated on this position in a post titled 'Yes, no AI is now a feature,' signed by Italo Vignoli. The foundation states it does not reject artificial intelligence outright but holds that current implementations do not meet six principles for default inclusion: user-controlled execution, no unauthorized data leaving the computer, no telemetry of any kind, no dependency on a single vendor, no compromises to file formats, and entirely optional use. For now, TDF recommends community plugins for users seeking AI integration.
The foundation notes its stance 'has almost nothing to do with the technology' itself but critiques rivals whose AI assistants 'justify a price increase and strengthen the case for keeping all documents within its own infrastructure.' TDF's detailed explanation may disappoint those who interpreted the LibreOffice 26.8 launch announcement as an anti-AI manifesto.
However, some commentators question whether the download record reflects a sudden surge driven by the AI stance. They point to longer-term trends showing relatively flat monthly downloads since 2019, suggesting record-breaking claims may simply mirror steady growth. Others note LibreOffice's decades-long history—the Writer component originated in 1985—and argue its popularity stems from established utility in tasks like business accounting, PDF generation from templates, and document normalization, particularly in Docker environments.
Regardless of the exact cause, the episode highlights a market segment that values AI-free alternatives. LibreOffice 26.8 does include other new features such as Markdown support, connectors in Calc and Writer, and various performance improvements, but its explicit rejection of built-in AI has drawn attention in an era when many competitors are rapidly integrating generative capabilities into their productivity suites.
Paragraph 5 lists Markdown support as one of the new features in this release; the screenshot shows that capability.
Paragraph 5 notes connectors in Calc and Writer as new features; this image illustrates the Calc connector interface.