LibreOffice breaks download records after declaring it has no AI features ⁄ Manual do Usuário

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by Rodrigo Ghedin

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LibreOffice breaks download records after declaring it has no AI features

8/9/2026, 9h07

LibreOffice 26.8, released on August 26th, became the software’s most popular update. LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office that’s been around for nearly two decades. In one week, the installer was downloaded more than 1 million times — not counting updates via Linux distribution repositories.
Someone might say the improvements to the writing system and typography are a hit among NGOs, government agencies, and offices that use LibreOffice. I’m putting my money on a “non-feature,” though: the statement that LibreOffice doesn’t come with generative AI features due to the technology’s (lack of) privacy.
A day after celebrating the download record and the wide media coverage, The Document Foundation (TDF), which manages the software, spelled out its position in a post titled “Yes, no AI is now a feature”.
The article, signed by Italo Vignoli, says TDF “does not reject artificial intelligence out of hand,” but that the technology doesn’t yet meet an exhaustive list of principles to be included by default. Those principles are:

User-controlled execution.
No content may leave the computer without authorization.
No telemetry of any kind.
No dependency on a single vendor.
No compromises on [file] format.
Entirely optional.

For now, TDF recommends community plugins to integrate AI into LibreOffice.
TDF’s distinctive stance “has almost nothing to do with the technology,” the article continues, before taking a jab at rivals that dove headfirst into AI. For the foundation, “an AI assistant justifies a price increase and strengthens the case for keeping all documents within its own infrastructure,” referring to companies that rely on selling subscriptions.
The Document Foundation’s detailed explanation may disappoint anyone who read the announcement at the LibreOffice 26.8 launch as an anti-AI manifesto.
Whatever the reasons, the LibreOffice 26.8 case answers a question I and others have had since 2023: if the whole market now offers AI baked in software of every kind, is there really no room for AI-free alternatives to stand out? Apparently, there is.

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LibreOffice 26.8 achieved significant popularity, attracting over one million downloads in a single week, making it the most popular update for the software. The piece explores the context behind LibreOffice's declaration that it does not include generative artificial intelligence features, suggesting this stance is rooted in privacy considerations. Following this announcement, the Document Foundation (TDF), which manages the software, addressed the issue in an article signed by Italo Vignoli, articulating its position regarding artificial intelligence integration. The TDF stated that it does not reject artificial intelligence indiscriminately, but rather posits a set of principles that must be satisfied before AI features can be included by default. These necessary principles encompass user-controlled execution, ensuring no content leaves the computer without authorization, prohibiting any form of telemetry, eliminating dependency on a single vendor, maintaining integrity of file formats, and keeping the feature entirely optional.

The TDF further recommended the integration of artificial intelligence into LibreOffice through community plugins rather than direct inclusion. The foundation expressed that an AI assistant, in their view, provides justification for price increases and reinforces the rationale for keeping all documents secured within the software’s own infrastructure, particularly when contrasted with models that rely on subscription services. This detailed explanation from the Document Foundation might be viewed as an anti-AI manifesto by some readers who encountered the announcement during the LibreOffice 26.8 launch. Ultimately, the author suggests that regardless of the specific motivations behind this declaration, the existence of the LibreOffice 26.8 case raises a critical question: if the entire market is saturated with AI-integrated software, does this create room for distinct, AI-free alternatives to maintain relevance.