Satya Nadella denies claims Microsoft wants to “make people addicted" to AI — as the company shifts from Bill Gates’ software vision to an agentic future
Microsoft is undergoing a significant strategic pivot from traditional software toward agentic artificial intelligence, moving away from the software-centric model established during the Bill Gates era. CEO Satya Nadella outlined this vision at Build 2026, the company’s annual developer conference, emphasizing generative AI’s central importance to the company’s future direction.
The transition has drawn criticism, prompting Nadella to deny claims that Microsoft seeks to make users “addicted” to AI. The statement reflects growing public concern about the ethics and implications of aggressive corporate AI adoption.
While Office and Windows remain among Microsoft’s most profitable products—foundational to the company’s trillion-dollar valuation—Nadella challenged the assumption that this traditional revenue model guarantees future success. He characterized the shift as moving away from a “software factory mentality,” indicating Microsoft’s belief that fundamental industry changes require evolution beyond conventional software delivery approaches.