Microsoft releases ‘AI-native’ Visual Studio 2026

Visual Studio 2026, the latest version of Microsoft’s signature IDE, is now generally available. Touted as an “AI-native intelligent development environment,” the IDE also features faster startup and improved user experience.

Announced November 11, the update can be downloaded from the Visual Studio homepage. Visual Studio 2026 uses AI intelligence for such things as complex debugging, performance profiling, and application modernization, Microsoft said. AI removes friction and surfaces insights, enabling developers to move faster without disrupting flow, the company said. In addition to AI-driven development, the release announcement noted that Visual Studio 2026 features performance improvements and a redesigned user experience.

Visual Studio 2026 is compatible with projects and extensions from Visual Studio 2022. The IDE is decoupled from build tools, so developers can update to Visual Studio 2026 without affecting.NET or C++ compilers, said the company. Following the initial update, automatic monthly updates will be provided.

Visual Studio 2026 was released in preview in September 2025. The 2026 update includes the following changes and additions:

A refreshed interface aligned with the Fluent UI design system to improve usability, accessibility, and visual clarity.

Full support available for.NET 10 and C# 14.

Test code coverage, available in Visual Studio Community and Professional editions.

New C# and C++ agents, which can be used to improve precision and speed.

The new “Did You Mean” feature, which intelligently detects intent and suggests better matches to improve search performance and results.

A new “Editor Appearance” setting that focuses on the editor’s look and feel. This setting can be used to match the overall IDE theme but also works independently, allowing users to customize their coding environment without having to align with the broader IDE.

User feedback helped fix more than 5,000 bugs and add more than 300 feature requests leading up to the Visual Studio 2026 release, according to Microsoft.