LibreOffice is making the absence of artificial intelligence an official feature. The Document Foundation, the nonprofit behind the open-source document editor, said this week that it will not add AI to its software for the foreseeable future. The announcement follows the late August release of the latest LibreOffice version, which the organization said "contains no generative AI features" as a deliberate design choice.
The rationale centers on data control. LibreOffice says its software requires no network connection and does not upload documents to a server for processing. "Any organisation handling confidential, legally privileged or personal data needs to know where that data goes," the group said, "and the only assurance that survives an audit is that it does not leave the machine."
The decision is not framed as a permanent rejection of AI but as an assessment of current technology. LibreOffice said no existing integration meets its requirements, which include keeping data on-device and avoiding dependence on a single AI provider. Users who want AI features can install extensions that connect to local models, while the default installation remains free of AI. The stance runs counter to the broader software industry's rush to embed chatbots and assistants, which often rely on remote servers and user data.