LibreOffice keeps generative AI out of its standard release

The case for keeping data local

The foundation says LibreOffice serves tens of millions of people and organizations, including users handling confidential, legally protected or personal information. For those users, it argues, knowing where documents go and how they are processed is essential. Its standard is blunt: the only guarantee that can withstand an audit is that data never leaves the device.

That stance draws a clear line between offering AI as an optional tool and building it into the product. Many AI features depend on uploading user data to remote servers, where users may not control how long it is stored or how it is handled. LibreOffice’s approach keeps the default offline, while leaving room for users to choose extensions and local models themselves.

The choice also runs against the direction of much software development, where AI features are being added even when they make products harder to use. Some developers have responded to feature overload by building tools that block or remove AI.

An option, not a permanent refusal

The Document Foundation confirmed in August, alongside a new release, that LibreOffice had no generative AI features. In a blog post this week, it said that remains the plan for the coming years—not because it rejects AI outright, but because it has not found a way to integrate it that satisfies its requirements.

Those requirements include keeping data on the device and avoiding dependence on a single AI provider. The foundation says they reflect its current assessment, not a judgment on the value of the AI industry as a whole. It will continue to follow the technology’s development.

I think the distinction matters: LibreOffice is not asking users to choose between AI and privacy. It is declining to make AI the default, and leaving the decision to people who want it. The harder question is whether extensions and local models can make that choice practical without shifting the burden of setup and trust onto users.

For an open-source alternative to software from Silicon Valley’s largest technology companies, staying out of the AI race is itself a product decision. Its strength depends on whether users see the absence of built-in AI as control—or as a feature gap.