Alongside AI services that run only on a provider's servers, a growing number of models are released with their weights, the trained values that make them work, available to download. In 2026 these open models have narrowed the gap with the best closed systems for many everyday tasks, giving developers the option to run them on their own hardware.
Running a model yourself offers control over data and cost, and lets researchers study how it behaves. The trade off is that the operator takes on the work of hosting and securing it. The result is a healthier range of choices, from fully managed services to models a small team can run entirely in house.