Oracle AI Database 26ai: the next-gen AI-native database (and how to move from 23ai)

Oracle has announced Oracle AI Database 26ai, the next major release that embeds AI capabilities across the database core and converged data types (vector, documents, spatial, graph, analytics and transactional data). Oracle positions 26ai as the evolution of the 23ai family—bringing tighter LLM/RAG support, expanded AI-native features, cloud and on-prem availability, and tooling for fast AI app development. (Oracle)

What changed

• AI as a first-class capability: native AI vector search, built-in RAG/LLM connectors, and performance optimizations for AI workloads. (Oracle)

• Broader platform availability: 26ai is available on OCI, Exadata, Exadata Cloud@Customer, and the major public clouds and on-prem engineered systems. (Upgrade your Database - NOW!)

• New operational tools: online migration helpers (e.g., AQ → TxEventQ tool), improved observability exporters (Grafana), and Kafka/Saga APIs to better support modern event/async architectures. (Oracle)

  
  

Why 26ai replaces 23ai

Oracle’s messaging and release notes make 26ai the successor to the 23ai line—this is a new major release (not a minor patch) that consolidates AI features, platform support, and operational tooling. For many customers the recommended path is to move to 26ai to take advantage of the newest AI integrations, fixes and cloud/tooling updates. (Oracle)

Business benefits — who should care (and why)

1. AI and ML product teams — faster development of RAG/LLM apps using built-in vector search, retrieval, and connector tooling. (Less glue code; lower latency for retrieval.) (Oracle)

2. Analytics & Data Science teams — native multimodal support (vectors + relational + documents + spatial) simplifies pipelines and reduces data movement. (Oracle)

3. Large transactional enterprises (banking, telco, retail) — maintain mission-critical OLTP/OLAP while enabling AI features in same platform, simplifying governance and compliance. (Oracle Docs)

4. SaaS vendors & ISVs — easier to build AI features (recommendations, search, automated insights) into products with less external infra. (Oracle)

5. Organizations using event-driven or microservices architectures — Saga APIs, improved Kafka compatibility, and TxEventQ tooling make event migration and resiliency easier. (Oracle)

High-level benefits

• Consolidated platform for transactional, analytic, and AI workloads (lower data movement). (Oracle)

• Faster AI app development (APEX AI Assistant, LLM/RAG integrations). (Oracle)

• Improved observability & cloud native integrations (Grafana exporter, cloud availability). (Oracle)

• Tools for safer, lower-downtime migrations (online AQ → TxEventQ migration tool). (Oracle)

Licensing & cost — what to expect

• Oracle’s licensing for the Database family remains policy-driven rather than a one-size price-list: it’s documented in Oracle’s Database Features & Licensing materials and depends on edition, deployment model (on-prem vs cloud/Autonomous), and processor/core metrics or named-user metrics. For exact pricing, you must work with Oracle sales or your reseller—Oracle documentation explains licensing rules and feature classification. (Oracle Docs)

• Oracle AI Database 26ai Free: Oracle offers a Free edition for developers (resource-limited: example public listing shows up to 2 CPUs, small RAM/storage allowances) so you can evaluate without cost. This is good for prototyping. (Oracle)

Practical note: since enterprise pricing varies (support SLAs, cloud vs on-prem, number of cores, optional options such as advanced security or partitioning), estimate only after capturing your environment (cores, VMs, HA, LOMS). Contact Oracle for a formal quote. (Oracle Docs)

Step-by-step upgrade process (practical guide)

Below is a general, safe upgrade workflow that covers both on-prem and cloud/Autonomous scenarios. Always read the release notes and upgrade guide for platform-specific details before starting. (Oracle Docs)

1) Plan & inventory (pre-upgrade)

• Review Oracle 26ai release notes and “What’s New” for compatibility, deprecated features, and behavior changes. (Oracle Docs)

• Inventory your databases: versions (23ai patch level), patches applied, OS, hardware, options in use (Partitioning, Advanced Security, etc.) and custom features.

• Check compatibility of client drivers, app frameworks, and third-party connectors (Kafka, ORMs).

• Decide upgrade approach: in-place upgrade, side-by-side migration, or clone + cutover (common for Autonomous/Managed Cloud). (Oracle Docs)

2) Test environment & backups

• Build a test/staging clone of production (full backup + restore or Data Guard/clone).

• Apply the upgrade in test. Run application test suites, performance tests and sanity checks (connectivity, queries, reports).

• Prepare fallback plan: tested, verified backup and restore flow; or ability to fail back to old instance.

3) Pre-upgrade checks & remediation

• Run Oracle preupgrade tools and compatibility checks described in the upgrade documentation (look for specific pre-upgrade scripts in Oracle docs). Address any incompatibilities or deprecated features. (Oracle Docs)

• Ensure statistics, optimizer settings, and initialization parameters are recorded.

4) Upgrade approach by deployment type

• Cloud / Autonomous

  • Use scheduled upgrade or clone upgrade: Autonomous services often let you schedule the upgrade window or clone your instance to the newer release for testing then switch. This provides lower risk and minimal downtime. (Oracle Docs)

• Exadata / Engineered On-Prem

  • Follow Oracle's Exadata upgrade path: apply platform-specific updates, firmware/BIOS if required, then database RU/upgrade path documented for 26ai. Read the Exadata/ODA guidance. (Oracle Docs)

• Traditional On-Prem (non-engineered)

  • Options include running the Database Upgrade Assistant (DBUA), manual SQL-based upgrade steps, or performing a side-by-side export/import or GoldenGate replication cutover for zero-downtime migrations. Follow the 26ai upgrade book for platform specifics. (Oracle Docs)

5) Apply the upgrade

• Execute the planned method (DBUA/ru/patch/clone). Monitor logs in real time.

• Run post-upgrade toolset to validate dictionary, invalid objects, optimizer plan stability and run DB health checks.

6) Post-upgrade validation

• Full functional test: run application test suites, stored procedures, batch jobs, ETL, and AI/ML pipelines.

• Performance comparison vs baseline (important for plans involving optimizer changes).

• Validate connectors (Kafka, external LLM connectors), AI vector search results, and any new AI features you plan to use. (Oracle)

7) Cutover & monitoring

• Promote the upgraded instance to production after a planned cutover window. Monitor for errors, latency spikes, and new execution plan regressions.

• Keep rollback procedures handy for a limited period after cutover.

Quick checklist

• Read 26ai Release Notes and Upgrade Guide. (Oracle Docs)

• Inventory features, clients and connectors.

• Clone/test upgrade in non-prod.

• Backup + validate restore.

• Use scheduled clone upgrade for Autonomous instances where possible. (Oracle Docs)

• Validate AI features (vector search, RAG connectors) and monitoring exporters after upgrade. (Oracle)

Risks & mitigation

• Query plan regressions — mitigate with careful testing and baseline comparisons.

• Third-party compatibility — test drivers and connectors (JDBC, ODP.NET, Kafka clients).

• Licensing surprises — some features/options can change classification—consult Oracle licensing doc and sales. (Oracle Docs)

How to estimate cost (practical advice)

1. Gather inventory: cores, hosts, HA, cloud OCPU usage, number of users, required options.

2. Decide edition & options: Standard vs Enterprise, plus options (Partitioning, Advanced Security, In-Memory, etc.).

3. Ask Oracle or reseller for a formal quote (they will use your inventory to apply per-core or NAMED-USER metrics). Oracle’s licensing guide explains the rules; it does not publish universal list prices for every combination. (Oracle Docs)

Final recommendations

• If you run AI/ML apps, RAG/LLM features, large multimodal datasets, or want a single platform for OLTP+Analytics+AI, move to 26ai after testing. (Oracle)

• Use Oracle AI Database 26ai Free for developer proof-of-concepts before committing to production licensing. (Oracle)

• For Autonomous customers, prefer the clone/scheduled upgrade approach to reduce risk and downtime. (Oracle Docs)

Official docs & announcement

• Oracle announcement: Oracle AI Database 26ai Powers the AI for Data Revolution (Oct 2025). (Oracle)

• Oracle Database 26 (26ai) documentation and "What's New". (Oracle Docs)

• Upgrade and planning guides for Oracle Database (Upgrade book). (Oracle Docs)

• Autonomous Database upgrade options (scheduled upgrade / clone). (Oracle Docs)

• Oracle Licensing & Database Features documentation and free edition details. (Oracle Docs)