An R&B and ambient ballad with influences of soul and jazz, the song's lyrics address an ode to self-love and personal power.

On July 24, 2020, Eilish took to her Instagram page to post a picture of herself standing on a balcony with the skyline of Los Angeles in the background, wearing a black face mask and a grey jogging suit.

[8] In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Eilish stated: "We wrote the song in like two days, This is the most we've ever worked in one period of time.

[12] It was released for digital download and streaming as the lead single from Eilish's second studio album, Happier Than Ever (2021) on July 30, 2020, via Darkroom and Interscope Records.

[21] Craig Jenkins of Vulture described its melody as reminiscent of soul blues songs and old Disney films' music.

[22] "My Future" has been compared to Eilish's cover of Bobby Hebb's "Sunny",[22] as well as the works of Jorja Smith and Corinne Bailey Rae.

[29] Samantha Hissong and Brittany Spanos, writing for Rolling Stone, described "My Future" as Eilish's "most uplifting song to date".

[22] Billboard's Jason Lipshutz dubbed the song as "personal" and added it "bursts into a ray of sunshine, with Eilish's voice blossoming in the warmth".

[34] Writing for The Independent, Isobel Lewis regarded the song as a "haunting piano ballad" with "strong guitar and Eilish's signature electronic style".

[35] Reviewing for Slant Magazine, Alexa Camp cited the track as a "dreary but gorgeous dirge, with Eilish's soulful, layered vocals stacked on top of atmospheric keyboards".

[61] An animated music video for "My Future" was directed by Australian director Andrew Onorato, and released on Eilish's official YouTube channel the same day as the single.

[62] The video was animated by Alex Dray, Andrew Onorato, Annie Zhao, Cliona Noonan, Nancy Li, and Sarah Schmidt.

Jackson Langford of NME called it a "gorgeous animated affair",[26] while Ann Powers of NPR stated Eilish is a "fairy tale heroine" and that the video "dwells within the magic cultivated by an autonomous young woman who's ready to claim her future as it comes".

[17] Ronia Aniftos, writing for Billboard, commented that "[as] [the] sun comes out and the greenery begins to bloom exponentially, [so] [does] Eilish's career continues to do in real life".

[24] Jessica Wang, writing for Bustle magazine, compared the visual to the works of Hayao Miyazaki, with movies such as: Spirited Away (2001), My Neighbor Totoro (1998), and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989).

[63] In a less enthusiastic review, Time Out magazine writer Emma Steen noted the video "lack[s] the finesse of a Ghibli anime", but said it is a "mesmerising visual".

[69][70] Eilish performed the song at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in December 2020, with Finneas playing the piano and providing background vocals.

[71] In September 2020, American singer Miley Cyrus covered the song for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge while surrounded by candles and a masked band.