Introduction

Making my way into a busy Olympia London on Thursday 5th February, it was immediately clear that this year’s AI & Big Data Expo was not only much larger but marked a turning point. The conversation has shifted; we’re no longer asking what AI can do — we’re asking how we actually make it work inside real organisations.

The hype cycle has matured; the questions are sharper; the expectations are higher and for the first time the industry feels genuinely aligned around one theme: 2026 is the operational era of AI.

From Possibility to Practicality

Across the floor, the message was consistent.
AI isn’t an experiment anymore, it’s becoming part of the everyday operational backbone of businesses, not a shiny innovation demo, but a real system that needs to run, scale, perform, and deliver ROI.

The blockers haven’t changed – but the urgency has.
Data readiness and authenticity is still the biggest constraints on GenAI and agentic systems. The models aren’t the problem; it’s the quality, ownership, integration, and governance around the data that feeds them.

Companies are focusing less on “innovation theatre” and more on AI that drives measurable efficiency, and the shift is refreshing. Good AI should feel invisible, seamless, useful, quietly improving how people work. The era of tacky, obviously AI marketing ads flooding feeds (and eroding trust) is giving way to thoughtful, productive implementations that actually solve business problems and delivers results.

A Strong UK Signal: Government Steps In

One moment that stood out was seeing the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology with its own stand at the expo for the first time.

This isn’t a symbolic move, it’s a statement.

It shows a serious national commitment to AI capability, innovation and readiness. Their presence wasn’t just performative either; genuine, practical conversations were happening about policy, adoption, risk and national opportunities. It’s a sign of how quickly the landscape is maturing.

Rise of Agentic AI Workers

Another major theme this year was the rise of agentic systems, autonomous and semi‑autonomous AI workers operating in multi‑agent environments.

We’re effectively beginning to build a new digital workforce. Something championed by Eric Bobek, Global Director Analytics at Just Eat who suggests we could have fully Agentic Companies by 2027.

But with that comes a new set of responsibilities:

• How do you monitor and observe AI workers?
• Who governs them?
• What happens when an AI system doesn’t just recommend, but acts?
• How do we maintain continuous improvement loops without introducing unnecessary operational burden?

The industry consensus is encouraging, oversight is not a blocker, it’s an opportunity.
The more visibility we have into how agentic systems learn and act, the faster we can adapt, refine, and scale them responsibly.

AI Adoption is Surging – Especially in Marketing

One statistic that really hit home:

AI adoption in marketing has surged from 63% in 2025 to 91% in 2026.

This isn’t just trend‑hopping, it reflects a shift toward operationalising AI across entire workflows, from content production to real‑time optimisation to predictive analytics. Teams aren’t “experimenting” anymore, they’re building AI directly into their day‑to‑day operations. But we must remain careful to maintain trust by checking the data and being responsible.

Governance Becomes the Backbone

The word governance echoed through almost every talk and panel. Not in a restrictive sense, but as the mechanism that unlocks real, demonstrable outcomes.

2026 isn’t the year of flashy prototypes, it’s the year organisations need to evidence ROI, trustworthiness, robustness and long‑term value.

Being able to clearly show:

• What the AI is doing
• Why it’s doing it
• What outcomes it creates
• And how it is monitored

…has become non‑negotiable.

A New Era, Defined by Impact

This year’s expo felt different, vast, matured, more aligned and grounded in real business impact. The message was clear:

• AI is no longer about potential; it’s about operational reality.
• The organisations that win now are the ones who can implement, not just imagine.
• Governance, data quality and responsible scaling are the new pillars of progress.

2026 marks the moment AI truly enters its operational era, and judging by the energy at Olympia, businesses are ready to move from idea to impact.