What Bright 2026 revealed about AI, employee experience and the future of work
For two weeks this spring, the Future of Work had two capitals: Chicago and Paris.
Across both cities, Bright 2026 gathered thousands of leaders in Internal Communications, HR, IT, Operations, Employee Experience and Digital Workplace to explore the opportunities and challenges reshaping work today. This year’s edition brought together LumApps and Beekeeper, combining expertise in employee experience and frontline enablement.
Customer stories, expert keynotes and peer discussions gave attendees practical ideas they could apply in their own workplace.
This approach based on real-world experiences is what makes Bright stand out. Discussions centered on what’s already happening: how businesses are adopting AI, transforming EX, connecting frontline workforces and building digital workplaces that deliver measurable impact.
If Bright 2025 was about exploring AI’s potential, Bright 2026 was about putting it to work.
One pattern kept emerging throughout Bright: AI was rarely discussed on its own. It appeared alongside search, communication, governance, frontline operations and employee experience.
Bright 2026 takeaway: from AI experimentation to AI adoption
Of course, AI was everywhere at Bright 2026, from keynotes and panel discussions to conversations in the hallways. But rather than debating the technology itself, speakers and attendees focused on a far more practical question: how do you make AI genuinely useful at work?
Across customer stories and expert discussions, the same priorities emerged. Companies want AI to fit naturally into the flow of work, connecting existing tools, making information easier to find, and helping employees get things done without adding more complexity.
Laura Swedler from UPMC captured this shift:
"One of the things that I'm most taking back to my leaders right now is the importance of investing in AI. [...] Our users are having a really hard time with search and the basic search functionality. One thing that will improve our employee experience is investing into Ask AI and other upcoming AI technology. It's gonna make a huge difference."
Search illustrated a broader ambition: making work simpler.
As Keenan Kibrick from NVA put it:
"Making it as easy as possible to find what you need right away, get it, and then you can just go back to your job is the most valuable thing."
Themes that defined Bright 2026 in Chicago
Bright 2026 opened in Chicago on 28 and 29 April with a clear focus: turning AI from a promising technology into something employees actually use. Across customer stories, expert keynotes and peer discussions, conversations centered on practical implementation rather than future possibilities.
AI is becoming part of the employee experience
Search, AI agents, workflow automation, and faster access to knowledge... The use cases varied, but they all pointed in the same direction: helping employees find what they need faster and act on it more easily.
🎥 Watch the sessions:
The digital workplace is becoming a connected employee hub
Companies are expanding the role of the employee hub, bringing communication, knowledge, business applications and AI into one connected experience designed around how employees work every day.
🎥 Watch the sessions:
- Transform your intranet into a connected employee hub
- Structuring for change: Building a digital HQ for a growing global workforce
- The connected workforce era: Where people and technology connect and work comes together
People make transformation happen
Customer stories consistently showed that successful transformation depends on more than technology. Collaboration across HR, IT, Internal Communications and Operations, supported by strong leadership and change management, creates the conditions for lasting adoption.
🎥 Watch the sessions:
- From HQ to frontline: Operational alignment at scale
- The digital water cooler: Fostering community in a distributed world
- How to design a content calendar that drives engagement all year
Chicago focused on what AI can do.
Paris spent more time on what it takes to make those ideas stick.
Governance, measurement, employee experience and leadership all became part of the discussion, reflecting questions every organization now faces as AI moves into day-to-day work.
Themes that defined Bright 2026 in Paris
When Bright arrived in Paris on 19 and 20 May, the priorities naturally expanded. Alongside AI adoption and connected employee hubs, speakers explored the foundations of long-term success: governance, Digital Employee Experience (DEX) and creating workplaces that work for every employee.
Reducing workplace complexity with the employee hub
Whether it was Airbus, Roche or other customer stories, the employee hub was increasingly described as the place where employees access everything they need to work. AI naturally became part of that experience, alongside communication, business applications and company knowledge.
Aurélie Haran from Airbus described this vision as an "employee cockpit" that brings together everything employees need in one place. Stefan Burla from Roche explained why this role becomes even more valuable as Microsoft 365 environments continue to expand.
🎥 Watch the session: From information desk to strategic partner: Evolving the role of the intranet
AI adoption requires trust, governance and change management
Governance surfaced in session after session. AI discussions extended beyond technology to ownership, employee trust, change management and the way AI fits into existing ways of working.
Successful AI adoption depends on trust, clear ownership and helping employees embrace new ways of working.
🎥 Watch the session: The digital workplace is what makes or breaks AI
One employee experience means everyone
Creating a consistent employee experience across a diverse workforce is a priority everywhere. In Paris, customer stories showed how employee hubs are helping connect frontline and desk-based employees through mobile-first experiences, multilingual communication and access to the same information, wherever work happens.
“What a game changer to be able to ensure that information gets across and employees can feel like they’re part of the team and have that sense of belonging and community that we're trying to create at Sea Island.” - Suzanne Tilghman from Sea Island
The session continued with OVS and other customers, illustrating how reaching every employee has become a defining capability of the modern employee hub.
🎥 Watch the session: Connecting the whole workforce
Measuring what really improves employee experience
As digital workplaces become more sophisticated, success is being measured differently. Search effectiveness, behavioural insights and Digital Employee Experience (DEX) provide a clearer understanding of whether employees can find what they need, complete tasks efficiently and work with less friction.
🎥 Watch the session: Keynote by Suzie Robinson from Clearbox Consulting
The Bright journey continues in Zurich
The conversation continues this September with Bright Zurich, our dedicated event for the German-speaking community.
On 29 September 2026, leaders in Employee Experience, AI and the Digital Workplace from across Germany, Switzerland and Austria will gather at Lake Side Zürich to share customer stories, practical insights and ideas with peers facing similar challenges.
If you're part of the DACH community, or simply interested in shaping the future of work, we'd love to welcome you.
Five ideas shaping the future of work
Across Chicago and Paris, five ideas consistently emerged.
- AI adoption starts inside everyday work. AI is being embedded into the tools, workflows and services employees already use.
- Employee hubs are expanding beyond communication. Communication, knowledge, business applications and AI are coming together in one connected experience.
- Employee experience has to reach everyone. Frontline and desk-based employees need the same access to information, tools and support, in their language and wherever they work.
- Employee experience is becoming measurable. Search effectiveness, Digital Employee Experience (DEX) and behavioural insights help businesses understand how work is experienced in practice.
- Reducing workplace complexity drives every decision. The most effective digital workplaces help employees navigate work more easily, without adding friction.
Discover how LumApps helps organizations build AI-powered employee hubs that connect people, knowledge and business applications in one digital workplace.
See you in 2027
Bright 2026 brought together thousands of digital workplace, HR, IT and Internal Communications leaders across Chicago and Paris to share ideas, customer stories and practical experience.
Bright will continue throughout the year as teams keep exploring new ways to connect employees, adopt AI and improve the employee experience.
We'll be back in 2027 with new ideas, new customer stories and new perspectives on the future of work. We hope you'll be part of it.
Be the first to know about Bright 2027 - Join our mailing list for early access when registration opens. https://bright.lumapps.com/
