AI-driven digital workplaces set to accelerate in 2026, says GlobalData

Artificial intelligence (AI) will further transform digital workplaces in 2026, building on the momentum seen throughout 2025, according to new insights from GlobalData. The intelligence and productivity platform says trends such as agentic AI adoption, deeper platform interoperability, expanded contact centre capabilities, enhanced sales support, and growing use of mobile collaboration tools are poised to accelerate significantly in the coming year.

In 2025, AI became deeply embedded across digital workplace environments, reshaping how employees collaborate, communicate, and perform their daily tasks. GlobalData expects this evolution to intensify in 2026, making it a pivotal year for enterprises and technology vendors alike.

“Team collaboration platforms remain the cornerstone of a digital workplace portfolio. With those platforms increasingly becoming saturated with generative AI and agentic AI, the stage is set for noteworthy developments in 2026.”

According to GlobalData, vendors will rapidly roll out agentic AI capabilities across their platforms, often appearing at scale in a short period of time. Competitive pressures will also drive greater integration between rival platforms, expanding AI functionality and blurring traditional product boundaries.

AI is expected to further break down silos between contact centre and back-office employees, enabling a wider range of workers to assist in resolving customer inquiries. At the same time, collaboration platform providers will significantly expand sales support features, helping teams generate leads, manage pipelines, and improve conversion rates.

Mobile collaboration will be another major growth area. Solutions that allow employees to seamlessly switch between mobile and landline devices, and move fluidly between calls and meetings, are expected to see increased adoption as organisations prioritise flexibility and responsiveness.

“Team collaboration platforms will become more feature rich while also continuing to break down technological and organisational boundaries,” Willsky said. “Employees will find they can accomplish more in less time.”

However, GlobalData cautions that the rapid evolution of AI-powered workplaces comes with challenges. Despite clear productivity benefits, such as automated meeting action items, faster research, and task completion, many workers continue to have a complicated relationship with AI.

“While the productivity benefits of AI will continue to be appreciated, workers will still feel trepidation that the power of AI will make their skills, and themselves, obsolete,” Willsky concluded. “Those fears will only become more acute as the number of companies citing AI as the driving force behind layoffs continues to grow.”

As organisations head into 2026, GlobalData suggests that balancing innovation with workforce trust and transparency will be critical as AI-driven digital workplaces become the norm rather than the exception.