If there’s “one big theme” heading into 2026, it’s that enterprise AV is finally getting a chance to settle down. The last few years asked of organizations to make rushed decisions just to keep people connected across locations. Now, leaders are taking a step back to evaluate what they built, what’s held up (and what hasn’t), and what needs to be evaluated with a longer-term view.
AV Trends for 2026
Here are some of the trends we are seeing emerging in 2026 across global AV enterprises:
1. Standardization is the New Innovation
A lot of environments ended up uneven because decisions were made quickly and in isolation. Some teams upgraded one set of rooms but paused others. Others mixed too many platforms as a stopgap. Yet others adopted gear that worked “well enough” at the time but hoped to revisit it later.
Now, we’re seeing enterprise clients step back and ask to level-set. They want to establish a standard or create a new one that reflects how their workforce actually collaborates today. And they want that standard to hold across teams, business units, states and global offices.
This push is as much cultural as it is technical. Rooms should behave the same way everywhere. Controls should feel familiar — a user walking into a conference room in Atlanta shouldn’t have a different experience from a teammate in Chicago or London.
Why is standardization so important now? Because it gives teams a reliable foundation and brings the environment back under control. A predictable experience reduces day-to-day friction for both users and the teams supporting them. Consistency like that means time for real improvements, instead of having to “solve” the same problems over and over.
Standardizing around a UCC platform is key. Many companies are hedging between different platforms without a clear long-term plan. Until organizations fully commit to one, they can’t truly optimize their systems. The ROI comes from consistency — five, eight, even 10 years of staying the course.
2. Managed Services for Data Collection
Monitoring and analytics used to be a side conversation. They were helpful but not critical, but that’s no longer the case. Enterprises now depend on room data to see what’s used, what’s being avoided, and where performance issues actually originate. This information is reshaping how they plan refresh cycles, justify budgets and prioritize upgrades. It also helps leaders understand how fast collaboration habits are evolving, and where the tech still needs to catch up.
The mindset has shifted from “keep things running” to “help us see what’s ahead.” Managed services that operate as a strategic layer allow teams to make decisions based on patterns and forecasts instead of panic and reactivity. Companies leaning into this will set themselves up for healthier long-range planning over the next three to five years.
3. AI: Hype, Hope and a Hint of Reality
There’s a lot of talk about AI reshaping the AV landscape. Some of it is real progress and some of it is noise. Where we see real value today is in practical enhancements such as better audio cleanup, smarter camera switching and more intelligent camera behavior. These improvements help meetings feel smoother and more focused.
But adoption isn’t just what the technology can do — it hinges on a lot more than technical capability. Many teams still feel uneasy when AI touches sensitive areas like transcription or cloud-based analysis. The technology may exist, but that doesn’t always mean the culture is ready for it. While that gap will close over time, it’s still very present today.
The smartest approach right now is to invest in the fundamentals: rooms that capture clean audio and reliable video. When AI takes its next leap, strong environments will be ready to take advantage of it without ripping out hardware.
4. Anticipation of Overnight Disruption
Hardware tends to evolve in steady, fairly predictable cycles. Software does not. A single update to a meeting platform, or the way it’s delivered, can ripple through an entire design system. Features shift. Device compatibility changes. What worked flawlessly on Monday can behave differently on Friday.
It’s not dramatic to say this can upend years of planning. Enterprises that have lived that risk are being more cautious about large commitments, even as they rebuild their standards. Stability matters, but so does the ability to adjust when the platform evolves in a way no one saw coming.
It’s like watching for a meteor: you can plan for steady improvements, but one change can reset the field in an instant. The leaders who understand that tend to make smarter long-term decisions.
5. Hybrid Rooms Are Their Own Category
It’s now a standard operating model rather than a new challenge, but one thing is clear about hybrid rooms: a four-person room and a 70-person room are not variations of the same problem.
Employees expect small meeting rooms to behave like their laptop. One join button, no surprises, no learning curve. They don’t want to relearn controls just because they walked into a different building. If that expectation isn’t met, adoption drops almost instantly.
Once you move into larger spaces, there’s a different set of expectations. These spaces operate closer to live production, when reliability and support matter just as much as the equipment. They often require dedicated AV talent inside IT because the stakes are higher.
The software still hasn’t fully caught up yet for these environments. Intelligent video tools exist, but many still live outside the main UC platform experience. That gap will drive many an upgrade decision in 2026.
After years of running nonstop, we’re finally entering a window where organizations can plan with more confidence. If budgets and timelines hold, 2026 and 2027 should give enterprises the breathing room they need to rebuild consistent standards and execute at scale.
Stabilization for AV Integrators in 2026
The coming year will be defined by stabilization. AV professionals finally have the tools, insights and frameworks to execute consistently at scale. That’s the prime opportunity: to go beyond systems and move onto building trust.
The truth is, AV does more than connecting calls. It connects people to purpose. And that’s a trend worth investing in.
Bill Thrasher, COO, has more than 15 years of experience at AV-Tech Media Solutions.
