What's on the horizon for AI in 2026 (part 1)

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What's on the horizon for AI in 2026 (part 1)

Danny Coleman

Published on 19 January 2026

8 min read

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Danny Coleman

Published on 19 January 2026

8 min read

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Prediction 1: AI will force teams to define their workflows

Prediction 2: Value will become measurable and visible

Prediction 3: Artificial intelligence becomes the standard

Prediction 4: Agents shift rapidly from assistive to autonomous

Prediction 5: Teamwork Graph is the AI' brain' of Atlassian cloud

Discover the first of our AI predictions for 2026 on how Atlassian Rovo, AI agents, and Teamwork Graph will transform workflows and make the value of AI measurable.

AI, in its many forms, has underpinned how we work both internally and with customers at Adaptavist in 2025 as we support new ways of working, implementing and adopting new tools, and understanding best practices. However, with rapidly evolving technologies, it's not enough to focus solely on today – we must look to the horizon, juggle emerging trends and technologies, and think deeply about what's coming next.

So to help you stay one step ahead with your AI strategy, our experts have pulled together some predictions on what to expect in 2026. Here you'll find insights from:

Neal Riley, Innovation Lead, The Adaptavist Group
Michael Rudenko, Global Head of Delivery, Adaptavist
Danny Coleman, Business Information Services Manager, Adaptavist

They cover everything from the importance of data hygiene and the shift from assistive to autonomous AI, to how AI may impact HR roles. So let's face the future together.

Prediction 1: AI will force teams to define their workflows – because clean structure is the fuel AI runs on

"The moment you ask an AI system to automate or optimise a workflow, it needs actual rules, data structures, naming conventions, and decision logic. If those don't exist, AI either stalls or starts producing inconsistent results," says Danny Coleman, Business Information Services Manager, Adaptavist.

As a result of this, we'll see a new kind of urgency around data hygiene. Clean fields, consistent schemas, and well-defined workflows will stop being nice-to-haves and start to determine whether AI adds value or creates chaos. Your work management teams will spend more time formalising how work should flow – which statuses matter, what triggers handoffs, where information should live – because AI can only amplify what's already clear.

"Or to borrow a well-proven principle," Danny continues, "garbage in, garbage out." The big takeaway? Companies that invest in clarity and structure will see huge gains from AI. And companies that don't will discover that AI makes messy processes even messier.

Most teams think they have a process, but what they really have is a collection of habits held together by tribal knowledge. In 2026, AI will expose that gap.

Danny Coleman

Business Information Services Manager, Adaptavist.

Prediction 2: The value of AI will become visible and measurable

In 2026, organisations will finally gain the visibility they've been missing around the real impact of AI. For example, Atlassian Cloud's maturing analytics, including usage insights, consumption reports, and workflow-level telemetry, will directly link AI activity to meaningful business outcomes.

"Leaders will no longer be forced to rely on intuition or anecdotes," said Michael Rudenko, Head of Consulting, EMEA, Adaptavist. "They'll have access to concrete metrics such as time saved, lead-time reduction, increased throughput, and total cost-of-ownership gains. It means AI will move from an experimental 'nice to have' to a measurable value engine."

And this shift will elevate ROI into a standard executive KPI for AI programmes. So, CIOs, CFOs, and transformation leaders will be able to prioritise investments with greater confidence.

Prediction 3: Artificial intelligence becomes the standard, and wider access enables large‑scale use

When it comes to Atlassian's AI tools, we've already started to see the impact of Rovo. And its deep embedding across Jira, Confluence, the browser, and Slack will ensure AI sits at the heart of everyday teamwork next year. When you add Rovo's multilingual chat and mobile-first design, teams will no longer have to context-switch between tools to get answers, surface insights, or take action. It means AI can act like a helpful assistant or best buddy wherever you're already working.

Another consideration is how AI will shape teamwork across the business (rather than for a select few teams). With Atlassian Rovo now included at no additional cost across all paid Atlassian Standard, Premium, and Enterprise Cloud licence plans, and administrators gaining more fine-grained controls, AI will break out of isolated pilot groups and spread further across entire organisations.

"This widespread access will cement new habits, standardise AI-enhanced collaboration, and reshape how teams coordinate, deliver, and communicate," says Michael.

AI will become the quiet companion, shaping decisions and unblocking work in real time.

Michael Rudenko

Head of Consulting, EMEA, Adaptavist

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Prediction 4: Agents will shift rapidly from assistive to autonomous, and developer ecosystem interoperability deepens

This year, we predict that AI agents will evolve dramatically from simple assistants to autonomous operators. They'll be capable of executing multi-step work across your software development lifecycle. Indeed, Gartner® itself states that "Demand for autonomous AI deployment solutions is steadily increasing, especially among large enterprises seeking a competitive advantage."*

Out-of-the-box agents and low-code or no-code custom agents built in Rovo Studio, extended with full-code options in Forge, will become reusable templates and automated workflows. They'll be capable of helping with a wide range of tasks, including pull request reviews, readiness checks, pipeline analysis, and incident resolution.

At the same time, interoperability will strengthen as Rovo for GitHub Copilot and Dev Agents connect plan-build-run activities. Developers, product managers, and operations teams will share the same AI-driven context across code, issues, documentation, and incidents, enabling faster and more coordinated delivery.

Prediction 5: Teamwork Graph is the AI' brain' of Atlassian cloud

Atlassian's Teamwork Graph connects work information across your Atlassian apps, creating a smart network of your organisation's work context. This helps power AI features like Rovo Search, giving you deeper insights, eliminating data silos, and offering personalised, efficient experiences for your teams. And in 2026, Teamwork Graph will cement its place as the central intelligence layer powering Atlassian Cloud.

"With permission-aware search, Smart Answers, and multi-turn context, Teamwork Graph will stitch together data and activity across more than 50 native connectors," says Michael. "And as third-party integrations improve, it will understand relationships across code, issues, docs, conversations, approvals, and decisions – all while honouring all your organisational permissions."

With greater context and access to your data, Rovo will not only answer your questions but also proactively surface insights, recommend next steps, and orchestrate workflows across your toolchain.

AI Foundations are the key in 2026

AI in 2026 won't be defined by the flashiest tools, but by how well you prepare your foundations: clear workflows, clean data, measurable value, and strong governance. As Atlassian's AI capabilities – from Rovo and Dev Agents to Teamwork Graph – become deeply embedded in everyday work, the gap will widen between organisations that are ready and those still treating AI as an experiment.

The message from our experts is simple: now is the time to formalise processes, invest in data hygiene, define success metrics, and plan for secure, scalable adoption. Do that, and AI stops being a buzzword and becomes a practical engine for better collaboration, faster delivery, and smarter decisions.

If you’re looking to turn these predictions into a concrete roadmap for your teams, Adaptavist can help you design, implement, and optimise an AI solution strategy tailored to your organisation.

*Gartner, AI Predicts 2026: Rewiring IT for the AI Age, 10 November 2025. GARTNER is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

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Written by

Danny Coleman

Business Information Services Manager

Danny leads Adaptavist's monday.com Professional Services globally, directing teams that deliver complex system migrations and enterprise work management transformations. He focuses on strategic leadership and clarity, helping global organisations navigate complexity and scale confidently.

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