Will You Be in New York This May? The Conference Defining the Future of Agentic AI
Times Square is already buzzing with the news, displayed on a massive, glowing billboard. In May 2026, New York City will transform for two days into the global epicenter of Agentic AI—the kind of AI that doesn’t just respond, but acts autonomously, pursues objectives, and works as a true member of human teams.
From May 4th to 5th, 2026, the AI Agent Conference 2026 will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown. This isn’t just another AI event; it is the largest conference exclusively focused on autonomous agents for the corporate world.
Why has this caught my attention?
Because we are at the exact moment where AI shifts from being a useful tool to becoming a co-worker that makes decisions and executes actions. Companies are no longer asking, “What can AI do?” but rather, “How do we integrate agents that operate at scale within our daily operations?”
The conference is organized around three clear pillars:
• Agentic Enterprises: How major organizations are transforming their processes with fleets of intelligent agents. It’s not just about automation; it’s about how these agents allow a company to operate across multiple markets and languages simultaneously and without human error.
• Agentic Engineering: The technical infrastructure, architectures, and best practices for building and maintaining these systems in production—the technical backbone that represents the greatest implementation challenge today.
• Agentic Industries: Real-world applications in finance, healthcare, law, logistics, manufacturing, and beyond.
What I appreciate most is that this isn’t just hype. It brings together over 2,000 attendees, including Fortune 500 senior executives, Chief AI Officers, founders of leading tools, and builders who are already deploying agents in real environments.
Confirmed speakers that speak for themselves:
• Steve Hasker, President & CEO of Thomson Reuters
• Bobby Blumofe, EVP & CTO of Akamai
• Arvind Jain, Founder & CEO of Glean
• Joe Moura, Co-Founder & CEO of CrewAI
• Raghu Malpani, Chief Product and Technology Officer of UiPath
• Leaders from Datadog, Upwork, Carta, Zscaler, Bloomberg, Citigroup, OpenAI, Google, and many more.
Additionally, there is a special program called Agentic Launch specifically for founders who are debuting their products.
A Personal Reflection
This reminds me of what I wrote years ago about telling your story, not just showcasing your technology. The most powerful AI agents won’t be those that perform the most technical tasks, but those that integrate naturally into an organization’s narrative: how they help people make better decisions, reduce repetitive burdens, and allow us to focus on what truly matters.
This conference appears to be the place where these new corporate stories are being written.
Practical Information
• Dates: May 4th and 5th, 2026
• Location: New York Hilton Midtown, New York City
• Official Website: agentconference.com
• Tickets: Available on the website (Early Bird tickets are selling out fast; last year’s event was completely sold out in advance).
Rita Sibbick 