THIS IS A PROMOTED POST

I’ll say it: AI is no longer hype. It’s here, it’s real, and it’s already changing how enterprise AV and IT teams work. Every conversation I’ve had lately with integrators, manufacturers, and even the IT crowd ends up in the same place. AI isn’t something you experiment with anymore; it’s something you depend on. And that’s exactly what we’ll be digging into at the AV Cloud Summit on Nov. 11, where folks from Dell Technologies Capital, Intel Capital, NETGEAR, Shure and SparkBeyond will unpack what happens when AI, data and infrastructure finally start working in sync.

Here’s the thing: For the past two years, InfoComm and ISE booths have been flooded with “AI-powered” banners, many of which meant absolutely nothing. Now, we’re finally seeing agentic AI — automation that doesn’t just react but actually anticipates. Think about IT systems that can catch and fix issues before a human ever gets involved. Imagine cutting ticket loads in half and never having to hear, “Did you try turning it off and on again?”

And it’s not just about software, it’s about the rise of what I call “Physical AI.” Displays, microphones and now sensors (think Logitech Spot) are becoming intelligent participants in the network instead of passive endpoints – true AI on the edge. Devices that self-diagnose, optimize, and coordinate with each other, that’s where this is all headed. But the big leap forward won’t come from individual products getting smarter. It’ll come from what I will call “systemization” when the entire AV ecosystem starts sharing context and acting as one.

Now, one company that’s putting serious effort into that idea is Xyte. They’re sponsoring the AV Cloud Summit this year, and they’ve been talking a lot about bridging the gap between legacy hardware and modern cloud intelligence. I’ve seen early glimpses of what they’re building; I’ll admit, they’re pushing the right buttons. Their roadmap includes an AI Teammate launching in early 2026 that uses what they call a “Semantic Context Graph” to actually understand a device’s data, history and behavior. The promise is faster troubleshooting and fewer tickets — a system that learns your environment instead of just monitoring it.

For OEMs, this is where AI becomes more than marketing. Predictive maintenance, self-healing systems, proactive support, that’s the new frontier. And for MSPs and enterprise IT teams, it’s how you scale intelligently. You get better uptime, fewer fires to put out, and the ability to grow without just throwing more people at the problem.

So no, this isn’t another “future of AI” conversation. It’s what’s already happening right now. The AV industry’s in one of those rare inflection points where the technology, infrastructure and need all line up. At the AV Cloud Summit, we’re going to connect those dots: cloud, devices, intelligence and talk about how AI orchestration is defining the next era of enterprise AV.

And if history’s any guide, this isn’t a trend. It’s the next platform shift. The smart players aren’t just experimenting with AI — they’re already building around it.