AI is now part of everyday work. Employees are using it to summarize documents, find information, automate repetitive tasks and boost productivity. Meanwhile, organizations are beginning to explore agentic AI systems that can plan, make decisions and complete multi-step workflows with minimal human intervention.
As AI capabilities continue to evolve, organizations are under growing pressure to establish the policies and governance needed to support responsible adoption. To better understand how workplaces are managing this shift, Laserfiche surveyed 1,000 U.S. workers about AI usage, governance and expectations. Just 38% reported that AI use in their workplace is well regulated with clear policies and approved tools, up only slightly from 36% a year ago.
Governance is the Foundation for AI Success
The survey paints a mixed picture of AI in the workplace. While 38% of workers say AI is governed by clear policies, nearly one in four (24%) report that AI is not used at all in their workplace. Another 8% describe AI use as the “Wild West,” with no clear rules or oversight.
Whether an organization is actively deploying AI or just getting started, governance matters. Clear policies help employees understand which tools they should use, how AI-generated content should be reviewed and what data can be safely shared.
Without that foundation, organizations risk inconsistent adoption, security concerns and lower confidence in AI outputs.
Trust Depends on More Than the Technology
Employees are optimistic about AI’s ability to improve everyday work, but they also want reassurance that it will be used responsibly. Workers are most interested in using AI for practical, low-risk tasks such as checking for errors (36%), finding information instantly (34%) and handling repetitive work (33%).
At the same time, worker’s top concerns include AI work quality (24%), irreversible agentic AI actions (21%), process disruption (21%) and sensitive customer data being entered into AI models (20%).
The takeaway is clear. Employees see AI’s value, but trust depends on governance. Organizations need policies that promote transparency, protect data and ensure human oversight where it matters most.
Employees Want Guidance, Not Just AI Tools
Deploying AI is only part of the equation. Employees also expect organizations to help them use it effectively.
More than one-third (36%) want access to current AI tools and time to learn them. Others expect guidance on AI quality and risk (32%) and clear policies for appropriate use (31%).
Training and governance should evolve alongside AI capabilities. As new tools emerge, organizations that invest in both technology and clear guidance will be better positioned to scale AI with confidence.
Closing the Governance Gap
The past year has shown how quickly AI innovation can reshape the workplace. The challenge for organizations is making sure governance keeps pace.
At Laserfiche, we believe responsible AI adoption starts with empowering employees while ensuring organizations maintain control over their information and processes. Successful AI adoption is not defined by how many tools an organization deploys. It depends on whether employees have the guidance, processes and confidence needed to use AI responsibly, securely and consistently.
As AI becomes more embedded in everyday work, organizations will need to think beyond individual tools and focus on building trusted processes around how information is accessed, managed and used. The organizations that succeed will be those that pair AI innovation with the governance, transparency and operational foundation needed to turn experimentation into lasting business value.
For more insight on how to successfully deploy AI to drive digital transformation, download our eBook and see how leading organizations are closing the governance gap.
The survey was conducted by Veridata Insights and commissioned by Laserfiche. It included 1,000 U.S.-based individuals aged 18 and over, census-balanced by age and gender.
Focus On Results, Not Busywork
Laserfiche AI Agents put your content to work, so you can get back to what you do best.
Transform ideas into autonomous execution and get more done, faster. With simple natural language prompts, AI Agents streamline administrative work and help teams improve efficiency, consistency and operational speed.
Turn chat into action.
Type your request in Smart Chat, and Agents will deliver a ready-to-review action plan. You approve the work; they handle the execution.
Use Agents to automatically carry out a wide range of bulk actions:
Bring order to scattered content
Move, rename and organize large volumes of files
Apply tags and update content templates with ease
Group relevant documents into personal Collections
Break down complex projects into clear actionable steps
Permission-aware intelligence
Agents respect your enterprise governance policies acting with the same permissions as their users.
Context-aware decisions
Agents understand your request and use context to handle judgement-heavy tasks.
Transparent audit trails
Agent actions are fully tracked and audited, providing a clear record of all activities performed.
Complete human oversight
Review, refine and approve an Agent’s actions before a single change is made.
Expand team capacity across every department
Laserfiche AI Agents boost productivity for the entire team, tackling complex tasks across all levels of the organization.
Learn how forward-thinking leaders are deploying AI Agents across their organizations to securely scale daily operations and drive lasting digital transformation.
Whether you have product questions, support needs or want to partner with us, we’re here to help you on your digital transformation journey. Fill out the form and a Laserfiche team member will be in touch as soon as possible.
Higher education is facing a defining moment. Institutions are under increasing pressure to rethink how they manage information and deliver value to students, all while contending with limited resources, rising operational costs, reduced enrollment and the accelerating pace of digital transformation.
In the coming year, agentic AI adoption tied to intelligent automation will become essential strategies, moving from industry buzzwords to operational necessities that will fundamentally reshape campus operations and the student experience. This shift aligns with the Higher Learning Commission’s (HLC) 2026 Trends Report, which identifies innovation as the ‘linchpin’ for success in a landscape requiring both administrative quality and workforce-aligned outcomes. Here are three key trends set to shape higher education in 2026 and beyond.
From Manual to Autonomous: 3 Pillars of the Agentic Campus
Agentic AI with natural language prompts will amplify AI adoption and accountability
In 2026, higher education will leverage intelligent automation and no-code natural language prompts with AI agents to modernize student services, financial workflows and compliance management. The adoption of agentic AI tools will empower non-technical staff at institutions to build and deploy applications quickly, reducing reliance on IT and accelerating digital transformation, especially as teams are asked to do more with fewer resources. AI-powered platforms also improve consistency and compliance. AI Agents, through natural language chat, can help less technical staff get more work done. Ready to have staff breeze through document prep, data verification and content organization?
Autonomous intelligent workflows will streamline repetitive tasks, minimize errors and enhance transparency in administrative processes, making it easier to track progress. This isn’t just about digitizing forms; it’s about deploying AI agents that act as technical virtual assistants to streamline student records management and other high-volume administrative burdens.
With ROT (redundant obsolete trivial) data under control, IT and data teams can redirect resources from data wrangling to strategy using real-time insights to improve student outcomes and institutional performance. This shift will foster a culture of agility, enabling institutions to respond quickly to changing needs and deliver more productive and data-driven support to both students and staff.
Explore how Laserfiche AI Agents can turn chat prompts into hours of time saved.
AI-driven automation and cloud adoption will redefine campus operations and student experience
Rising costs and shrinking staff will push institutions to use AI-driven content management to mine insights from unstructured data locked in emails, PDFs, and archives and leverage data in predictive ways like surfacing early warning signs for at-risk students.
As volume and complexity of campus data continues to grow, leveraging AI and cloud-based solutions will become essential for streamlining workflows and enhancing operational efficiency. Universities will automate document classification and records cleanup, enabling cross-departmental visibility and compliance. Leveraging AI-powered content management can then extract vital information to deliver the right student services.
Cloud adoption will further empower institutions to centralize information, facilitate secure remote access, and scale resources on demand, which will help support hybrid learnings environments and distributed teams. By turning ghost data into usable intelligence, campuses will improve decision-making in areas like enrollment forecasting, financial aid, and research administration all while reducing the manual burden on staff. Ultimately, these advancements will not only optimize internal processes but also elevate the student experience by enabling faster and more personalized services and support.
Data stewardship will become a cornerstone of student trust
AI-empowered content management, and the addition of virtual assistant-like agentic AI, will allow institutions to prove they are responsible stewards of student and research data. As data privacy concerns intensify, universities should prioritize robust data governance frameworks to safeguard student’s sensitive information. In addition to today’s students expecting modern tech integration for academic use, they’re increasingly aware of how their data is used, and they expect transparency, accountability, and care in return. Automated retention, anonymization, and policy enforcement will ensure compliance with FERPA, HIPAA, and accreditation standards.
By making transparency and accountability visible across all content systems, universities will rebuild trust and demonstrate ethical leadership in the AI era. This commitment to responsible data stewardship will not only protect institutional reputation, but also foster stronger relationships with students, faculty, and partners, reinforcing the institution’s role as a trusted guardian of information.
Building a Foundation for Lasting Success
As higher education navigates the challenges and opportunities of 2026, embracing agentic AI, cloud technologies, and strong data stewardship will be critical to future success. Institutions that invest in intelligent automation will not only streamline operations and reduce costs but also create more agile and responsive environments that put student needs first. By prioritizing transparency and accountability in data management, institutions can build lasting trust with students and stakeholders, ensuring compliance and ethical leadership in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Ultimately, the path forward for higher education is clear – those who leverage technology to reimagine campus operations and champion responsible data practices will be best positioned to deliver meaningful value, foster innovation, and thrive in the years ahead.
Laserfiche provides intelligent orchestration and documentation tools designed to help higher education organizations modernize and stay ahead of the demands of 2026 and beyond.
Watch our webinar with California Baptist University to see how their institution is using Laserfiche AI and automation to accelerate operations and transform student services.
Coined the “Elektropolis” for its foundation of modern-day electrical engineering and industrialization, Berlin has been a hub for technological innovation in Europe for the past century. Given the history, it’s no surprise why it was chosen as the meeting place for over 30,000 tech and AI leaders at GITEX AI Europe 2026 this summer.
From the public sector to startups, investors and enterprise leaders, I had the opportunity to connect with the top minds and businesses pioneering Europe’s leading technology and innovation. Unsurprisingly, AI, particularly agentic AI, was at the forefront of every conversation at the event. But amidst the AI hype, a new buzzword quickly emerged: governance.
Unleashing Organizational Growth with Agentic AI
Agentic AI took center stage across the expo floor and numerous sessions, introducing a new meaning to AI assistance. Moving past LLM and chat models, AI agents are designed to act on your behalf.
The introduction of autonomous execution opens a new realm of possibilities for businesses to supercharge their operations. Processes that once took hours of human intervention can now be done by agents, saving valuable employee bandwidth, cutting costs, increasing efficiency and elevating data quality. Across Europe, leaders from every sector are now looking toward agentic solutions to not only accelerate core business functions, but to make meaningful impact at scale.
But with that massive potential comes a new layer of responsibility. Conversations around agentic technology quickly turned the spotlight onto security risks and the urgent need to comply with looming legislative mandates.
The AI Act: Europe’s Governance Mandates
Created to meet the rapid explosion of AI technologies, the AI Act was put into place in 2024 by Europe’s governing bodies to ensure the responsible adoption of AI across all 27 countries in the European Union (EU).
“The EU aspires to be the global leader in safe AI. By developing a strong regulatory framework based on human rights and fundamental values, the EU can develop an AI ecosystem that benefits everyone.”
The act approaches AI governance with a four-tiered risk assessment and sets timelines for implementation. Deadlines for “High Risk” AI are quickly approaching on August 6, 2026, with extensions allowed until December 2, 2027. According to the European Parliament, High Risk refers to any system that could threaten people’s safety or basic rights, especially when used in critical areas like healthcare, transportation, law enforcement, education or hiring.
To navigate this landscape, businesses at GITEX must track two critical milestones:
August 6, 2026: Strict transparency and audit rules take effect. Companies must clearly label conversational chatbots, emotion-recognition tools and deepfakes. Additionally, every EU country must launch a simulated “AI Regulatory Sandbox” to give startups a safe place to test models.
December 2, 2027: Standalone high-risk systems must be fully compliant. Any AI used to score exams, filter job applicants, manage critical infrastructure or assist law enforcement must be thoroughly audited, logged and registered in the EU database.
Failure to meet the deadline requirements can cost organizations up to €15 million in penalty fees.
How Can EU Leaders Safely Compete?
With the impending AI Act deadlines and the rise of agentic AI, numerous sessions and roundtables at the event centered around practical measures for businesses to safely compete with the leaders of tomorrow.
Presentations by session experts repeatedly surfaced one vital concept: information and data management. Before AI agents can make an impact, they need access to the right information. Without a clear and governed data infrastructure, agents lack the context they need to correctly perform business actions, opening the door for compounding compliance and security risks.
In addition to connected data infrastructures, agent actions must be transparent and auditable to meet the EU AI Act demands and maintain security. Combining information management and transparency is a key component to fostering trust, especially within the essential services, public sector and other critical industries outlined in Parliament’s legislation.
Navigating the Agentic Era at GITEX AI Europe 2026
Europe’s businesses, startups and public organizations stand at a pivotal crossroad. While AI agents offer unprecedented opportunities for growth, this autonomous technology also introduces complex new compliance and security risks.
As the conversations at GITEX AI Europe 2026 made clear, transparency, information management and strict governance are no longer optional—they are imperatives for successful AI adoption. Far from holding innovation back, robust governance is the very catalyst that allows agentic technology to scale safely.
When implemented securely, AI agents liberate human ingenuity and drive true digital transformation.
Your future success starts now. Learn how AI-powered content management can help your organization navigate the agentic era with confidence, mitigate compliance risks and reach your goals faster than ever before.
Thirty-nine days, 48 teams and 104 epic matches to determine the best of the best. Every four years, the FIFA World Cup™ unites the globe’s top soccer talent and the 2026 finals are days away.
Winning the championship is about more than raw athletic talent. It’s about the power of collaboration. As former Women’s World Cup player Abby Wambach explained, “I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.”
The strongest World Cup teams aren’t just the ones with the most star players. They are the ones with exceptional teamwork, where every player’s talents amplify and support the rest.
While we all can’t be famous athletes, teamwork is an essential pillar of the modern workplace. Whether it’s coordinating with close colleagues or across departments, every individual contribution plays a vital role in “scoring” organizational goals. Today, new agentic AI technologies are redefining what it means to be a team player.
What Are AI Agents?
With the explosive rate of AI development, it can be hard to follow the differences between generative AI — like ChatGPT and Gemini — and AI agents. Simply put, generative AI produces or generates content like text, photos and videos, while AI agents take action on your behalf.
Agents are on the field with you, supporting every pass toward the goal. While they can be created to perform practically any action, AI agents excel at taking on laborious administrative tasks that slow down your day and prevent your team from moving forward.
Agents Work Across Any Field
We’ve all likely experienced those one-off tasks, like renaming all your client files or separating vendor contracts into their own folders. While technically simple or tactical, these tasks often require hundreds of manual clicks and long hours to complete, draining your bandwidth for higher value work. In a 2025 survey of 2,000+ U.S. workers, 81% named busywork as their top contributor to burnout.
Leveraging Agents as personal teammates allows workers to keep their eye on the ball and push forward the projects that drive the biggest organizational impact. The best part? They work across any field:
Human Resources: Mass rename a batch of messy onboarding PDFs to a standard format, automatically attach the right metadata templates and route them to individual employee folders.
Finance: Sort incoming expenses and flag high-value invoices over a specific dollar amount for review, while moving the rest into the correct fiscal-year folder.
Public Sector: Gather all documents matching a specific public request, automatically flag them with a “FOIA Review” tag and move them into a central folder for legal clearance and faster public service.
Education: Quickly organize peak-season enrollment paperwork by grouping incoming transcripts by date, tag them as “Pending Review” and file them by graduating class.
Manufacturing: Centralize scattered inspection reports and tag files containing specific keywords (like “fail” or “defect”) that highlight areas of concern for immediate review.
Play Your Best with Agents on Your Team
Laserfiche AI Agents were designed to be the ultimate team players, helping you tackle the time-consuming work that keeps you from scoring your goals. Understanding context, Agents act with intelligent judgement to handle complex and multi-step tasks, while automatically adhering to your organizations’ governance and security policies.
With Agents on your team, you call the shots. Describe your request in simple, natural language, and they will propose a tactical game plan for you to review and approve. Agents cannot act without your approval. You remain in complete control of every request, with clear audit logs of every action.
Whether it’s on the field or in the office, teamwork is the defining factor that separates the champions from the rest. Watch our latest webinar to see how Laserfiche AI Agents can empower you to become the MVP of your office.
Our July updates make it easier to give AI the right context, complete forms on the go and manage repository information through expanded API capabilities. Discover what’s new in Laserfiche Cloud this month, including updates to Smart Chatand Laserfiche AI Agents, Android availability for the new Laserfiche Forms mobile app and new Repository API V2 enhancements.
Give Smart Chat and Laserfiche AI Agents the Right Context
Smart Chat and Laserfiche AI Agents work best when they have the right context: the documents, folders, search results or collections relevant to your question or requested action. With this release, we’re making that context easier to provide and easier to verify.
Previously, Smart Chat and AI Agents only used the repository entries that you explicitly selected. Now, when no entries are selected, they automatically use the content in your current repository view as context. This means you can ask questions or prompt actions based on what you’re already looking at, whether that’s a folder, search results, a personal collection or a default collection such as Recent Documents.
You still control the scope. To focus on a narrower set of content, simply select the specific documents, folders or collections you want to include. Explicit selections always take precedence, so Smart Chat and AI Agents will use only your selected sources and ignore everything else.
We’ve also added a new selected sources badge that shows what repository content is currently in scope. The badge may display selected folders, documents or personal collections, or, when nothing is selected, a count of the entries in your current view.
Together, these updates reduce setup time, clarify what content Smart Chat can reference and what AI Agents may act upon, and help users confidently transition from finding the right content to putting it to work.
Tip: Collections let you group related documents from across the repository into a reusable source of AI context. Open a collection and Smart Chat or AI Agents can use its contents automatically. Watch the video above to learn more about using collections.
Laserfiche Forms Mobile App Now Available on Android
The new Laserfiche Forms mobile app is now available to both iOS and Android users.
With the new app, you can securely manage your tasks and complete digital forms from anywhere. View all the tasks assigned to you, update key details like due dates and priority, reassign tasks to another user or team or complete your tasks directly from the app.
You can also launch, complete and submit forms on the go, with a mobile-friendly experience that supports image attachments directly from your device.
Download the new app today by searching for Laserfiche Forms in the App Store or on Google Play.
Repository API V2 Update
This update gives repository administrators more ways to configure repositories and discover document information through the Laserfiche API. Administrators can now manage metadata fields, list values and templates, including template field layout, with safeguards for higher-risk changes. The update also adds document size and folder child-count details to support storage reporting.
In 2026, AI expansion across government is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. This year’s Washington State Information Professional Management Association (IPMA) Forum brought together technology, business and management leaders to help public agencies navigate this landscape and map out the future of operational resilience and technical innovation.
Conversations with public sector leaders made one thing clear: artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a concept for the future—it is actively shaping everyday government operations. The defining question is no longer if agencies will adopt AI or even Agentic AI, but whether they are prepared to govern it responsibly.
This marks a critical shift for state and local agencies navigating an environment defined by rising expectations, compounding information complexity and growing pressure to accelerate service delivery without compromising public trust.
Why Governance Matters More Than Ever
Across IMPA sessions focused on modernization, records management, automation and digital transformation, three core themes emerged:
The Explosion of Unstructured Content: Documents, emails, forms, contracts, and case files continue to grow across disconnected systems. Much of this information lacks consistent metadata, making it difficult to find, govern or use effectively.
The Scalability Crisis: Manual processes no longer scale. Staff shortages, increasing compliance obligations and growing transparency demands are forcing organizations to rethink how work gets done.
The Governance Mandate: Leaders increasingly understand that AI only delivers value when it operates within trusted governance frameworks.
These priorities closely align with a broader shift happening across government: moving from managing content as static records to treating information as a strategic operational asset.
That is where content management is being reimagined.
Leveraging AI in Document Management
Traditionally, enterprise content management focused on storing, organizing, and retrieving documents. While those capabilities remain essential, they are no longer sufficient on their own. With the rapid growth of AI in local and state government, agencies today need systems that can help classify information automatically, surface insights quickly and support faster, more informed decisions.
AI-drive document management is accelerating that evolution.
At the forum, discussions around automation and AI repeatedly returned to practical use cases that agencies are actively exploring. Intelligent document classification, automated metadata extraction, AI-assisted records retrieval, and conversational access to information are no longer mere luxuries. They are becoming operational necessities.
But what stood out most was the emphasis on responsible AI.
Government leaders are understandably cautious. Public trust depends on transparency, accountability, and defensible decision-making. Agencies cannot afford black-box systems that operate without oversight or explainability. As AI capabilities expand, governance becomes more important, not less.
Innovation Done Safely: Washington’s Framework for AI Governance
Government leaders in Washington state are already establishing formal frameworks for responsible AI adoption. In 2024, Governor Jay Inslee issued Executive Order 24-01 directing agencies to develop guidance for the ethical, transparent, and accountable use of generative AI across state government. The order emphasized that agencies must balance innovation with safeguards around privacy, bias mitigation, security, and public trust.
More recently, Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech) expanded those efforts through the state’s Artificial Intelligence Policy, which requires agencies to identify AI-enabled systems, conduct AI risk assessments and ensure human oversight remains part of decision-making processes. The policy specifically calls for governance frameworks that are transparent, auditable and aligned with Washington state’s AI Principles.
That direction closely mirrors what many attendees at the IPMA Forum discussed throughout the event. Agencies are not simply asking how to deploy AI faster. They are asking how to operationalize AI responsibly within environments that already contain decades of sensitive records, fragmented systems and complex compliance obligations.
This is why governance is emerging as the true foundation of AI readiness.
Rather than treating governance as a compliance exercise that slows innovation, agencies are beginning to view governance as the foundation that enables innovation safely. When information is properly classified, secured and governed, AI becomes significantly more effective and far more trustworthy.
Deploying Intelligent Document Automation in the Public Sector
Early AI adoption often focused on assistance: summarizing documents, extracting data, or helping staff locate information more efficiently. Increasingly, however, agencies are shifting from simple assistance to intelligent document automation, evaluating systems capable of taking independent action within workflows. AI can now recommend next steps, identify exceptions, trigger processes, and support decision-making in real time.
That progression raises the stakes.
AI systems depend on context. Context depends on well-governed information. If data is fragmented, outdated, or inconsistently managed, automation compounds risk.
That reality became evident in conversations at the IPMA Forum. Agencies are recognizing that modernization is no longer just about digitizing records. It is about creating an information environment where data can be trusted, processes can be audited and AI can operate responsibly within defined guardrails.
Core Priorities for AI in Data Governance
To navigate this paradigm shift safely, state and local agencies will need to map out future strategies that move away from manual oversight and toward automated workflows that embed compliance directly into daily operations. To prepare for this transition, public sector IT and business leaders should prioritize these key areas:
Strategic Data Governance Frameworks: Apply consistent retention, security, and access policies dynamically across increasingly complex information environments.
Foundational Workflow Automation: Create workflows to continuously classify, route, and govern information the moment it enters a system, reducing reliance on manual indexing.
Secure Interoperability Standards: Design systems that enable governance policies to travel with the data itself, ensuring security rules remain completely consistent regardless of where content resides.
And perhaps most importantly, agencies are approaching AI as a tool to augment human expertise, not replace it.
That distinction matters.
The most successful government AI initiatives are not removing people from the process. They are reducing repetitive work, accelerating information access, and allowing public servants to focus on higher-value decisions. Human oversight remains essential because accountability cannot be delegated to an algorithm.
This is why responsible AI and modern content management are becoming inseparable conversations.
Turning Trusted Information into Intelligent Action
The agencies making the most progress are not necessarily the ones moving fastest to deploy AI. They are the ones investing in trusted information foundations first. They are aligning governance, automation and AI into a unified strategy designed to improve service delivery while protecting transparency and public confidence.
That is ultimately the opportunity ahead of government leaders.
AI has the potential to transform how agencies manage information, respond to citizens, and operate at scale. But the long-term value of AI will not be determined by the sophistication of technology alone. It will be determined by whether agencies can build environments where information is structured, governed and trusted enough for AI to operate responsibly.
Washington State’s evolving AI policies make one thing increasingly clear: the future of government AI will not be defined by how aggressively agencies automate, but by how effectively they govern the information that powers those systems.
At the Washington State IPMA Forum, that message was impossible to miss.
The future of content management is no longer about storing information.
It is about turning trusted information into intelligent action.
Build Your Foundation for Responsible AI
Successfully navigating the ongoing expansion of government AI requires an information foundation you can trust. Laserfiche helps state and local agencies bridge the gap between innovation and compliance with secure intelligent document automation and AI-driven solutions.
After spending time with customers and technology leaders at Empower 2026, it was hard to ignore the impact that AI is having on every industry.
During the customer keynote, we heard firsthand stories from leaders and experts across the public and private sectors who are navigating this change in real-time. While most aren’t used to seeing this kind of speed with enterprise technology, where evolution once took decades rather than months, the organizations gaining the greatest value aren’t chasing every new tool. They already have the operational foundation to adapt quickly and put AI to work.
As our speakers highlighted, success usually comes down to having clean data, connected systems, clear governance and teams that understand their processes well enough to improve them.
This is the real starting line for AI readiness.
Moving AI From Experimentation to Impact
Bianca Lochner, CIO for the City of Scottsdale, talked about how quickly the conversation around AI evolved from hype and experimentation to practicality and operational impact. For Scottsdale, making AI practical means moving past the technical specs to focus on the end goal. “We don’t think about technology only,” she said. “We lead with the outcomes.”
That means improving services for residents, scaling successful initiatives across departments and avoiding AI silos with limited value. “Innovation is a team sport,” she said.
The city supports more than 600 citizen services and welcomes millions of visitors every year. Scottsdale already uses Laserfiche and AI-powered automation to reduce permitting review times from days to hours, and to accelerate onboarding and training for first responders. As part of its ongoing modernization efforts, Scottsdale is now deploying its Laserfiche instance to the cloud.
Data and Process Maturity Matter
Desiree Champaco, vice president of IT and supply chain at Diamond Foods, knows what it takes to modernize a 115-year-old company. “The technology is largely there,” she said. “But from a maturity standpoint, are your organizations ready to adopt it?”
Diamond Foods spent years improving the processes, integrations and data quality that allow teams to move faster and make better decisions. One example involved integrating Laserfiche with the company’s ERP environment to eliminate manual invoice uploads and reduce repetitive work inside finance operations. As part of that modernization effort, Diamond Foods migrated from an on-premises Laserfiche environment to the cloud to support future growth and AI-driven workflows.
Champaco also described how AI can help supply chain teams process large amounts of planning data that would otherwise consume hours of manual effort every day. Transportation costs, inventory levels, external demand signals and customer data are changing constantly. For teams managing those variables, AI agents create opportunities to respond faster and spend more time making decisions instead of manually assembling information.
For Diamond Foods, speed matters. So does giving teams the ability to spend less time piecing information together and more time responding to what’s happening across the business.
Trust is Becoming a Competitive Advantage
AI only works at scale when people trust how the systems operate. As organizations begin delegating more work to autonomous agents, expectations around governance, transparency and security are rising just as quickly.
Rob Lloyd, executive director of the Center for Digital Government, described trust as one of the defining challenges of the next several years. “Trust is either going to be something that allows you to act faster and be your multiplier,” he explained, where technology, tools and processes can finally fill the gap between rising expectations and tightening budgets, “or we are going to see it break organizations.”
The faster AI is embedded in everyday work, the more important those trust signals become. The companies and public sector agencies moving fastest are usually the ones putting clear guardrails around how their teams use AI and creating transparency around how AI-driven decisions are made.
Different perspectives. One operational reality.
Successful AI adoption begins with the work happening behind the scenes: modernizing workflows, connecting systems and breaking down operational silos that have existed for years. The leaders at Empower 2026 highlighted how this foundation supports the most effective AI initiatives, helping teams spend less time on repetitive work and more time on what matters most.
The starting line for AI is already behind us. The conversation is becoming far more operational, focused on how AI improves responsiveness, reduces friction and fits into the way work already gets done.
And that’s where organizations are starting to see the strongest results.
Download our eBook to learn how business leaders are accelerating daily operations and driving real change with agentic AI.
I recently had the opportunity to join 4,000 IT and tech professionals at Info-Tech Live 2026 in Las Vegas to explore the technology driving modern organizations forward.
Agentic AI dominated the conversations at the event, but as I caught up with folks in the halls, a much more grounded concept kept cutting through the noise: practicality. The burning question is no longer if leaders should adopt AI, but how to systematically deploy AI and agents to drive actual business outcomes.
Leaders today are challenged to look at AI adoption, not just as an IT initiative, but as a holistic business function. When you strip away the hype, successfully pioneering this next era comes down to robust data governance, IT empowerment and leadership adaptability.
Five Agentic AI Best Practices
Think of AI agents like enthusiastic interns: they bring tons of potential to your teams, but they need strict boundaries and clear guidance before you let them loose. That balance between autonomy and control is precisely what Jeremy Roberts, Senior Director at Info-Tech Research Group, tackled in his closing keynote where he shared a tactical ‘cheat sheet’ of five event takeaways for successful agentic AI:
Make IT Agentic Before the Enterprise – IT teams have a deep understanding of software limitations and change management, making them the ideal proving ground for agentic technology. Proving tangible business results in one controlled department helps build the baseline framework you need to safely scale AI across the rest of the enterprise.
CIOs Have the Hardest Job – The corporate expectations placed on tech leaders are steadily increasing. As Roberts perfectly captured during the event: “When every company is a technology company — every single one — you are not merely a partner in that growth. You must be a leader. You must be an innovator.” However, most IT departments are struggling with the basics. Unstructured data, disjointed systems and a lack of transparency eventually get back to stakeholders. To start building a foundation of trust, encourage your teams to run regular diagnostics. Success in the agentic era requires a clear look at your system’s weak points, so remediation can begin.
Exponential CIOs Harness Their Data – Technology means nothing without a strong data foundation, but gathering files is only the first step. Data is useless without insight; insight is meaningless without decisions and decisions are only effective when actioned. That deliberate path — moving from raw data to real-world action and strategic innovation — is how leaders drive true transformation.
Leadership is Not Keeping Up with AI – True organizational agility means evolving right alongside the technology. That requires a willingness to redesign workflows from scratch, build entirely new roles around the work AI creates and fundamentally rethink how we operate day-to-day. This is exactly where adaptable leaders will separate themselves from the pack. The hard truth is that you simply cannot run a business at AI speed if you are still clinging to old, manual processes.
With Agentic AI, Buy-In Isn’t the Problem – You don’t have to sell leaders on the immense value of agentic AI. The real problem is in execution. The reason data governance took center stage in so many conversations at the conference is because too many companies have massive governance blind spots. Policies are written down on paper, but nobody is enforcing, updating or reviewing them. If your internal data is a chaotic, unmanaged wilderness, your digital interns are inevitably going to access the wrong files and learn the wrong behaviors.
As discussions at the conference highlighted, AI agents fail in very predictable ways. Keeping your initiatives on the rails isn’t about creating bureaucratic red tape — it’s about establishing agentic AI best practices and governance frameworks to avoid common pitfalls and build an enterprise where every workflow safely connects to and informs the next.
Document Management Is More Important than Ever
Looking at the core takeaways from the conference, it’s clear: document management is more critical than ever. A recent report from Info-Tech Research Group, “Unlocking Your Organization’s Content with AI-Powered Document Management,” emphasizes the true value of content management systems in building that vital data foundation that so many leaders at the conference talked about. With embedded next-gen tools like AI-assisted search and data capture, along with agentic chat capabilities, these platforms have evolved far beyond digital filing cabinets. Intelligent document processing systems are now valuable business partners that help you scale securely.
“With 80% to 90% of data being unstructured – including text, video, audio, web server logs, and social media – a significant competitive advantage awaits companies that can effectively tap into this largely unused resource.” – 2025 MIT Sloan Report
The organizations that lead this new agentic era will be the ones that take control of their unstructured data and build a secure, practical foundation for their digital workforce to succeed.
Buying AI isn’t a standalone software purchase anymore; you have to evaluate the whole package — from basic data tools to underlying models and infrastructure costs. That means instead of just chasing features, leaders need to look for an agentic vendor built on a secure data foundation that plugs directly into existing tech and includes built-in governance guardrails for safe AI adoption.
The right partner turns these complex hurdles into a confident step forward into the agentic era. To see this in practice, we recently teamed up with Info-Tech Research Group to look at how organizations like the City of Acworth are already driving real-world results with a reliable AI partner. Watch the on-demand webinar here to learn how practical agentic solutions can empower your teams and transform your business.
K-12 education has come a long way from cataloging student records in physical filing cabinets. Today, much of the education sector has realized the importance of digitization and moving to cloud-based systems. But as transformative as technology can be, the growing push toward AI-enabled solutions also raises questions on practical applications and governance requirements.
I recently joined Brian Cohen and the GovTech K-12 Council meeting to discuss some of those questions with superintendents, tech leaders and industry experts. The session tackled two incredibly timely topics: building operational resilience against disruptive technology outages and exploring how AI agents can alleviate budget and staffing pressures. Participants shared their unique perspectives and walked away with practical, actionable insights to take back to their school districts.
Technology is No Longer Just an IT Concern
Before the widespread adoption of cloud computing and AI, system outages were nothing more than an inconvenience and an IT ticket, but that is quickly changing.
According to the latest CoSN U.S. State of EdTech Report, districts are aggressively prioritizing technology to modernize legacy operations. In many cases that means connecting and digitizing siloed data, integrating operating systems and automating routine processes with AI-enabled tools. Modernization has helped leading institutions cut core operations, like creating student records, down to seconds. However, as leaders in the council discussed, it also means that technology is increasingly becoming a vital part of delivering student services across all functions — making system outages an operational crisis, not just an IT problem.
As we move into the future of K-12 operations, outage planning and prioritizing platforms with advanced data security and recovery features are becoming increasingly important.
The Agentic Shift: Is K-12 Ready for Autonomous Operations?
As modernization ramps up, K-12 education is standing on the brink of an operational shift. We are moving past basic chatbots and static content generation into the era of AI agents — systems capable of managing multi-step workflows, interpreting complex institutional data and acting across enterprise systems.
These agents have the potential to completely transform daily administration, acting as a force multiplier for overburdened school staff. However, transitioning to agentic AI requires a careful balance between administrative efficiency and strict organizational readiness. Striking that balance means first building a foundational framework for data governance.
Because an agent is only as effective as the data it can access, data quality and rigorous security policies are essential for successful adoption. Reliable human oversight and clear audit trails are also vital components for maintaining student trust and ensuring school leaders retain full visibility into how institutional data is handled.
Brian Cohen, vice president at the Center for Digital Education, explained the concept saying, “Whether districts are responding to a cybersecurity incident, managing a critical system outage, or exploring agentic AI, success depends on strong governance, trusted information, well-documented processes, and organizational alignment. The districts that invest in understanding how information moves across their organization today will be best positioned to navigate both the risks and opportunities that lie ahead.”
Where AI Agents in Education Deliver Immediate Value
Successful agentic AI implementation does not require districts to plunge headfirst into fully autonomous student-facing systems. Instead, the smartest deployments target high-friction, backend administrative workflows where AI can deliver immediate relief.
Districts will find the highest return on investment in three critical areas:
Records Management & Compliance: Transitioning from a reactive scramble to automated, “set-it-and-forget-it” retention schedules that securely store and purge HR or financial files according to state and federal mandates.
Intake & Organization: Automating the tagging, organizing and restructuring of massive backlogs of sensitive student files, including Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans.
Parent Communication: Powering mobile-friendly portals that provide real-time updates and bridge accessibility gaps, ensuring consistent engagement for families.
By offloading these repetitive tasks, districts can directly alleviate staff burnout, freeing up human educators to focus on student counseling and classroom support.
The New Era of K-12 with Agentic AI
Technology is now deeply ingrained into daily school operations, with modernization pressures rising steadily. The transition toward autonomous AI agents in education is no longer a distant possibility — it is the next frontier for K-12 administration. As the insights from the K-12 Council meeting made clear, navigating this shift successfully demands a proactive focus on security, transparency and organizational alignment. School districts with strong governance frameworks can begin to harness the power of AI agents to reduce backend administrative bottlenecks, alleviate staff shortages and help their teams keep the focus where it belongs: on supporting students.
Bring your institution into the new era of student services, get the playbook on how to successfully deploy Agentic AI and automation within your institution.
