After a breakout debut in 2025, HumanX is returning to the stage in 2026 with bigger ambitions – a move to San Francisco, new talk tracks, and a lineup that includes Databricks’ CEO and co-founder Ali Ghodsi, AWS CEO Matt Garman, and Al Gore.
To learn more about how the conference is evolving for its highly anticipated second year, I sat down with Head of Content, Louise Tanner, who helped spearhead the 2025 event and is scaling this year’s conference to meet the momentum of the rapidly growing AI landscape. Our conversation revealed what to expect as both a speaker and attendee – and how HumanX 2026 plans to build on its winning formula of interactive sessions, practical insights, and a focus on real-world AI adoption
Below is a recap of my conversation with Louise on what “great content” really means, what’s changing (and staying) for 2026, and how speakers, PR teams, and attendees can make the most of the HumanX experience. You can also watch the full interview here.
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Rachel: What does “great content” mean at HumanX – and how is it different from other events?
Louise: At HumanX, great content means it’s clear, it’s credible, and it’s actually useful. Every session is designed for attendees, especially leaders, who are making real decisions about AI right now. We’re not just trying to inspire or talk big-picture. We’re focused on how AI gets implemented and how it actually drives results in business.
What makes HumanX different is that we don’t organize content by just industry buzzwords; we focus on real roles and challenges. The 2026 program is built around practical strategies, real use cases, and insights that reflect how fast this space is changing. Our speakers aren’t just well-known, they’re the people doing the work, building the products, setting policy, and figuring it out in real time.
And at the end of the day, our goal is simple: we want people to walk away feeling like they learned something they can use in their business, that they met someone they want to follow up with, and that it was such a good experience, they want to come back next year.
Rachel: What resonated most with attendees in 2025, and how has that shaped 2026?
Louise: The interactive sessions were a huge hit last year. People loved that they could actually ask questions, share challenges, and get into real problem-solving with our speakers, not just sit and listen. That format really worked, so for 2026, we’re going even bigger, there’ll be over 100 of those interactive sessions throughout the event.
And this year we’re moving to San Francisco, which honestly just makes sense. It’s the center of so much AI innovation right now, and we wanted to be where the action is.
Rachel: What are you carrying forward into 2026 – and what’s changing?
Louise: We’re keeping a lot of what worked: short, high-impact main-stage talks from people who are actually building and leading in this space, plus sector-specific tracks that align with the roles our attendees play. And the small group sessions, roundtables, workshops, and interactive formats that really help HumanX feel practical and personal, so they’re absolutely staying.
What’s changing is really based on attendee feedback and how the program evolved last year. Honestly, we had too much content. So for 2026, we’ve streamlined things a bit. We’ve removed the dedicated Health track, and Cybersecurity is now woven across all tracks, which reflects how it cuts across every function in a company.
We’ve also simplified our track structure: now there are five tracks that give people a more holistic view of their sector, rather than narrowing it down too much. For example, we now have a track called Customer Engine that looks at the full customer journey, marketing, sales, and customer experience, all in one place. It helps connect the dots in a way that’s more relevant to how people actually work.
Rachel: Any content formats or experiments planned for 2026?
Louise: Yeah, we’ve talked a bit about content already, but one thing we’re really excited about is how attendees will actually access and navigate the agenda. For 2026, our CEO and product team built a custom agenda platform just for HumanX. It’s designed to make the experience a lot more personal and easier to use.
You’ll be able to filter sessions by role, track, or even create your own custom filters to build a schedule that really works for you. We’ve built in smart defaults like tracks by job function or sector, but you can also tweak everything based on what matters most to you. The idea is to help people get more out of their time on-site and really hit the goals they’re coming to HumanX with, whether that’s learning something specific, networking, or just exploring what’s new.
Rachel: What makes for a compelling session or speaker pitch? What stands out to you when reviewing submissions?
Louise: Honestly, getting a speaking slot at HumanX 2026 is extremely competitive. We get a lot of applications, and while we really appreciate the effort people put in, especially those beautifully written abstracts for solo talks, the reality is that solo slots are very limited. Most of our sessions are panels, so the chances of a solo talk being accepted are pretty slim.
Also, because AI moves so fast, content that feels fresh when it’s submitted might not feel as relevant by April. So instead of over-engineering the abstract, we tell people to keep it short, snappy, and clear, and focus on why HumanX 2026. Can you tie your pitch to a big announcement? Funding or customer stories tend to perform better than product news. Is there someone in your network you can bring into the conversation? If you’re pitching for a more solo style talk, ask yourself: Who could I pair with to really elevate this?
Go big if you can. Some of the strongest pitches we’re seeing are from people saying, “I’d love to announce this at HumanX,” or “I can bring XYZ from a major company.” That catches our attention.
And remember, we’re expecting over 400 media at the event this year. If your pitch would grab their attention, it’s probably going to grab ours too.
Rachel: How can PR and comms teams best support their execs and the HumanX process?
Louise: First, be really clear on what the goal is. Why is this exec coming to HumanX? Is it to get press coverage? Build thought leadership? Network with other speakers? Drive leads? The clearer you are, the more strategic we can all be in making it a success. Once you have that goal or objective, share it with us so we can work together to achieve it.
Every speaker gets a guest pass, so be strategic about who it is assigned to. If media is a priority, send the PR lead or head of comms. Journalists on-site are busy and won’t always be the ones chasing down speakers. But if your comms person is there, they might spot them in the speaker lounge or grab 10 minutes for a quick intro with your CEO. If no one’s on the ground to support, those opportunities often get missed.
And when it comes to pitching for solo slots, go big or rethink it. We’re getting tons of solo talk requests, but often there’s no compelling reason for it to be a solo rather than a panel. We’re totally open to working with everyone, but given how limited those slots are, we expect pitches to tell us why it should be solo, and what’s really going to make news at HumanX and deserves a solo slot.
Rachel: How do people make the most of HumanX 2026?
Louise: I think for everyone coming to HumanX, whether you’re a speaker, attendee, sponsor, or journalist, it really helps to have a clear goal in mind. Share that with your HumanX contact so we can support you. Make sure to check our website, read our emails in the lead-up to the event, or join one of our pre-event webinars to get the most out of the experience.
I mentioned this earlier for PR agencies supporting speakers, but it applies to everyone involved in HumanX. If you’re not clear on why you’re there, it’ll be much harder to achieve what you want, so take a bit of time to define your goals, and we’ll do everything we can to help you reach them.
Rachel: What’s one thing you hope people walk away with after HumanX 2026?
Louise: That they learned something they can use. That they gained clarity, met someone important, and built conviction about their AI strategy.
Rachel: What’s new in Europe?
Louise: We just launched HumanX Europe, which is super exciting. HumanX Europe will take place September 22–24, 2026, in Amsterdam. It will follow the same formula as SF: strategic programming, role-based tracks, and interactive formats. We will be doing our first official speaker launch in January, so watch this space!
