From Megatrends to AI: Defining the Workforce of 2026 and Beyond

This post summarizes insights from UKG Aspire 2025 in Las Vegas

Discussion on how artificial intelligence is shaping work today is everywhere. For HR and operations leaders, the promise of AI is shifting beyond just automation and efficiency. It’s about how organizations can use the tech to help employees do their best work and make a real impact. At UKG’s Aspire conference, leaders across industries echoed the same message: Technology doesn’t transform organizations; people do.  

To do this right, it all comes down to having the right data and insights so that leaders can move from a state of reaction to a state of readiness.  

The newly announced UKG Workforce Intelligence Hub sits at the center of that mission. Drawing from decades of workforce data, the operational command center, announced Tuesday, allows leaders to benchmark, diagnose, and act on insights from AI agents by pulling all workforce information — think: scheduling, time-tracking, performance, pay — into one place. This gives leaders a better understanding of what’s happening in their workforces and what they need to do about it.    

The people-first future of AI  

At the 2026 Megatrends session, UKG shared early insights into what will reshape work in the year ahead. A key message: The future of work won’t be defined by technology alone. Instead, it depends on how leaders set up their employees to use technology. This makes work more human, and therefore, makes a bigger impact.  

Training and clear messaging on goals are part of the shift to valuable adoption. Employees need to know that technology is meant to boost their creativity and critical thinking, not replace them. 

As Jaya Soni, senior director of product management at UKG, shared in a session on enhancements to UKG’s Bryte AI: Removing the repetitive, joyless tasks that eat up time gives employees room to think critically about their work. They can question observations they make from data and investigate whether it’s something they need to worry about or not.  

Bottom line: Organizations can invest in all the technology they want, but without transparency and trust, adoption will stall, and organizations won’t have a lot to show for their investment.   

“Recognizing it’s not about the tech, it’s about the culture, that’s the key piece missing today,” Kylene Zenk, Human Insights program manager at UKG, said. “If you’re thinking of AI in the technical infrastructure way, you’re missing the boat.” 

Pursuing agility through talent  

Talent shortages and skills gaps remain challenging today, especially in retail, manufacturing, and healthcare, which all heavily rely on frontline workers. AI can take over some admin tasks, but to supplement full-time roles, the solution may lie in looking to part-time or on-demand workers, or even looking at data to see what opportunities lie within their existing talent pools. The goal is to place the right workers at the right place — quickly, effectively, and at a low cost. And AI can help there, too.  

That mindset is being put into action through solutions like UKG Rapid Hire, which streamlines candidate matching and onboarding, and the Internal Talent Marketplace, which helps connect employees to new roles and growth opportunities internally, reducing turnover while boosting engagement. 

Employee enablement  

Another emerging theme highlighted a shift in mindset: moving beyond engagement toward enablement. Employees need tools and trust to perform at their best. 

Managers are one of the key factors impacting employee satisfaction. But oftentimes, and especially in frontline industries, their own operational obligations eclipse time for development conversations with their teams. That’s where technology can bridge the gap, automating administrative burdens so managers can spend more time growing their teams both in skills and career paths.   

Solutions like UKG Beacon do just that. The culture-building platform, recently acquired by UKG, brings recognition, mentorship, and analytics together in one connected platform.  

Preparing for what’s next:

AI is here to stay, but it’s up to leaders to ensure it stays human, so people can do their best work. That means fostering trust and ensuring that every employee, from the C-suite to the frontline, feels both supported and empowered to grow alongside technology. 

While the CHROs play a crucial role in championing the tech and preparing people for change, it’s equally as crucial to have everyone aligned. “Leaders at all levels need to be engaged in the implementation of AI,” Zenk shared. “This is not just an IT and HR initiative, and we can’t treat it that way.”  

The full UKG Megatrends 2026 report launches in December 2025 and will take a deeper look at the forces reshaping work — from people-first AI to the new era of enablement.