The conversation around AI operations 2026 is moving beyond experimentation. At Oracle AI World, formerly known as Cloud World, executives and industry leaders gathered to explore how AI can transform the workplace and redefine talent management.
AI is Changing How Business Gets Done
Oracle CEO Mike Sicilia opened the conference by highlighting that AI is not just a technological innovation—it’s reshaping how businesses operate. “AI is transforming processes, decision-making, and the way employees work,” he noted. Research from Oracle indicates that 8 out of 10 employees feel AI has positively impacted their daily work experience.
In the human resources domain, AI is already streamlining tasks such as recruitment, onboarding, and employee retention. Learn more about AI recruitment strategies. Sicilia emphasized that AI-powered tools within Oracle’s human capital management applications are helping organizations hire faster while saving thousands of hours for employees and managers alike.
Reskilling and Human-Centric AI
Exelon CEO Calvin Butler joined Sicilia on stage to discuss practical applications of AI. Addressing common concerns that AI could replace human jobs, Butler reframed the discussion: “The real opportunity is in reskilling and enabling employees to work alongside AI, not in viewing it solely as a job-replacement tool.”
He shared that Exelon has leveraged AI to retrain employees, enabling them to adapt to new technologies. However, Butler stressed that successful adoption depends on employees’ familiarity with the tools and their ability to integrate them into daily work.
AI Operations 2026: From Pilots to Full-Scale Adoption
Chris Leone, EVP of Oracle Cloud HCM development, described 2026 as the “year of operationalizing AI.” While 2025 focused heavily on pilot projects, many efforts stalled due to challenges in scaling AI across organizations. Leone expects businesses to increasingly focus on implementing AI at scale, moving beyond isolated experiments to enterprise-wide deployment.
Oracle’s new offerings support this shift. The recently introduced AI Agent Marketplace allows Oracle Fusion Cloud users to find, deploy, and manage validated AI agents built by Oracle partners directly within their existing workflows. Unlike traditional marketplaces, this embedded approach lets users operate AI agents seamlessly within the same environment as prebuilt Oracle agents, reducing friction and accelerating adoption.
Making AI Accessible and Trustworthy
Analyst Rebecca Wettemann highlighted Oracle’s approach to making AI adoption easier and more widespread. Oracle is offering its AI agents and the Agent Studio platform without extra costs, giving organizations flexibility to experiment and scale without budget limitations.
Additionally, Oracle emphasizes trust and transparency in AI deployment. New observability and evaluation tools allow businesses to monitor AI performance, including latency, error rates, and overall quality. Prompt management libraries help ensure that AI agents remain reliable and up to date.
“Organizations want confidence that AI will operate correctly with enterprise data,” Wettemann explained. Oracle’s tools aim to provide that assurance, enabling broader adoption with minimal risk.
Looking Ahead
As organizations prepare for 2026, the focus is clear: AI adoption is no longer optional. Businesses that successfully operationalize AI will benefit from enhanced efficiency, faster decision-making, and empowered employees.
With scalable, trustworthy, and easy-to-deploy AI tools, companies can move beyond pilots and fully integrate AI into daily operations—making the future of work smarter, faster, and more human-centric.
