Why CES 2026 Signals The End Of ‘AI As A Tool’

Consumer technology often serves as an indicator of the future direction of enterprise technology. And if there’s one key takeaway for business among the announcements and launches of CES 2026, it’s that AI is evolving from a tool into an always-on, omnipresent aspect of everyday life.

Across two million-plus square feet of Las Vegas exhibition space, manufacturers demonstrated AI embedded into every conceivable product, device and environment. The key message was that AI is now persistent and deeply integrated into core functionality, rather than simply bolted on and leveraged as a marketing hook.

From a business perspective, the importance of this can’t be overstated; historically, ideas that successfully alter the technological paradigm in the home or our day-to-day lives inevitably find their way into the workplace. Mobile apps, voice command interfaces, and touchscreens are just a few of the most prominent examples.

So here’s an overview of some of the key announcements and trends at CES 2026 that illustrate AI’s shift from “copilot” to “autopilot”, along with some thoughts on what it could mean for the future of work and business leadership.

From The Show Floor

“Embodied AI” refers to AI that can move autonomously and interact with us in the physical world, and there’s no better example than humanoid robots. At CES 2026,  Boston Dynamics showcased the latest evolution of Atlas. Although admittedly remote-controlled rather than autonomous, we learned a self-piloting version will soon be put to work at Hyundai’s U.S. EV manufacturing plants. These are robots that will work continuously alongside humans, rather than responding to direct commands and carrying out pre-programmed routines. Another humanoid robot on show was LG's CLOiD, designed to operate as a home assistant, carrying out domestic chores and operating smart home devices on our behalf.

The idea of AI as a coordinating layer or “ambient background” across entire ecosystems of tools and devices was also prominent this year. Samsung outlined its vision of AI companions for everyday life, demonstrating how smart appliances will form an intelligent background fabric to our day-to-day activities. As well as in the home, Samsung is a key player in industrial technology, where the same principle will see AI coordinating and optimizing operations across smart, connected enterprise systems.

Device manufacturers, including Samsung, Dell and AMD, unveiled new AI-powered versions of familiar consumer products such as phones, laptops and processors, demonstrating an AI-first strategy of building thinking and decision-making capabilities directly onto hardware. This means it will run in the background whenever the device is in operation, another trend likely to be replicated in enterprise technology.

And there was also a focus on edge AI, with developers such as Arm showcasing hardware designed to run AI workloads locally, rather than in the cloud. Edge AI brings both latency and privacy benefits—two critical reasons why business technology will also follow this trend.

Taken together, these trends demonstrate that, rather than something we use when an opportunity presents itself, AI is now quietly operating in the background, proactively helping us work towards our goals. This represents a fundamental shift in our relationship with technology; away from users and tools, and towards collaboration and co-working.

What Does This Mean For The Future Of Enterprise Tech?

First, it’s clear that today’s leading manufacturers and developers believe that the future of AI lies in agentic, always-on systems, rather than free-standing, isolated tools and applications.

Just as consumer AI now coordinates home and entertainment technology, enterprise AI will orchestrate workflows, schedules, documents, data and codebases, anticipating business needs and proactively solving problems before they occur.

Another thing that can’t be overlooked is that consumer technology clearly shapes our expectations and tolerances of enterprise technology. Workplace AI that doesn’t live up to the seamless, friction-free experiences provided by consumer AI will quickly cause frustration, limiting adoption and buy-in. Consider how the consumer-oriented iPhone quickly also became the business smartphone of choice, dethroning the enterprise-native Blackberry, thanks to a superior user experience. The user-focused innovation in consumer AI on display at CES 2026 will undoubtedly set our expectations of the enterprise AI user experience, particularly with regard to how it blends into the day-to-day fabric of working life.

As this AI infrastructure becomes more capable, the role of employees will shift, too, from executing routine tasks to supervising automated processes, as well as applying uniquely human skills to challenges that machines still can’t tackle. This includes developing long-term strategic plans, building and motivating teams, and managing the complexities and nuances of interpersonal relationships.

More so than in any previous year, CES 2026 demonstrates that the era of the AI tool is coming to an end. Instead, the future will see us working collaboratively alongside AI, using it to augment our abilities and enhance our potential.