monday.com is positioning its upcoming flagship conference, Elevate ‘26, as a bridge between theoretical AI experimentation and functional enterprise deployment. Scheduled for October 28-29, 2026, at the Javits Center in New York City, the event aims to address a significant gap in corporate readiness: according to Deloitte’s 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise report, only 30% of companies are currently redesigning their processes around AI. By providing hands-on infrastructure for building autonomous agents, the company is attempting to move its user base from simple AI assistance toward a model where agents execute complex workflows. This strategic pivot focuses on practical application, offering thousands of attendees the specific technical training required to embed intelligence directly into their existing business operations.
Hands-on Agent Construction and Certification
The core of the Elevate ‘26 program is a structured effort to transform attendees from "curious to capable" through direct technical engagement. Rather than focusing solely on passive observation, monday.com is deploying several specialized modules designed to facilitate the creation of working AI agents. The "Elevate Labs" stations serve as dedicated building environments where participants can develop agents through guided experiences. To support this, the company is introducing "Certification Day" on October 27, which features a four-hour, AI-focused curriculum intended to provide a formal foundation for users.
Further technical support is structured through the "Expert Bar," offering 1:1 access to monday.com product specialists, and the "AI Hive," which connects attendees with certified partners to implement AI within their specific workspaces. The conference is also significantly scaling its educational content, offering 160+ masterclasses and roundtables—a figure the company notes is three times higher than the 2025 offering. With over 200 sessions and 40+ live AI demos, the event is designed to provide a multi-layered learning path, ranging from beginner tutorials to advanced masterclasses, specifically targeting the operational hurdles that prevent widespread AI adoption in the enterprise.
Scaling Impact via The Done Awards
To validate the efficacy of AI-driven workflows, monday.com is launching "The Done Awards," its inaugural customer awards program. The program is designed to recognize and showcase specific AI agents, applications, and workflows that customers have already deployed within the monday.com ecosystem. By highlighting real-world use cases, the company is attempting to demonstrate the tangible business value of its AI layer, which it claims enables agents to execute tasks rather than merely assisting users.
The judging criteria for The Done Awards are strictly tied to operational metrics, specifically focusing on impact through measured outcomes such as hours saved, error reduction, and scaled output. This emphasis on quantifiable results aligns with the broader conference theme of moving beyond the "experimentation" phase. The winners will be announced on the main stage on October 29, providing a benchmark for other enterprise leaders looking to justify AI investments. The event also features a high-profile speaker lineup, including leaders from Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Spotify, alongside keynotes from Ryan Reynolds and Lindsey Vonn, to blend technical strategy with broader themes of business creativity and organizational resilience.
Key Takeaways
- monday.com is addressing a market gap where only 30% of companies are currently redesigning processes around AI, according to Deloitte.
- The Elevate ‘26 program includes a dedicated "Certification Day" on October 27 and "Elevate Labs" for hands-on AI agent construction.
- The inaugural "Done Awards" will recognize customer-built AI agents and workflows based on metrics like hours saved and error reduction.
TechInsyte's Take
In our view, monday.com is making a calculated move to transition from a work management tool to a critical piece of AI orchestration infrastructure. By centering Elevate ‘26 on the actual construction of agents rather than just high-level strategy, the company is acknowledging that the primary bottleneck for enterprise AI is not the availability of models, but the lack of operational integration. The heavy emphasis on "Certification Day" and 1:1 partner implementation via the "AI Hive" suggests that monday.com recognizes that software adoption is useless without a skilled workforce to manage it. This strategy effectively attempts to "lock in" enterprise users by making them the architects of their own automated workflows. If successful, this could shift the competitive landscape from who has the best LLM to who has the most functional, agent-driven execution layer.
Questions & Answers
How is monday.com addressing the gap between AI experimentation and enterprise-wide adoption?
The company is providing hands-on technical training, including "Elevate Labs" for agent creation, a four-hour "Certification Day" workshop, and 160+ masterclasses. This approach is designed to move users from theoretical knowledge to the practical ability to build and integrate working AI agents into their specific workflows.
What metrics will be used to evaluate the success of AI implementations at Elevate ‘26?
Through "The Done Awards," monday.com will recognize customer-built AI agents and workflows based on specific, measurable impact metrics, including hours saved, reduction in errors, and the ability to scale output.
Who are the key industry leaders participating in the Elevate ‘26 program?
The event features speakers from major technology and enterprise organizations, including representatives from LinkedIn, Microsoft, Google, Meta, FedEx, and Spotify, to provide diverse perspectives on AI transformation and business operations.
What is the strategic significance of the "AI Hive" and "Expert Bar" components?
These components are designed to provide direct, personalized technical support. The "Expert Bar" offers 1:1 time with product experts, while the "AI Hive" connects attendees with certified partners to facilitate the actual implementation of AI within an attendee's existing workspace.
Source: monday.com
