The AI Conference Boom: Where (and How) to Show Up in 2026
Insider tips for speaking at the AI events worth your time
Trying to get your CEO on stage to pitch your AI products, or looking to learn about AI yourself? Being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference when it comes to executive thought leadership and elevating your presence. This week, I invited my friend Caitlin Bartley, founder of cred, and events comms agency, to share her insider view on how the AI boom has reshaped the speaking circuit and how to pitch through the noise.
Working with thousands of events each year, the team at cred has seen firsthand how AI is influencing the stories that get picked for the big stages. Organizers are flooded with AI-washed submissions, raising the bar for what it takes to stand out. So differentiation, credibility, and a clear point of view are essential. For speakers looking to speak at top conferences, consider:
Controversial: Have an unexpected take? Events love when sessions break away from the norm—the most ambitious, unconventional ideas often win.
Highlighting unseen innovation: Show how your work applies AI in ways the world hasn’t seen before. (Easy, right?!)
Focusing on practical insights: Demonstrate you’ll deliver actionable takeaways, not fluff.
Sharing newsworthy updates: Make your session more compelling by offering to announce any launches or fundraising news on stage.
Creating engaging conversations: Consider co-presenters to deliver dynamic discussions. Especially and always big-name customers!
Hot new AI events
While almost every traditional conference has incorporated AI, several new AI-focused conferences have exploded onto the scene. Cred helps clients decide where to attend, sponsor, and speak, reviewing speaker rosters, program content, and onsite opportunities. Below are the top conferences they think shouldn’t be missed:
Best New Event: HumanX, April 6-9, 2026, San Francisco, 6,500 attendees
Best for Networking: Ai4, August 4-6, 2026, Las Vegas, NV, 12k attendees
Best for Early-Stage Cos: GenAI Week, July 2026, Santa Clara, 30k attendees
Best for Developers: NVIDIA GTC, March 16-19, San Jose, CA, 25k attendees
Best for Media Coverage: Fortune Brainstorm AI SF, Dec 8-9, 300 top-tier
Honorary Mentions: Cerebral Valley, AI Summit NY, The AIConference, MIT AI, and TedAI.
Read below for the details on each.
Best New Event: HumanX
AI conferences have exploded, but none made a bigger first splash than HumanX. Created by the team behind Money20/20, HLTH, and Shoptalk, its 2025 debut drew the who’s who of AI and earned rave reviews for high-caliber networking. The momentum continues in 2026 (April 6–9, San Francisco) with an even stronger lineup of enterprise leaders, VCs, and innovators shaping the industry’s future. Expect 6,500+ attendees (75% VP-level or higher) and 300+ media, with programming focused on how AI is transforming commerce, culture, and society. If you want to be in the room with some of the brightest minds in AI, this is it.
Best for Networking: Ai4
Launched in 2018 as an “AI in Finance” event, Ai4 has evolved into a global cross-industry gathering for innovators and executives. Whether you’re advancing your career or closing your next deal, it’s the place to connect. The 2026 conference (August 4–6, Las Vegas) features dozens of co-located summits—from Startups & VCs to AI Policy and Diversity in AI—plus nonstop meetups that foster high-value introductions. Expect 12,000+ attendees from 85+ countries exploring the latest in AI agents, generative AI, and the AI best practices shaping the future.
Best for Early-Stage Companies: GenAI Week
New to the game and looking for where to even begin? This flagship event (July 2026, Santa Clara) brings together early-stage founders, investors, and builders for five days of pitching, learning, and connection. Idea- and seed-stage teams can pitch directly to top-tier VCs while exploring live demos, exhibits, and peer-led sessions designed to spark momentum. With 30,000+ attendees, 400 speakers, 300 exhibitors, and 1,000 investors, GenAI Week blends startup energy with real deal flow—an unmatched launchpad for new AI ventures. The week also offers a high-impact stage to experience breakthrough demos (like Tesla’s RoboTaxi debut, Alef’s flying electric car, and Unitree’s humanoid robots) and engage in cutting-edge talks and workshops
Best for Developers: NVIDIA GTC
It’s one thing to have big ideas, but it takes crazy talented developers to turn those ideas into reality. Dubbed the “Super Bowl of AI” by The New York Times, NVIDIA GTC is where developers suit up to play on the industry’s biggest field. With both visionary keynotes, deep-dive technical sessions, and hands-on training, it’s a great opportunity to roll your sleeves up and learn where the industry is really going next. In 2025, it drew 25,000 in-person attendees, 300,000 virtual participants, and 400+ exhibitors, setting a high bar for 2026. Hosted March 16–19 in San Jose, GTC remains the premier event for developers, researchers, business leaders, and creators shaping the frontier of accelerated computing.
Best for Media Visibility: Fortune Brainstorm AI SF
Can’t quite book an interview with the press? Try going to the source. At Fortune Brainstorm AI SF, you don’t just hear reporters on stage—you sit across from them. Interactive sessions and editor-led networking make it one of the rare events offering direct access to Fortune journalists and other top-tier media. The 2025 conference (December 8–9, San Francisco) will convene 300 technologists, Fortune 500 executives, investors, and policymakers to tackle AI’s most pressing questions in this pivotal moment. If shaping the story matters as much as hearing it, this is your event.
Honorary Mentions
There are countless AI events on the horizon, so to help you round out your calendar, we’ve also highlighted five additional gatherings drawing some of the industry’s most influential speakers and thought leaders.
Cerebral Valley: November 12 | San Francisco, CA
Organized by the popular Newcomer outlet, Cerebral Valley connects an application-only audience of venture-backed AI founders, leading venture firms, technology executives, and members of the media. It’s an intimate gathering, making a great environment for networking.
AI Summit NY: December 10-11 | New York, NY
The AI Summit New York 2025 will bring together over 5,000 attendees, including enterprise leaders, technologists, and innovators, to explore the practical applications of artificial intelligence. Held at the Javits Center, the summit features multiple content stages, immersive workshops, live demos, and a startup & investor village.
The AI Conference: September 2026 | San Francisco, CA
The AI Conference draws engineers, researchers, executives, and founders to explore the cutting edge of AI, covering everything from foundation models, AGI, and infrastructure to ethics, regulation, and applied use cases. It stands out for its combination of deep technical content and its ability to bring together top experts and emerging innovators in one space, fostering collaboration between research, industry, and investment.
TED AI: October | San Francisco, CA
TEDAI brings together 1000+ global AI leaders, innovators, and creators for TED Talks, panels, and immersive experiences exploring the transformative impact of AI. The event also features a 48-hour hackathon, fostering collaboration and bold ideas at the forefront of AI innovation.
MIT AI Conference: October | Mountain View, CA
The MIT AI Conference brings together 500+ industry leaders, researchers, and innovators to explore how AI is shaping the future of work, knowledge, and technology. Benefit from interactive formats—TIM Talks, startup lightning pitches, and collaborative workshops—that foster a hands-on, community-driven experience.
What other new conferences have you prioritized?
Huge thanks to Caitlin Bartley from Cred for sharing her insider perspective. You can learn more about her team’s event management and speaker placement work at www.credpr.com.
Carilu Dietrich is a former CMO, most notably the head of marketing who took Atlassian public. She currently advises CEOs and CMOs of high-growth tech companies. Carilu helps leaders operationalize the chaos of scale, see around corners, and improve marketing and company performance.
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Great list! The timing was amazing as we're exploring our 2026 conference planning. I talked to HumanX last. It sounded like their initial conference this year was a smash-hit.
I live in NJ so I am lucky to be close to both NYC and Philadelphia- especially because I've been job searching (for over four years, though I've been Lead Marketing Associate of a civic tech not for profit organization officially for three years as of yesterday, and we started part time and remote with the promise we would go full time on salary when we launched in January 2023. Three years later and we are still part time, and the majority of the money they do have and initial exposure they received such as the founder’s first guest podcast appearance and our first networking event were all my doing, thanks to my excellent marketing, communications, PR, outreach, admin, operations, project management, and fundraising/nonprofit skills and knowledge. I am only still with them because I have yet to find anything else; I am hoping to find something hybrid that’ll allow me to relocate for a fresh start to wherever fate wants me to go (though I’m leaning towards the suburban Philadelphia area; I’m really open to anywhere however). Of course fully remote is fine too, and I’d even consider fully onsite.
On November 6-7, I’m attending the GURU conference for email marketing that is virtual and a lot of big names in marketing will be speaking as well as some big names from entertainment including Nicole Kidman, Flava Flav, and Nick Lachey, so I am excited about that, especially because two major names in nonprofit/impact marketing will be speaking. But I’d love to go to an in person event and am going to look into the AI Summit in NYC- I just feel awkward going alone and wish I had someone in the field to go with me. Thanks for sharing this list with us- if you or anyone reading this knows of any upcoming events related to AI, marketing, communications, branding, project management, and/or writing in general, and/or events/conferences for those working in the nonprofit/social impact/mission driven/impact and cause marketing fields or civic engagement/civic tech/legal marketing/legal tech that is virtual or in NYC, Philadelphia, or somewhere in driving distance like Boston, please let me know!