InfoComm 2026 Recap: AI Everywhere and a Record End-User Share

For the pro AV industry, InfoComm is the annual reckoning, the week when integrators, manufacturers, and end users gather to see what the convergence of audio, video, IT, and data actually looks like on a show floor. The 2026 edition, back in Las Vegas after 2025's Orlando run, told a more nuanced story than a single attendance headline can carry.

The top-line number was down. InfoComm 2026 recorded 28,132 verified attendees, a 9.2% decline from the 30,998 verified in Orlando in 2025. But the composition of the crowd moved in the opposite direction from the headcount. End users made up 37% of verified attendees, a record for the show, up from 35% in Orlando in 2025 and just 29% at the 2024 Las Vegas edition. In a channel-heavy industry, a rising end-user share means a larger portion of the audience were professionals buying or specifying systems for their own organizations. For exhibitors, that is the number that matters more than the gross gate.

Here's the full breakdown of what happened at InfoComm 2026, what it means for AV professionals, and what exhibitors should carry into their 2027 planning.

---

InfoComm 2026 at a Glance

---

What were the key highlights of InfoComm 2026?

The standout highlights from InfoComm 2026 were a record 37% end-user share of the audience (up from 35% in 2025), artificial intelligence as the defining theme across keynotes, education, and exhibitor demonstrations, four immersive on-floor activations built around the workplace, live events, and retail, the debut of a dedicated Media Day, and the industry launch of RESIDE, a new residential-integration event arriving alongside InfoComm 2027 in Orlando. Total attendance dipped to 28,132 verified, but the show's audience skewed more heavily toward buyers than in any recent year.

---

Attendance: smaller total, record end-user share

The most important thing to understand about InfoComm 2026 is that a lower attendance number did not mean a weaker show, because of who showed up.

AVIXA reported 28,132 verified attendees against 35,707 total registrants. The verified figure was down 9.2% from the 2025 Orlando edition. AVIXA did not identify a specific cause in its official post-show report, although industry coverage pointed to tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, and softer international travel as possible factors. The number of countries represented declined slightly, from 97 in 2025 to 94 in 2026, while the international share of the audience actually edged up from 18% to 20%. In other words, this was not a story of collapsing international attendance so much as a softer overall gate.

The offsetting story is audience quality. End users, the corporate, education, government, and enterprise buyers who actually specify and purchase AV systems, reached 37% of verified attendees, the highest share in the show's recent history. That continues a clear multi-year climb: 29% at Las Vegas 2024, 35% at Orlando 2025, and 37% at Las Vegas 2026.

What this means for exhibitors: A show that trades gross attendance for a richer end-user mix is a better show to sell at, not a worse one. If your 2026 booth metrics looked light on badge scans but heavy on qualified conversations, that is consistent with the show's stronger end-user concentration. The right 2027 KPI is qualified end-user conversations, not total scans.

AVIXA also leaned harder into engagement formats this year, with leadership calling it the most interactive InfoComm they have produced. Four immersive activations anchored that claim, alongside Vision Stage and Spotlight Stage programming on the show floor.

---

AI at InfoComm 2026: the defining theme, floor to keynote

If there was a single organizing idea for InfoComm 2026, it was artificial intelligence, and unlike some events where AI lives only in the keynote hall, at InfoComm it ran across workplace collaboration, content creation, customer experience, and back-of-house operations.

AVIXA formalized the theme with new AI Accelerator programming, and the two headline keynotes put AI at the center of the industry's biggest platform conversations:

• Ilya Bukshteyn, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President for Teams Calling, Meetings and Devices, spoke on AI-powered communication and collaboration, a major area of enterprise AV investment.
• Espen Løberg, Cisco's VP and GM for Collaboration Devices, presented the company's "Connected Intelligence" vision for how devices, rooms, and AI services stitch together.

The AI conversation on the floor was less about novelty and more about applied workflows: AI-enabled collaboration and workplace analytics in meeting spaces, AI-driven content and signage in retail and experiential environments, and automation in broadcast and live-production toolchains. Across the education program of more than 300 sessions, AI was treated as an operating assumption rather than a future capability.

---

The four immersive activations: experience as the pitch

The clearest expression of AVIXA's "most interactive" ambition was a set of four built-out, experiential activations on the show floor, a departure from the traditional wall-of-booths format and a preview of how the association wants exhibitors to demonstrate technology in context:

• Smart Workplace (powered by FORTÉ): a working environment showcasing integrated meeting technology, AI-enabled collaboration, and workplace analytics.
• The Pitch (powered by Diversified): focused on sports, broadcast, live events, and fan engagement, reflecting the growing overlap between pro AV and live-event production.
• Retail Experience (with Bluesound Professional, BrightSign, Poppulo, and Samsung): an applied look at AI, digital signage, and customer engagement in retail settings.
• AVIXA TV: a live, working broadcast studio running real production workflows on the show floor.

The common thread is technology shown as an outcome in a realistic setting, not as a spec sheet at a counter. For exhibitors, the activations signal where booth strategy is going: buyers increasingly want to see a system solving a problem in a believable environment.

---

Education, keynotes, and certification

Beyond the two AI-centered platform keynotes, InfoComm 2026's marquee session was the AVIXA Women's Breakfast, featuring Peabody Award-winning journalist Mariana Atencio on "Real Matters: Building Trust in an Unreal World," a pointed topic for an industry increasingly shaped by synthetic media and AI-generated content.

The education program remained a core reason end users travel to InfoComm, with more than 300 sessions spanning AI, workplace technology, broadcast AV, digital signage, enterprise IT, collaboration, experience design, and integrated systems. Certification, a distinctive InfoComm draw, continued on-site: dozens of professionals earned CTS, CTS-D, and CTS-I credentials during the week, adding to an industry base of more than 15,800 CTS holders.

---

Selected rAVe Best of InfoComm 2026 winners

InfoComm's various Best of Show programs, run independently by the industry's trade publications, are the fastest read on what landed on the floor. rAVe's judging panel recognized products across displays, audio, collaboration, AV-over-IP, software, and application-specific solutions. A selection of rAVe Best of InfoComm 2026 winners:

Other publishers ran their own award programs, and a few themes ran across all of them:

• IP media standards matured. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) received three Best of Show awards for its IPMX open standard, from AV Technology, Sound & Video Contractor, and rAVe Publications, a signal that standards-based AV-over-IP is moving from debate to deployment.
• Projection got smarter. Appotronics' AIMapper won a ProjectorCentral Best of Show for simplifying and scaling projection mapping, and ProjectorCentral also recognized Epson's large-venue 4K laser projector.
• Audio and signal processing kept innovating. AV Technology recognized the AISpeech MA600D Matrix Array Microphone and Cobalt Digital's blueCORE Platform in its Best of Show program.
• LED and MicroLED remained the display battleground, with rAVe wins spread across dvLED, MicroLED, and all-in-one form factors.

---

The structural news: Media Day and the RESIDE expansion

Two developments at InfoComm 2026 mattered more for the show's trajectory than any single product.

Media Day debuted as a dedicated program for press and analysts, built around curated "Future of Work" and "Future of Experience" tours. AVIXA reported that verified media attendance increased 35% year over year during the edition in which Media Day debuted, a meaningful lift in the coverage that drives an exhibitor's off-floor return.

RESIDE moved to center stage. AVIXA announced RESIDE ahead of the show, on May 20, 2026, and used InfoComm 2026 as its industry launchpad. Developed in partnership with HTSA and ProSource, RESIDE is AVIXA's first dedicated event expansion into residential integration. It arrives alongside InfoComm 2027 and co-located Lightapalooza (June 16-18, 2027) under a "3-shows-1-badge" format, extending AVIXA's remit from commercial pro AV into the custom-install and smart-home market. For a show historically defined by boardrooms, stadiums, and lecture halls, a dedicated residential event is a genuine expansion of the audience InfoComm intends to serve.

---

InfoComm 2026 vs 2025: what changed

The clearest contrast is quality over quantity: the 2026 gate was smaller, but denser with end-user buyers and organized around applied AI and experiential demonstration. Where 2025 was a larger show, 2026 was a tighter, buyer-heavy edition that used its programming to point the industry toward AI-driven workflows and new markets.

---

What exhibitors should do differently for 2027

InfoComm 2026 sent clear signals about what is working. For anyone planning 2027 exhibition space in Orlando:

• Measure end-user conversations, not badge scans. With end-user share at a record 37%, the value of the show is in qualified buyer dialogue. Brief your booth staff to qualify for specify-and-purchase authority, and report the show on conversation quality.
• Demonstrate AI in a real workflow. AI was the defining theme, and the strongest booths showed it running, in a meeting room, a signage network, a production pipeline, rather than claiming it on a banner. A live, contextual demo is now the price of entry.
• Design for experience, not just display. The four immersive activations set the standard, demonstrating how technology can be presented as a working solution in a believable environment. If your budget allows, build a scenario, not a shelf.
• Plan for Media Day. Verified media attendance rose 35% in 2026. Exhibitors with a genuine announcement should prepare a clear press hook, supporting assets, and spokesperson availability.
• If you sell into residential, watch RESIDE. The 2027 residential launch opens a new co-located audience under one badge. Custom-install and smart-home brands should evaluate RESIDE early, before the space fills.
• Calculate your ROI before you commit → A buyer-dense show can deliver strong returns, but Orlando 2027 booth space and travel still need to pencil out before you sign.

---

What to expect at InfoComm 2027

Based on the 2026 edition and the wider pro AV landscape:

• AI moves from theme to baseline. The AI Accelerator and floor-wide AI demonstrations of 2026 set an expectation that every 2027 booth will have an applied-AI story. Differentiation will come from integration depth and customer proof, not the AI label itself.
• Residential becomes a genuine second audience. With RESIDE and Lightapalooza co-located under one badge, Orlando 2027 will test whether AVIXA can bring custom-install and smart-home buyers onto the same campus as commercial integrators.
• The return to Orlando could lift the total gate. Orlando drew a larger total attendance in 2025 than Las Vegas managed in 2026. Combined with the expanded three-show format, the venue swing back to Florida gives InfoComm room to grow the overall headcount in 2027.

---

What InfoComm 2026 means for AV professionals

Three takeaways define the week. First, audience quality is the new headline metric: a record 37% end-user share means the industry's flagship event is concentrating buyers even as gross attendance softens, and that is the number exhibitors should optimize for. Second, AI is the operating layer, not the sideshow, running from the Microsoft and Cisco keynotes through the AI Accelerator program to signage, collaboration, and production demos across the floor, with differentiation now hinging on the workflow AI improves rather than the AI label. Third, AVIXA is expanding the definition of pro AV: Media Day deepened the show's press engine, the immersive activations reframed how technology gets demonstrated, and RESIDE gave AVIXA its first dedicated event expansion into residential integration.

InfoComm 2026 was a smaller show than 2025 by headcount. On several measures that matter most to exhibitors - buyer concentration, applied AI, media engagement, and future market reach - it was a more focused and forward-looking edition.

---

FAQs: InfoComm 2026

How many people attended InfoComm 2026?

InfoComm 2026 recorded 28,132 verified attendees from 94 countries, out of 35,707 total registrants. International attendees made up 20% of the total, and end users reached a record 37% share.

When and where was InfoComm 2026?

InfoComm 2026 ran June 13-19, 2026, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the exhibit floor open June 17-19.

Why was InfoComm 2026 attendance down?

Verified attendance fell 9.2% from the 2025 Orlando edition. AVIXA did not identify a specific cause in its official post-show report, although industry coverage pointed to tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, and softer international travel as possible factors. The number of countries represented dipped from 97 to 94, even as the international share of the audience edged up from 18% to 20%. Notably, end-user attendance rose to a record 37%.

What were the main themes of InfoComm 2026?

The dominant theme was artificial intelligence, spanning keynotes, the new AI Accelerator program, and exhibitor demonstrations across workplace collaboration, content creation, retail experience, and operations. Secondary themes were experiential demonstration (four immersive on-floor activations) and market expansion (the debut Media Day and the residential RESIDE launch).

Who were the keynote speakers at InfoComm 2026?

Headline speakers included Ilya Bukshteyn (Microsoft Corporate VP, Teams Calling, Meetings and Devices) on AI-powered collaboration, Espen Løberg (Cisco VP/GM, Collaboration Devices) on "Connected Intelligence," and journalist Mariana Atencio at the AVIXA Women's Breakfast on building trust in an AI-shaped media landscape.

What won Best of Show at InfoComm 2026?

Multiple trade publications ran independent award programs. rAVe's Best of InfoComm winners included the Klvr Charger Pro (Best New Product), Epson EB-XQ2030B 4K laser projector, ViewSonic LDS136-152 all-in-one LED, Magewell Director Plus, and HoverCam Pilot 8. Separately, the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) earned multiple Best of Show awards for its IPMX open standard, Appotronics' AIMapper won a ProjectorCentral Best of Show, and Cobalt Digital's blueCORE won a Future Best of Show award.

What is RESIDE at InfoComm?

RESIDE is a new residential-integration event from AVIXA, developed with HTSA and ProSource and announced in May 2026. It debuts alongside InfoComm 2027, co-located with Lightapalooza under a "3-shows-1-badge" format, and marks AVIXA's first dedicated event expansion into the custom-install and smart-home market.

When and where is InfoComm 2027?

InfoComm 2027 takes place June 12-18, 2027, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, with exhibits open June 16-18. RESIDE and Lightapalooza will be co-located with the event. Visit infocommshow.org for details.

---

Planning for InfoComm 2027?

• 👉 Review the InfoComm 2026 show listing → for venue, dates, and exhibitor details
• 👉 Use our Trade Show ROI Calculator → to size up your exhibit investment before you sign
• 👉 Explore more upcoming pro AV and technology events → for other shows worth your 2027 budget