Google Cloud Next 2026 Highlights Agentic AI and Data Readiness

The conference takes place each year and showcases Google Cloud’s latest innovations while drawing enterprise leaders, developers, and partners. This year’s focus shifts from basic generative AI questions to building autonomous agents that can act with minimal human oversight. Attendees will hear from Google executives and industry experts about practical deployment, compliance, and the role of strategic partnerships. Attendees can also visit CDW’s booth on the expo floor to see live demos of AI agents moving from pilot to practice. The booth will host a session on integrating agents with existing workflows and measuring success through clear metrics.

Thomas Kurian will deliver the opening keynote on April 22 and may reveal product updates. Arun Sundaram, director of Google services and solutions at CDW, notes that the most effective AI initiatives are business transformation projects requiring clear alignment on who can access and control the technology. He also emphasizes that businesses must supply agents with quality, relevant, contextual data and dismantle data silos to avoid fragmented inputs that hinder performance.

Organizations hear a clear message: adopting agentic AI focuses less on the model and more on readying the data foundation and governance structures. Companies that invest in data quality, define access policies, and break down silos position themselves to move agents from pilot to production faster. The conference will also highlight audit trails, security controls, and partnership models that help nontechnical teams manage autonomous systems safely.