As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in the workplace, it is also changing how organizations think about collaboration. That conversation will take center stage at InfoComm 2026, where Microsoft executive Ilya Bukshteyn is set to deliver a keynote speech on the topic.
Bukshteyn, corporate vice president of Microsoft Teams Calling, Devices, and Premium Experiences at Microsoft, has spent more than 30 years at the company. Today, he oversees Microsoft’s collaboration ecosystem, including Teams Phone, Teams Rooms, Teams Events, Mesh, and Teams Premium.
He recently sat down with AVIXA to discuss how AI is becoming more integrated into daily operations, why hybrid work is no longer a temporary solution, and what all of it means for the future of collaboration spaces and the AV industry supporting them.
From the Background to the Forefront
For Bukshteyn, one of the biggest changes has been how quickly AI has evolved from a background feature into something more active in how people communicate and collaborate. Not long ago, most people associated AI with transcription, noise suppression, or automatic framing during video calls. Now, organizations are beginning to use it in ways that feel much more connected to the flow of work itself.
“It is quickly becoming both, and that’s one of the most exciting shifts to be a part of,” he said when asked whether AI should be viewed as a tool or a collaborator.
Bukshteyn describes the current moment as the beginning of an “agentic co-worker” era, where AI goes beyond simple prompts and starts assisting with ongoing tasks throughout the workday.
“We are now entering an era of agentic co-workers,” Bukshteyn said. “AI that supports people by taking on tasks alongside us, reasons about context, and helps people multiply their impact.”
In practice, that can look like AI preparing meeting briefs ahead of calls, organizing action items during conversations, and helping teams revisit discussions afterward without relying on pages of handwritten notes or lengthy follow-up emails.
Moving Conversations into Action
That evolution is also affecting how companies think about collaboration spaces themselves. Conference rooms are no longer viewed simply as places to hold meetings. Increasingly, they are being designed to support communication between in-room participants, remote attendees, and AI-powered systems operating simultaneously.
According to Bukshteyn, AI is also increasing the value of well-designed meeting spaces because systems can better capture context, identify speakers, frame participants, and help teams move conversations into action more quickly.
For the AV industry, he believes that only reinforces the importance of strong fundamentals.
“That puts a premium on the things our industry has always been excellent at: clear audio, great optics, thoughtful acoustics, and reliable signal flow.”
A Bigger Shift Is Underway
As more organizations adopt AI-enabled collaboration tools, those elements directly affect how accurately systems can process conversations and generate useful recaps afterward. Poor audio or inconsistent camera coverage no longer just creates frustrating meetings; it can also limit how effective AI tools are inside the room.
Bukshteyn added that those traditional AV foundations are now being paired with newer AI capabilities built into Microsoft Teams, including Facilitator in Microsoft 365 Copilot, which helps organize meetings and manage follow-up tasks.
Still, he said, one of the larger changes happening inside organizations involves how workplace data is beginning to influence broader business decisions.
“Organizations are starting to use intelligence to shape decisions about their real estate footprint.”
Effects on Hybrid Work
That conversation is happening alongside the continued reality of hybrid work, which Bukshteyn believes is firmly established despite ongoing return-to-office efforts.
“People are coming back to the office, but work itself remains distributed across geographies, time zones, and partner organizations,” he said. “Hybrid is the new permanent normal, and the bar has gone up.”
Companies are now paying closer attention to whether remote employees can fully participate in meetings instead of simply logging into them. In Bukshteyn’s view, meeting equity has become one of the biggest expectations in modern collaboration.
“The expectation today is that anyone joining remotely should be able to see and be seen, hear and be heard, and contribute on equal footing with the people in the room.”
AI is already helping address some of those gaps inside Microsoft Teams Rooms. Bukshteyn pointed to Cloud IntelliFrame, which creates individual frames for in-room attendees so remote participants can see them more clearly, along with speaker attribution technology that identifies speakers by name inside transcripts and meeting recaps.
He also noted that some of AI’s most useful contributions happen behind the scenes.
“What may not be as obvious is how AI improves audio, removes noise, and helps IT teams keep thousands of rooms healthy through the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal.”
From Efficiency Gains to Workflow Transformation
For organizations managing offices across multiple cities or regions, those operational improvements can make a noticeable difference. AI-powered monitoring tools can help identify technical issues faster, simplify room management, and reduce the amount of time IT teams spend troubleshooting recurring problems.
“The first thing that stands out to me is just how quickly people are putting AI to work on higher-value tasks they could not have tackled a year ago.”
According to Bukshteyn, Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found that 66% of AI users say the technology has freed them up for more meaningful work, while nearly 60% say it helps them create things they would not have been able to produce before.
More than anything, he believes the larger challenge for organizations is no longer the technology itself but how teams adapt their workflows and workplace culture around it.
Bukshteyn refers to this as the “Transformation Paradox,” explaining that the companies seeing the most success with AI are often the ones that have adjusted how their teams collaborate rather than simply adopting the newest tools.
For the AV industry, he sees that as a significant opportunity as companies continue reevaluating how collaboration spaces support both employees and AI-powered workflows.
He also believes AI is changing expectations around productivity and follow-through after meetings end. Features like Copilot meeting recaps and searchable transcripts are already becoming part of many teams’ daily routines.
For employees balancing packed schedules and back-to-back meetings, those tools can cut down on time spent reviewing notes, searching for follow-up details, or piecing conversations back together later. Bukshteyn said he personally relies on audio and video recaps when traveling or catching up on meetings he missed while away from the office.
“None of those are speculative,” he said. “They are live in-product today.”
Practical Next Steps
Beyond the technology itself, Bukshteyn said there are practical steps organizations and integrators can take now to improve collaboration environments. That includes standardizing certified Teams Rooms devices, enabling features already built into the platform, and designing rooms with meeting equity in mind from the beginning.
He also pointed to Microsoft’s Room Builder tool, which helps organizations plan Teams Rooms environments with recommendations for layouts, devices, and equipment based on room size and collaboration needs.
For AV integrators, Bukshteyn sees that as an opportunity to play a larger role as organizations continue adapting offices around hybrid work and AI-enabled collaboration.
At InfoComm 2026, Bukshteyn said he wants attendees to walk away with a clearer understanding of how AI is already being integrated into collaboration workflows today, rather than viewing it only as a future concept.
“We will show concrete examples of AI in Teams reducing friction, capturing context, and helping teams move from discussion to action faster.”
He also emphasized the role AV professionals and integrators continue to play in shaping collaboration technology moving forward.
“Teams Rooms did not become a category on its own; we built it together with our partners, and the next chapter of the AI-powered workplace will be built the same way.”
If there is one idea Bukshteyn hopes attendees take away from the keynote, it is a reminder that even as AI becomes more embedded into workplace technology, the human side of collaboration still matters most.
“The most important room in the AI era is still the one with people in it.”