Lattice at HR Tech 2026

AI changed the odds. Lattice changes the game.

Most booths at HR Tech this year had an AI story to tell. We came with a different question: what happens to your people and your business when the way work gets done changes this fast?

That question shaped everything we brought to the show floor at booth #6435. AI is a people transformation process first, and the technology only sticks when leaders pair it with clear expectations, real change management, and honest conversations.

From the Lattice CPO Council field notes we handed out at the booth to the conversations on stage, over ice cream, and after hours, the week was built around one idea: the human side of AI is the part that decides whether any of it works.

‍This year's theme: From Change to Transformation

HR Tech 2026 took over Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from October 20 to 22 with the theme "From Change to Transformation." It is clear that the conversation has moved on from reacting to disruption, and HR leaders now want to turn this measurable business impact.

That's exactly where our innovation is focused. We put AI inside the moments that matter most for managers and employees. This year that has meant a Lattice AI Agent in 1:1s, bringing personalized coaching and context to every manager-employee conversation. It also means Evidence-based Review Drafts grounded in real data from goals, feedback, and more, and Lattice MCP, which brings performance context into the AI tools your people already use.

We're also helping leaders answer the question we heard most at the conference: is AI actually working? Our workforce intelligence capabilities connect AI to performance outcomes, so people leaders can tie their people strategy to real business results.

The Inside Scoop on AI at Work, with Sol

On Wednesday afternoon we turned our booth into an ice cream social with our friends at Sol. Sophie sat down with Courtney Cherry Ellis, Founding Product Architect at Sol, for "The Inside Scoop on AI at Work," an unscripted conversation about what people leaders are actually experiencing with AI and what's working in the field.

On Wednesday afternoon we turned our booth into an ice cream social with our friends at Sol. Sophie Hurcombe, our Chief People and Operations Officer, sat down with Courtney Cherry Ellis, Founding Product Architect at Sol, for "The Inside Scoop on AI at Work," a conversation about what people leaders are actually experiencing with AI and what's working in the field.

Guests also picked up a copy of "AI at Work: Field Notes from the Lattice CPO Council," a short read on how people leaders are approaching AI transformation in practice.

When the expo hall closed, the conversations kept going. We teamed up with Sparrow and HiBob to host People + AI After Hours, a relaxed evening for people leaders to swap stories over drinks. 

The Human Side of AI: our fireside chat

On Thursday morning, Sophie took the stage in Case Study Theater 2 for "The Human Side of AI: How People Leaders Are Navigating the Shift Without Losing the Human Judgment," joined by Sabrina Matlin, VP of HR Business Partners at Planet. Anusha Bagchi from our account management team moderated. 

Here’s what stuck with us: 

• Clarity beats mandates. Lattice's AI fluency framework doesn't say "you will use AI." It spells out what's expected when you reach for it, including how to be a multiplier by sharing what works and what doesn't. The response from the team was overwhelmingly positive.
• Invest in the middle. Sophie sees roughly 10 to 20 percent of employees as early adopters, about 60 percent who say "show me," and a skeptical 10 percent. Her focus is the 60 percent, connecting them to the early adopters so learnings spread.
• Start from the pain points. Sabrina's team maps a workflow as it runs today, pinpoints the pain points, and only then applies AI where it fits. A feedback loop follows: did it work, and what else do people want? She's also keeping an eye on token costs as usage grows.
• Listen all the time. Both teams run pulse surveys, watch usage, and keep a lively AI knowledge-share channel. Lattice also holds an all-hands every two weeks with live Q&A, where "I don't know, but I'll get back to you" is a perfectly good answer.
• Measure outcomes and not just minutes. Sophie encouraged leaders to go back to the business results they already track, like customer retention or ARR per employee, and ask whether AI is moving them.

"The goal at the end of the day is not to write reviews quicker, it's to make sure people get feedback, they get coaching, they get the support they need." - Sophie Hurcombe

Saving managers time is great, but the real goal is better feedback, delivered sooner, so people know where they stand and can improve in the moment. Sabrina uses AI to fight recency bias, surface what her team did back in the spring, and bias-check her own reviews before she hits submit. Both agreed that a review written entirely by AI is the last thing anyone wants to receive.

We closed with a 30-day challenge for attendees. Sophie's advice: pick one real problem worth solving, start small and visible, and see it through to 100 percent instead of stopping at 90. Sabrina's: listen to your people, acknowledge that this moment is both scary and exciting, and share the "why" instead of shoving AI down their throats. 

Until next year

The biggest lesson from HR Tech is one we keep coming back to: AI is a people change as much as a technology change. The leaders getting it right are the ones who listen, start small, and keep the human moments human.

Thank you to Sophie, Sabrina, Anusha, our partners at Sol, Sparrow, and HiBob, the Lattice team, and everyone who stopped by booth #6435! 

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