Wordly Predicts Engagement and Accessibility are Poised to Reshape Events in 2026
The Californer/10337611

LOS ALTOS, Calif. - Californer -- Last year was pivotal for events and trade shows, defined by rising production costs, growing audience expectations, and increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable value to attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors. As competition for attention intensified, organizers were forced to rethink how events deliver participation and relevance without expanding teams or budgets.

As the events industry navigated these challenges, Wordly (http://www.wordly.ai/), the pioneer in AI live translation (https://www.wordly.ai/live-translation) and captions, reached several significant milestones that positioned the company to better support events in 2026. The company surpassed 5 million users (https://www.wordly.ai/blog/wordly-5-million-use...), expanded to 4,000+ customer organizations (https://www.wordly.ai/blog/wordly-surpasses-400...), and was named to the Inc. 5000 list (https://www.inc.com/inc5000/2025), while celebrating its sixth anniversary (https://www.wordly.ai/blog/6-years-of-ai-innovation-how-wordly-is-redefining-live-translation).

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Wordly also launched key advancements, including AI Summaries (https://www.wordly.ai/ai-summarizer), AI voice transcripts and AI dubbing (https://www.wordly.ai/voice-transcripts), an ROI Calculator (https://www.wordly.ai/roi-calculator), and compliance resources (https://www.wordly.ai/resources/compliance) for ADA/US DOJ Final Rule, California SB 707, and the European Accessibility Act.

Looking ahead, Wordly AI translation Founder & CEO Lakshman Rathnam predicts that in 2026  AI will become core event infastructure as attendees expect instant, readable access.

While many event teams experimented with AI this year, 2026 will mark a shift toward operational reliance driven by speed and budget pressure. Attendees will increasingly expect immediate access to content, especially the ability to read live captions, pushing organizers to embed AI into the core event stack.

"People already consume content by reading captions," said Rathnam. "In 2026, attendees will expect that same experience at events. Live captions will become a standard way audiences follow sessions, stay engaged in busy environments, and absorb complex information, whether or not translation is needed."

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Wordly enables this shift by delivering live AI captions and translation across sessions and rooms through a single platform. AI voice transcripts (https://www.wordly.ai/voice-transcripts) and (https://www.wordly.ai/voice-transcripts) AI dubbing (https://www.wordly.ai/voice-transcripts) will also allow organizers to quickly repurpose event content for marketing, training, and on-demand use, without adding production time or complexity.

About Wordly
Wordly is the pioneer and leader in AI translation, providing a high-quality, secure, easy-to-use, and affordable live AI translation and caption solution for communicating across multiple languages. Wordly translates dozens of languages in real time, making in-person and virtual meetings and events more inclusive, accessible, and engaging. For more information, visit www.wordly.ai.