“There will soon be more machines in the workforce than humans,” predicts Cisco President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel. The good news is, “that’s how we are going to deliver on the promise of 8 billion people amplified to have the throughput capacity of 80 billion,” Patel told the crowd at the WebexOne conference in San Diego where the networking giant emphasized a message of “connected intelligence” with AI embedded “deeply and natively” across its flagship collaboration platform Webex. During the event, Patel promised smarter meetings, automated tasks and better security and reliability with Webex.

A big reveal was the new RoomOS 26 operating system to power Cisco’s dedicated video collaboration devices (including the Room Series, Desk Series and Boards). Agentic updates include an automated note-taker, an AI camera director that always selects the optimal shot, and a digital workspace advisor that can generate the layout of any meeting space, “unlocking visibility into room dimensions, equipment, and overall set-up efficiency.”

“Cisco is adding AI agents into its Webex platform to take care of automating tasks, summarizing meetings and handling workflows in a bid to keep up with industry giants like Zoom, which recently reinvented itself as an AI-powered productivity ecosystem,” writes TechRadar.

Other news announced at the conference last week includes:

• A Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) that provides robust security on Cisco devices running the Microsoft Teams Rooms experience.
• Webex Suite integrations including Amazon Q index, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Salesforce for agentic workflow automation.
• Zoom for Cisco Rooms allows for native Zoom meetings from Cisco devices.
• Cisco is partnering with GetReal Labs and Pindrop to equip Webex with advanced threat detection to identify deepfakes and synthetic media in real time. General availability is planned for Q1 CY26.

During his presentation, “Patel made big claims, stating ‘Connected Intelligence’ will ‘fundamentally improve how people connect with each other, how they interact with AI, and how AI agents themselves collaborate,’” as quoted in TechRadar.

An always-on virtual receptionist powered by the Webex AI Agent “can automate routine queries, respond to customer questions, and complete tasks like transferring calls or scheduling appointments,” per a Cisco announcement that says controlled availability is forthcoming in Q1 2026.

SiliconANGLE spotlights Cisco devices, suggesting they “are unique in that they are loaded with features beyond a typical device,” with ThousandEyes integration for more convenient  troubleshooting. “They are also loaded with sensors to understand environment conditions,” powered by Nvidia for AI capabilities.