The definitive automation guide to Red Hat Summit 2026: Must-attend Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform sessions, talks, and labs

Every organization faces the same pressures: do more with less, move faster, and reduce risk while preparing for an AI-powered future. In this environment, automation is no longer optional—it’s the foundation that makes everything else possible.

That’s why at Red Hat Summit 2026 (May 11–14 in Atlanta), we’re showcasing automation that is more accessible, intelligent, and impactful. With nearly 100 sessions, talks, and hands-on labs featuring real-world customer transformations, building the perfect agenda can feel overwhelming. 

To help you navigate, we’ve curated the definitive list of "must-attend" sessions for anyone headed to Atlanta with automation top of mind.

Block these on your calendar now before slots fill up!

1. The "big five": Key sessions for every attendee

If you only have room for a few sessions, make it these. These core sessions cover the roadmap, the technology, and the vision for Ansible Automation Platform.

• Product spotlight: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform See how Marriott and TD Bank have evolved from manual scripts to intelligent, self-healing infrastructure.
• The Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Roadmap Get a first look at new workflow tooling designed for the demands of AI-accelerated IT.
• What's New in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Explore zero trust governance, return on investment (ROI) visibility, and the new in-platform developer experience.
• Evolving for the next generation of IT operations with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Learn how to support agentic AI using a reimagined workflow orchestration engine.
• Unlock AI-driven automation: From AIOps insights to trusted action See how to close the loop between AIOps signals and governed, event-driven remediation.

2. Customize your journey: Key focus areas

Modern automation doesn't happen in a vacuum. The most successful organizations don’t just pick one path—they mix and match across these areas to build a well-rounded strategy.

Bring these same principles to building your automation agenda. These focus areas can be a starting point to bridge the gap between technical capability, intelligent operations, and organizational scale.

Adoption at scale

For those looking to get automation into the right hands safely and efficiently.

• Hands-on lab:  From first report to self-healing. Walk the full automator journey, end to end.
• Breakout: Develop Ansible content faster with MCP server via Ansible VS Code Extension. The MCP-powered developer experience, live and in action.
• Lightning talk: Self-service automation development: VS Code Dev Containers for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. How the state of Missouri ships Ansible Automation Platform faster with VS Code Dev Containers.

AI-powered automation (AIOps)

For those moving from reactive scripts to intelligent, trusted action.

• Breakout: Close the loop from Splunk insight to automated action with Event-Driven Ansible. How Splunk and Event-Driven Ansible close the loop.
• Customer session: Creating a custom agentic AI chatbot with Event-Driven Ansible to optimize workflow automation. The future of conversational workflow automation.
• Interactive lab: Unlocking the agentic future of AIOps with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. Context-aware remediation in hybrid environments.

Modern IT operations

For those unifying tasks, events, and AI-driven automation under one deliberate governance model.

• Breakout: AIOps meets agentic automation. How ServiceNow and Red Hat transform IT operations end to end.
• Customer session: How Swift automated Ansible Playbook upgrades while strengthening security and compliance. Stronger security, faster playbook upgrades.
• Interactive lab: Demystifying Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform on Red Hat OpenShift. Hands-on troubleshooting, no black boxes.

3. Automation in action: Use cases

The following use case-specific sessions are designed to show you how Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform delivers tangible value across your organization's most critical functions. From keeping your network humming to safely managing your cloud footprint, these examples move beyond theory into real-world application. 

Choose the areas most relevant to your current challenges to see automation in action.

• Network automation: Lightning Talk, Real-Time NetOps. How Event-Driven Ansible and your network source of truth deliver policy-driven responses to network changes as they happen
• Cloud: Breakout, Scalable, multi-OS automation with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Service on AWS. How Ansible Automation Platform simplifies scalable, multi-OS automation across Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• AIOps: Lightning Talk, Using machine learning to convert legacy scripts to Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. How Blue Cross Blue Shield South Carolina is using machine learning (ML) to modernize automation at speed.
• Infrastructure: Breakout, Introducing automated RHEL upgrades with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. How Ansible Automation Platform makes Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) upgrades at scale consistent, repeatable, and virtually hands-free.
• Security: Interactive Lab, Implementing zero trust with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. Apply least-privilege access and policy-driven security directly inside Ansible Automation Platform.

Looking to go deeper?  Explore our full catalog agenda that includes breakout sessions, lightning talks, roadmaps, and hands-on labs. 

Resources 

Check out the Red Hat Summit 2026 page and register now!