If 2025 was the year of piloting generative AI and formalizing value stream thinking, 2026 will be about scaling responsibly—embedding AI in day‑to‑day ITIL practices, measuring human experience alongside SLAs, and making omnichannel service truly seamless. Drawing on PeopleCert’s Ambassador insights (GenAI, VSM, total experience) and broader community trend polls (governance, advanced capabilities, people), this forward‑looking guide translates signals from 2024–2025 into concrete 2026 plays for CIOs, Heads of ITSM, and GCC leaders. [peoplecert.org], [itsm.tools]
2026 Macro View: Industry 5.0 matures—human‑centric digital at scale
PeopleCert’s 2025 predictions captured an industry split between Industry 4.0 (automation, IoT, cloud, data) and Industry 5.0 (human‑centric, resilient, sustainable). In 2026, expect enterprises to operationalize the human‑centric part with experience‑aware service design, ethical AI governance, and sustainability‑aligned ITSM decisions (e.g., optimizing change windows to reduce energy loads during peak hours). [peoplecert.org]
ITSM community polls for 2025 already elevated governance (including AI governance) to the top trend, signaling that scale is impossible without controls. 2026 continues that trajectory—policies, XLAs, and audit trails become table stakes as AI shifts from experimentation to everyday operations. [itsm.tools]
Trend #1: GenAI “in production”—governed, measurable, and multi‑model
What changes in 2026?
- From single LLM pilots to “mixture of experts.” Enterprises combine an LLM with retrieval, analytics, and specialized models to improve accuracy, reduce hallucination, and optimize cost. PeopleCert’s Mastering ITSM AI Solutions series outlines how multi‑model architectures drive workflow automation and cost control in IT operations—expect these to become standard patterns. [peoplecert.org]
- From content co‑creation to embedded ITIL practice augmentation. AI assists Incident triage, Problem trend detection, and Change template generation with human‑in‑the‑loop approvals. [peoplecert.org]
- From “hype” to value evidence. 2025 reports emphasized measurable ROI and rising trust among IT pros; 2026 focuses on run‑time SLAs, XLAs, and audit logs that prove AI actually improved flow, reliability, and experience. [peoplecert.org]
2026 GenAI playbook (ITIL alignment)
- Incident Management: AI proposes likely causes using historical ticket clusters, recommends KB articles, and drafts communication updates. Human approver signs off before mass notifications. [peoplecert.org]
- Problem Management: AI flags recurring patterns across services, links incidents to known errors, and drafts root‑cause narratives for review. [peoplecert.org]
- Change Enablement: AI generates change plans and risk scoring using dependency data; CAB reviews are augmented with model explainability reports. [peoplecert.org]
KPIs
- MTTR delta (AI‑assisted vs. baseline)
- % tickets resolved first‑contact with AI suggestions
- Drift/error rate in AI outputs vs. gold‑standard runbooks
- Model audit coverage (explainability, bias checks, retraining cadence)
Trend #2: Value Stream Management—beyond pilots to enterprise flow
PeopleCert’s 2025 list moved VSM to the spotlight; 2026 is about institutionalizing VSM across product teams, DevOps, and ITSM. That means shared flow metrics and governance that connect demand → build → release → support → feedback. [peoplecert.org]
Community sources echo the push toward advanced ITSM capabilities and value demonstration—areas VSM directly addresses by making outcomes observable beyond ticket volumes. Expect DORA‑style flow metrics, error budgets, and experience measures to co‑exist on a single enterprise scorecard. [itsm.tools]
VSM rollout moves (2026)
- Stream mapping at portfolio level: Not just two pilot streams; map core customer journeys and internal service journeys (e.g., Employee Onboarding, Device Lifecycle). [peoplecert.org]
- Unified ceremonies: Calendarize joint standups and reviews across Product/DevOps/ITSM so incidents feed forward into backlog improvements. [itsm.tools]
- Outcome‑first objectives: Tie value streams to revenue protection, risk reduction, and user satisfaction. Publish a monthly Value Stream Scorecard (see KPIs below).
Trend #3: Total Experience & Omnichannel—XLAs go mainstream
PeopleCert’s Ambassadors expect total experience and omnichannel to keep growing; 2026 is the year XLAs become first‑class commitments alongside SLAs. This means:
- Context carry‑over across chat, email, phone, and portals—no repeated storytelling; state and history follow the user. [peoplecert.org]
- Proactive service: AI‑driven recommendations appear during interactions to reduce effort (Net Easy Score improves). [peoplecert.org]
- Experience observability: Real‑time sentiment feeds into XLAs, complementing uptime metrics—reflecting the ITIL shift toward user‑centric value referenced in 2025 analyses. [itce.com]
Experience KPIs (2026)
- Net Easy Score (requestor + agent)
- Channel‑switch abandonment rate
- Time‑to‑first‑meaningful response (beyond “acknowledged”)
- % interactions with personalized recommendations that lead to resolution
2026 Risk & Governance: Responsible AI, resilience, and auditability
Across 2025 reports and masterclasses, AI governance and people factors (attitude, behavior, culture) rose to the top. In 2026, regulators and boards expect policy clarity, audit trails, and resilience drills:
- AI governance blueprint: Approved use cases, data scopes, human‑in‑the‑loop checkpoints, and model audit logs (bias, explainability, retraining). [peoplecert.org]
- XLAs + SLAs dual scorecards: Measure performance and experience together; publish quarterly to leadership. [itce.com]
- Operational resilience: Continue war‑gaming incident scenarios and testing rollback/DR plans—community reflections in 2025 underline renewed attention to incident readiness. [adaptavist.com]
Governance KPIs
- % ITIL practices covered by AI policy & human oversight
- Audit pass rate; number of corrective actions closed
- DR test cadence; mean recovery time in simulated outages
Regional Lens: What 2026 means for Indian GCCs & global enterprises
For Indian Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and multi‑location enterprises:
- Skill lift with AI augmentation: Use GenAI to accelerate ITSM maturity without linear headcount growth; invest in explainability and secure data boundaries. [peoplecert.org]
- VSM across geographies: Stream‑level governance and common metrics reduce handoff friction and improve global reliability. [peoplecert.org]
- Total experience alignment: As GCCs support internal and external lines of business, omnichannel consistency and XLAs reinforce stakeholder trust. [peoplecert.org]
120‑Day Launch Plan for 2026
Days 1–30: Foundations & Policy
- Publish/refresh AI usage policy (approved use cases, data controls, human review, audit logs). [peoplecert.org]
- Baseline experience metrics (effort, sentiment, omnichannel continuity) and flow metrics (lead time, change failure rate). [itce.com], [itsm.tools]
- Identify portfolio‑level value streams and name accountable owners.
Days 31–60: Pilots & Enablement
- Stand up mixture‑of‑experts GenAI pilots in Incident and Knowledge Management (guardrails on). [peoplecert.org]
- Launch XLAs for portal + chat with sentiment instrumentation. [itce.com]
- Formalize joint ceremonies for two streams (Product + DevOps + ITSM).
Days 61–120: Scale & Report
- Extend AI augmentation to Problem and Change Enablement (add model explainability reports to CAB packs). [peoplecert.org]
- Implement context carry‑over across channels and proactive KB surfacing. [peoplecert.org]
- Publish the first Value Stream Scorecards (flow + experience + resilience) and review with leadership. [itsm.tools]
Scorecards & KPIs to track each quarter
Flow & Reliability (VSM + DevOps + ITSM)
- Lead time (request → value)
- Deployment frequency; change failure rate; rollback frequency
- MTTR (AI‑assisted vs. baseline), % Problem tickets resolved via pattern detection
Experience (Total Experience + XLAs)
- Net Easy Score; agent/requestor sentiment trend
- Omnichannel continuity % (no repeated context)
- Self‑service resolution rate with “helpful” confirmation (not just deflection)
Governance & Resilience
- AI policy coverage across practices; human‑review adherence
- Audit pass rate and remediation lead time
- DR test cadence; mean recovery time and communication quality scores
FAQs
Q1: How do we avoid “AI hype” in 2026?
Anchor AI initiatives in ITIL practices with human‑in‑the‑loop checkpoints, track MTTR/XLAs, and require explainability reports for CAB decisions. This approach reflects best practices from PeopleCert masterclasses and 2025 trend guidance. [peoplecert.org], [itsm.tools]
Q2: Is VSM just for DevOps?
No—VSM spans demand to support. Integrate ITSM ceremonies and experience metrics into value streams to close the loop on reliability and user outcomes, in line with 2025 predictions and community priorities. [peoplecert.org], [itsm.tools]
Q3: Are XLAs replacing SLAs?
XLAs complement SLAs. 2026’s goal is a dual scorecard—performance + experience—consistent with ITIL’s value focus and emerging industry guidance. [itce.com]
Q4: What is the biggest ITSM trend for 2026?
Responsible GenAI adoption at scale, enterprise-wide VSM, and total experience with omnichannel continuity are the top three trends.
Q5: How will GenAI impact ITIL practices in 2026?
GenAI will augment Incident, Problem, and Change Enablement with predictive insights, automated templates, and knowledge orchestration—under strict governance.
Q6: What does “total experience” mean for ITSM?
It’s a unified approach combining customer, employee, and partner experiences across all channels, measured by XLAs and sentiment metrics.
Q7: How do XLAs improve ITSM outcomes?
XLAs measure effort, clarity, and satisfaction, ensuring ITSM delivers human-centric value beyond uptime and resolution speed.
Q8: What governance measures are critical for AI in ITSM?
AI usage policies, bias audits, explainability reports, and human-in-the-loop checkpoints are essential for compliance and trust.
Q9: How can organizations start with VSM in 2026?
Map end-to-end streams, define flow metrics (lead time, failure rate), and integrate ITSM with DevOps ceremonies for shared objectives.
Q10: Will GenAI replace ITSM professionals?
No. AI augments human expertise, automating repetitive tasks while humans handle judgment, governance, and complex decision-making.
Conclusion: 2026 will reward responsible scale
Signals from 2025—GenAI adoption curves, VSM prioritization, and total experience momentum—set the stage for 2026. Success hinges on governed AI, enterprise‑level value streams, and experience‑aware operations. Build dual scorecards, design omnichannel continuity, and treat human oversight as a feature, not a constraint.