A new era for digital signage
During the recent Yodeck Impact Summit, global leaders shared where they’re placing their bets in digital signage in 2025/2026. Two interactive polls revealed a clear message: The future of digital signage is less about more screens and more about smarter strategies, stronger content, and seamless technology integration. So it’s safe to conclude that if 2023 and 2024 were about catching up with digital transformation, then 2025 and 2026 are shaping up to be about scaling up smartly.
Let’s unpack the data and see what it says about where the industry is heading.
Scaling is the name of the game
When asked to rank what matters most in their 2025–2026 signage strategy, leaders gave “helping scale signage across more teams and locations” the top score – 4.67 out of 6.
That’s a strong signal: Expansion is priority number one.
This points to a maturity shift. Many organizations have already tested digital signage in isolated use cases (internal communications, retail, operations) and are now asking “How do we roll this out across the entire company?”
Scaling means rethinking everything including content workflows, permissions, hardware deployment, and cross-departmental ownership. It’s also a sign of digital signage becoming a true enterprise communications channel, not just a marketing tool.
Smarter content is close behind
Coming in second, “better content strategy” scored 4.40 out of 6, nearly matching scaling in importance.
This reinforces a truth many digital signage veterans know well: technology is only as good as the content it delivers.
The third highest-ranking focus area, “integrating AI or automation” (4.20 out of 6), bridges both polls beautifully.
Leaders see AI not as a buzzword but as a means to simplify operations and boost creative capacity.
Organizations are realizing that scaling without a clear content plan only multiplies inconsistency. In 2026, we can expect to see stronger content governance frameworks, AI-assisted templates, and data-driven storytelling approaches that make content not only faster to produce but also more effective and measurable.
AI takes center stage but in practical ways
When asked separately where AI will have the biggest impact in digital signage, the top answer was “generative content creation” (4.33 out of 6), well above futuristic notions like conversational experiences or real-time personalization.
In other words: AI isn’t replacing content creators. It’s empowering them.
Expect to see AI increasingly used to:
- Generate visual and written content variations for different audiences.
- Automate scheduling and adaptation to local contexts.
- Analyze engagement data and suggest smarter content mixes.
Combined, the two polls tell a clear story: AI’s value lies in making scaling and content strategy more sustainable.
If you’re interested in learning more about AI and digital signage, explore our blog.
Integration over isolation
Another interesting insight comes from the mid-tier priority of “extending signage to web, email, or intranet” (2.87 out of 6) and the AI category “seamless integration with other ecosystems” (3.62 out of 6).
While not at the very top, both show momentum toward unified communication ecosystems, where content flows freely across digital signage, corporate intranets, employee apps, and even email campaigns.
This shift hints at a broader movement: Omnichannel workplace communication, where digital signage becomes just one node in a much larger network.
Monetization and sustainability lag behind. For now
At the bottom of the rankings, we find “monetizing digital screens” (2.27 out of 6) and “reducing environmental impact” (2.20), along with AI’s “sustainability and operational efficiency” (1.76 out of 6).
It’s not that these issues aren’t important but for many organizations, they’re secondary to operational growth and creative innovation. As scaling stabilizes, these will likely return to the spotlight.
Find more on digital signage and sustainability in our blog.
Looking ahead: What’s next for 2026
The polls paint a picture of an industry maturing fast: Moving from experimentation to execution, from “Can we do this?” to “How do we do this better and everywhere?”
2026 will be defined by:
- Enterprise-wide rollouts that demand scalable governance and centralized visibility.
- AI-driven creativity that redefines speed and consistency in content production.
- Integrated ecosystems that merge signage with other workplace and customer touchpoints.
For digital signage leaders, the challenge (and opportunity) is to build infrastructures that can support all three without losing the human touch that makes content resonate.