AI: The Age of Agents
Q-Day Conference 2026 is the 17th edition of Quidgest’s annual forum dedicated to digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence and the future of technology. Taking place on 24 September at Culturgest, in Lisbon, and online, this year’s conference will focus on “AI: The Age of Agents”, exploring the transition from generative AI tools to intelligent agents capable of performing tasks, making decisions, collaborating and supporting organisations autonomously.
Bringing together public-sector decision-makers, business leaders, academics, entrepreneurs and national and international experts, Q-Day 2026 will examine how agentic AI is transforming the way organisations operate, compete and create value, while raising new questions around governance, accountability, trust and technological sovereignty.
The programme is structured around three main panels. “Digital Sovereignty as a Competitive Advantage” will examine how organisations can distinguish AI that generates tangible value from solutions driven primarily by hype, and how agentic AI can support faster decisions, reduce errors and enable organisations to scale with purpose.
The second panel, “Riding the Wave: The Art of Surviving AI… with AI”, will address digital dependency as a growing strategic risk. From technology lock-in and high migration costs to dependence on major global technology providers and rapidly evolving regulation, the discussion will explore how organisations can strengthen their technological independence, resilience and ability to adapt in an increasingly AI-driven economy.
Closing the panel programme, “Building the Skills to Orchestrate AI” will focus on the changing role of people as technology becomes more accessible. As AI takes on a greater role in creating and adapting digital solutions, professionals increasingly need to know how to ask the right questions, validate AI-generated outputs, make informed decisions and orchestrate intelligent agents to create meaningful organisational value.
The agenda will also feature a special session dedicated to Portugal’s Technology and Entrepreneurial Diaspora, exploring how technology can connect Portuguese talent, organisations and markets across borders and support internationalisation. Through real-world experiences, the session will highlight entrepreneurs, companies and institutions using technology as a catalyst for global growth.
Beyond the panels, Q-Day 2026 will include the Co-Innovation Awards, as well as the launch of the book “Valuable AI Agents – From LLMs to Agent Capability Enablement” and the presentation of the Quidgest Observatory 2026–27, an international study on the maturity and future of agentic AI adoption across organisations.
Q-Day Conference 2026 is a meeting point for exchanging perspectives, sharing knowledge and exploring the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of organisations, the economy and society.
