Welcome to the agentic era. Can you see my screen?
It's 2026. Ready or not, HR Tech is in it’s agentic era. The business applications we use every day are already capable of performing increasingly sophisticated work autonomously. We’ve progressed far beyond chatbots and knowledge bases, submitting PTO requests and generating content. We’re building AI agents that reason, decide, act and work collaboratively with other agents. Enterprise software vendors are working feverishly to deliver and demonstrate how AI will fundamentally change how we interact with the solutions we leverage to get work done.
It's an incredible time to be in enterprise technology. And yet, somewhere right now, a highly trained pre-sales professional or sales engineer is preparing to demonstrate the future of work by beginning their demo with the same question we've been asking for the better part of the last decade.
"Can you see my screen?”
We've evolved. Our opening line hasn't.
Think about how far pre-sales has come. We've mastered complex demonstrations, discovery methodologies, executive presentations, and the art of translating product capabilities into business outcomes. We've evolved from technical and functional product experts into trusted advisors, storytellers, value engineers, and strategic consultants. We've learned to speak the language of business outcomes, demonstrate measurable value, and navigate increasingly complex enterprise buying decisions.
Many of us are even utilizing agentic capabilities and tools in our day-to-day to prepare the very demonstrations we’re tasked with delivering. From creating demo flows and content, to solutioning customer specific business requirements and even environment configuration. These tools help us build content and feature rich presentations, driving more strategic conversations in our customer engagements.
And after all that preparation, research, and professional development, our opening line is still:
"Can you see my screen?"
Decades of progress in technology and tools, sales process improvements and endless dry-runs, and we've essentially perfected the art of asking someone whether or not they can see the powerpoint or browser window.
The most predictable moment in enterprise software
Discovery and prep have been done. You’ve identified the pain. The demo environment is configured. You've spent hours preparing a carefully orchestrated demo flow designed to address the customer's most pressing business challenges. It’s finally demo day.
Everyone starts to join the call. The usual pleasantries take place and then it sort-of goes like this…
Vendor: "Customer team, you have everyone?"
Customer: "Yes, so and so is running late but we can start without them."
Vendor: "Ok, then why don’t I kick us off…"
Customer: "We’re recording, right?"
Vendor: "Yeah, we have our AI notetaker in the meeting and we’ll send you the recording after"
Customer: "Oh, I realized our notetaker joined also. Thanks."
You know how it goes. Introductions are finally complete. Your AE turns it over to you. You share your screen, and then, as if required by some unwritten law of remote software demonstrations and all that is holy about pre-sales, you ask:
"Can you see my screen?"
If you’re lucky, your AE comes to your rescue and gives you the quick thumbs-up. Sometimes three people respond at once. Occasionally, nobody responds at all, resulting in a fleeting attempt at crafting a witty retort acknowledging everyone must be able to see your screen.
To think, we’re building autonomous AI agents capable of executing entire business processes, but apparently, screen visibility still requires human-in-the-loop confirmation. Go figure!
HR Tech 2026: The future of work is on display
Next week, thousands of HR technology professionals will descend on Las Vegas for the annual HR Technology Conference. The EXPO hall will be filled with vendors showcasing the latest innovations in artificial intelligence, agents, agentic workflows, and next-generation HR platforms and experiences. There will be plenty of impressive technology on display, along with no shortage of promises about the future of work.
And to be clear, I'm excited about it. The innovation happening across our industry is remarkable. But I can't help wondering how many of those incredible demonstrations will begin with the same four words just a week or two later over a Teams or Zoom call.
The future is here. Just confirm you can see it.
So, if you're heading to HR Tech next week, or any software vendor conference for that matter, enjoy the innovation. Explore the AI platforms, meet the agents, and experience firsthand what the future of enterprise software looks like.
As you make your way around the EXPO floor, recognize your hard-working pre-sales folks. Our hope is to ensure the few minutes we get to spend with you showcasing our solutions is a valuable use of your time. Fortunately, one thing you most definitely won't hear on the EXPO floor is "Can you see my screen?"
But rest assured, when the EXPO hall closes, the leads have been qualified, and those follow-up demonstrations are scheduled, those four words will make their triumphant return.
And maybe that's okay.
Because while the technology we demonstrate continues to evolve, our job in pre-sales remains remarkably consistent: connecting technology with business outcomes and helping customers see what's possible.
We just need to make sure everyone can see our screen first.
