Reflections on BETT 2026

BETT has always existed as a magical playground of sorts – the Winter Wonderland of education technology. Its techy grandeur wasn’t diminished at all in 2026. In fact, many of the stands and booths were exactly the same as the previous year’s, allowing for a sense of familiarity around Lenovo’s red sheen, Canva’s purple hues, and Google’s white halos, to name a few.

The initial impression is one of shock and awe. Over half of the Excel Centre (an already gigantic building) filled with dazzling displays of teaching and learning apps, agile robotics, and computing hardware that would look more suitable at an e-sports championship than an educational event.

This year, however, the flow of the conference felt smoother. There were more rest spots, more tables to perch upon, a separate food court, and more BETT cutouts for those essential social media photo opportunities. The result made the event feel less like a slog through different sections and more like an adventure during which you might stumble upon something interesting.

Although when it came to what you may stumble upon, your choices were quite limited. That’s because everywhere you looked, be it the software solutions section, the hardware area, the international booths, or the teaching and learning stages, one phrase was ubiquitous: Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

Not only were about 40 percent of the scheduled talks and panels concerned with AI – its opportunities and risks, its implementations and impacts on future generations – but almost every exhibit, from tech giants like Microsoft to the plethora of tiny start-up apps, boldly proclaimed how it incorporated AI in its product. This year’s BETT confirmed it: AI is going to be a mainstay in edtech from now on, and schools and tech companies are adapting quickly.

In terms of substantive announcements, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson opened BETT with a short speech that touched on three main points involving education and technology.

1. She disclosed updated safety standards for companies using generative AI in education.
2. She clearly explained that “mobile phones have no place in our schools,” a nod to new DfE mobile phone guidance.
3. And she announced £23 million to expand EdTech Testbed pilots, programmes for tracking and finding evidence for effective tech tools in schools.

Following Bridget’s speech in the BETT Arena was a star-studded cast including Professor Hannah Fry and Amol Rajan speaking about the big picture with AI in education and beyond, Sal Khan and Laura McInerney discussing how Khan Academy is harnessing AI to help learning the right way, and Sir Martyn Oliver, who spoke about Ofsted’s new inspection framework, among others.

Whereas BETT 2025 featured AI as if it were a new prize pony, BETT 2026 featured it as an integral part of every app and technology. On the outset, the show might have looked similar, but upon closer inspection, the pace at which AI has infiltrated every aspect of the edtech world is astounding.

Schools don’t need to be overwhelmed by AI, although the sheer number of products claiming to harness it to some end is hard to ignore. Instead, school leaders, computing leads, and IT teams need to develop a comprehensive understanding of what AI is and how it works, write a well-researched and thoughtful AI policy that remains congruent with other school policies and culture, and carefully pick and choose which AI-based technologies work for them, and crucially, which don’t.

Thought BETT’s flashy lights and tech demos may make it seem so, adopting AI technology shouldn’t be a race or an exercise in hoarding as many tools as possible. Schools that carefully curate which tools their staff can and will use, commit to professional development for them, and stay vigilant about the capabilities and risks of AI will be the ones to excel in the new, AI-driven edtech world.

Luke Kemper is Insight and Intelligence Lead at HEP. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MPhil in Education, Globalisation and International Development. Before that, he worked for seven years as a university lecturer and high school teacher in China and Poland.