In 2025, we spoke about an industry in motion, AI’s fingers all over it, destination uncertain, but hands firmly on the wheel. Evolving. Being revolutionized out of business or into new ways of thinking and doing.
The further we ventured into unfamiliar territory, trying new tools, failing, restarting, trying again, and succeeding in establishing AI as a permanent feature of the localization process, the more we kept running into a familiar question: What remains once there’s nothing more left to optimize?
And no, “there’s always something to optimize” doesn’t count.
What we do remains the same. It’s the how and the why that are morphing — and our jobs with them.
As we try to imagine what 2026 (and beyond) look like, the routes will likely begin answering the questions starting with “How” and “Why.”
We asked 12 experts from companies such as TikTok, DeepL, Coupa, Gitlab, McAfee, and others.
Their contexts may be unique, but there’s one common denominator: They all went down the rabbit hole. Perhaps they asked different questions. But, along the way, they all found meaning.
We bring you their perspectives in this year’s edition of Global Ambitions.
The 76-page Global Ambitions: Meaning-Making is going live on September 7.
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We’re sharing a sneak peek of what’s inside this year’s Global Ambitions: Meaning-Making publication. Read selected articles by Jérôme Selinger and José Palomares, industry veterans and thought leaders.
