Austin. May 11–13. A small room, real operators, and a plan you can actually run when you get home.
Seven days from now, 200+ agency owners and teams will walk into Hotel Van Zandt in Austin and do something that has become surprisingly hard in 2026: have an honest conversation about AI.
Not a panel. Not a product demo. A conversation. With people who run agencies just like theirs.
That is the entire point of Vistara, and that is why the second edition is already filling up.
The problem every agency owner is quietly carrying
Walk into almost any agency in May 2026, and you will hear some version of the same sentence: “We know we need to do something with AI. We are just not sure what.“
It is not a knowledge problem. There is no shortage of webinars, newsletters, threads, and “ultimate guides.” The problem is too much noise and not enough signal. Tools ship every week. Vendors promise the world. Clients ask questions you do not yet have a clean answer to. And in the middle of all that, the work still has to go out the door.
Most owners are not stuck because they lack ambition. They are stuck because they have not had a quiet, focused room with peers who are actually shipping AI inside their agencies, willing to say what is working and what is not.
Vistara is that room.
What Is Vistara?
Vistara is an in-person AI event for digital agencies, taking place May 11–13, 2026, at Hotel Van Zandt in Austin, Texas. Organized by E2M, a white-label service partner that has worked alongside 1,100+ digital agencies for over 13 years, Vistara is not a conference in the traditional sense.
There’s no sea of attendees in a convention hall. No back-to-back keynotes from people who’ve never run a client account. No vendor booths dressed up as educational sessions.
Vistara is a small, focused, and working experience. And that distinction matters.
Why Agencies Keep Showing Up
When E2M hosted the first Vistara in September 2025 in Denver, Colorado, the response was clear: agency owners didn’t need more AI content. They needed a room where they could finally have honest conversations about it.
What they found was exactly that.
Operators shared what was working and what wasn’t. Owners brought their teams. People left not just inspired, but aligned, with decisions made and a clear path forward.
That’s the gap Vistara fills. Most agencies aren’t resisting AI. They’re trying to make smart decisions amid constant delivery pressure, without real guidance or time to step back and think. Vistara creates that space.
What Actually Happens at Vistara
The Vistara agenda spans three days. Monday evening begins with a relaxed welcome reception, no presentations, no agenda pressure, just a chance to meet the people you’ll be spending the next two days working alongside.
Tuesday focuses on understanding and direction: behind-the-scenes AI workflows, frameworks for improving margins without burning out your team, and honest conversations about what’s actually working inside agencies right now versus what’s hype.
Wednesday shifts to implementation: real-world case study sessions where you see real AI automations, work directly with E2M’s AI leadership team, and leave with a realistic roadmap specific to your agency, not someone else’s.
Shared meals are built into every day, not as a rushed networking add-on, but as a genuine part of the experience. Real conversations happen over food, and Vistara is designed around that.
There’s even an optional group kayak experience before the event kicks off, a low-pressure way to connect with fellow agency owners before the working sessions begin.
Who Gets the Most Out of It
Vistara is for agency owners and leadership teams across web, SEO, paid media, content, eCommerce, and full-service digital, especially those who:
- Know AI matters, but feel overwhelmed by the noise
- Want to improve efficiency and margins without adding headcount
- Are exploring AI-enabled services and want to package them responsibly
- Prefer small, focused environments over large, impersonal conferences
You don’t need a technical background or prior AI experience to attend. Vistara is not a coding event. The focus is on practical decision-making, understanding what AI can realistically do inside your agency today, and building a clear plan to move forward.
Many agencies attend as teams, bringing a COO, operations lead, or delivery head alongside the owner. When decision-makers and operators are in the room together, they leave with a shared plan. Ideas don’t stall back at the office.
The Speakers Are in the Room With You
Vistara features a curated lineup of agency leaders and AI practitioners, including Britney Muller (Orange Labs), Andy Crestodina (Orbit Media), Dale Bertrand (Fire & Spark), Jason Swenk (Agency Mastery 360), David C. Baker, and the E2M leadership team.
Hosting and leading the experience is the E2M leadership team: Brent Weaver (Host of Vistara & CEO), Manish Dudharejia (Founder), Khushbu Doshi (COO), Vishal Mahida (Director of SEO) and Ronik Patel (Advisor & Partner | CEO, Weam.ai), each bringing years of hands-on agency experience directly into the room, who brings deep expertise in helping agencies leverage AI for efficiency, innovation, and growth.
But here’s what makes this different: speakers aren’t on pedestals. Because the event is intentionally small, speakers are part of the conversation throughout, over meals, during sessions, and in the hallways in between. You’re not watching from the audience. You’re in the room with them.
The Agencies That Move First, Win
Most agencies will spend 2026 reacting to AI, chasing tools, guessing at workflows, and hoping things shake out. Vistara is for the agencies that choose differently.
Two days. A room of people who speak your language. A plan you can actually execute when you get home.
Vistara. May 11–13, 2026. Austin, Texas.
