What’s New in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 – Smarter, Simpler, and More Scalable

News & Announcements Ecosystem Releases
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Hey everyone :waving_hand:

We just dropped a brand-new video that walks through everything new in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 — and there’s a lot packed into this release. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here:

This release builds on the strong foundation of Ansible Automation Platform 2.5, focusing on scalability, visibility, and accessibility — making automation easier to manage and demonstrate value across the organization.

:compass: Key Highlights in 2.6

:bar_chart: Automation Dashboard (01:00)

The new Automation Dashboard gives you a clear, executive-friendly view of automation performance and ROI.

  • Track job success rates, savings, and impact over time
  • Share results with leadership to prove automation’s value
  • Built right into the Ansible UI — no external tools required

:robot: Intelligent Assistant with Ansible Lightspeed (02:17)

Say hello to your new AI-powered sidekick.

  • Get context-aware recommendations while working inside the platform
  • Streamline playbook authoring with Ansible-specific insights
  • Leverage Ansible Lightspeed for smarter, faster automation creation

:puzzle_piece: Self-Service Automation Portal (03:07)

Empower more teams to automate — without needing full admin access.

  • Curated catalog of approved automation templates
  • Self-service job launches with guardrails
  • Perfect for IT, DevOps, and business users

:artist_palette: Refreshed User Interface & New Integrations

  • Modernized look and feel for better usability
  • New integrations to tie automation deeper into your ecosystem
  • Enhanced performance and scalability across large environments

:speech_balloon: Why It Matters

Automation is no longer just about efficiency — it’s about visibility, collaboration, and trust.
A lot of customers have asked for:

  • A better way to show automation’s business impact
  • Simpler access for new users
  • Smarter assistance for seasoned engineers

:brain: Learn More

:blue_book: Blog Post: What’s New in Ansible Automation Platform 2.6

:speech_balloon: Join the Discussion:
Have you tried the new dashboard or Lightspeed features yet?
What’s your favorite addition in 2.6 — or what would you like to see next?

Drop your thoughts below :down_arrow:

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Nice video and information! Thank you!

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thanks for stopping by @akira6592 ! Let me know if you have any questions.

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I like the self service portal great idea.

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We also did specific videos for each feature:

:rocket: AAP 2.6: Introducing the Automation Dashboard

Video: :play_button: Watch on YouTube
Learn more: redhat.com/whats-new-aap

Ready to prove ROI, optimize performance, and make smarter automation decisions?
The new Automation Dashboard in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 gives you real-time visibility into how automation is performing across your organization — all while keeping your data secure in your environment.

:light_bulb: What’s new

  • Track key metrics – View job success rates, time savings, and ROI to demonstrate tangible business value.
  • Make data-driven decisions – Analyze automation usage and performance with actionable insights.
  • Optimize resource utilization – Identify over- and under-used nodes across your automation infrastructure.
  • Export reports easily – Share data with stakeholders via PDF or CSV for integration with BI tools.

:locked_with_key: Why it matters

This on-premise dashboard gives you the power to measure and communicate the impact of your automation—without compromising control or security. It’s a major step forward for teams looking to operationalize automation at scale.

:movie_camera: Watch it in action

Check out the full walkthrough here:

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This is a great release… About the self-service portal… I’ve seen a dynamic input validation… Is that finally solving the feature request which is in AAP for eons? :wink:

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Yes! Self-service automation portal does have dynamic surveys. It has some limitations, it can not retrieve answers mid-survey, but it can change the questions and choices for answer 2 based on the answer for the previous question.

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@IPvSean

What is the difference between the existing Automation Calculator and the Automation dashboard?

exporting?

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Thanks for the video, @IPvSean Super helpful for newcomers like me trying to understand what’s new in 2.6. Looking to get involved and explore more!

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Thanks! Running the YouTube channel is fun and a great way to connect!

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The main difference is that Automation dashboard is completely on-premises. It is a container based application you deploy to a virtual machine / virtual instance. The webUIs are slightly different so it becomes subjective on which one you like more, but really the main goal was to help customers that are not allowed to send their data to console.redhat.com, which is technically a cloud service that we offer. All your data stays on your own infrastructure, so that it will allow customers to see ROI, but you don’t have to share it with Red Hat.

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For folks that what a slightly deeper dive on self-service automation portal, check out this video from my colleague Hicham: https://youtu.be/n3vFv6_tVdk?si=8WKONUThpZdj-lHx

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Thank you so much!

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Hi everyone! For those looking into upgrading their current Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 or 2.5, here is the blog post guide on what to keep in mind and the supported upgrade paths to AAP 2.6.

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