Beyond the Tablet: The Future of EFB in the Age of AI
We are pleased to share our latest white paper, published in the Q3 2026 edition of Aircraft IT Operations.
Written by Klaus Olsen, CEO and EFB Administrator at EFB Admin Services Int. AS, “Beyond the Tablet: The Future of Electronic Flight Bags in the Age of AI” looks beyond today’s EFB hardware and asks a more fundamental question:
If the EFB hardware revolution is largely complete, what comes next?
For more than a decade, Electronic Flight Bags have transformed how flight crews access operational information. But as the amount of available data continues to grow, the challenge is increasingly no longer access to information, it is determining what matters.
The article explores how the next generation of EFBs may evolve from digital information repositories into intelligent operational assistants, using AI to help identify, correlate and prioritise relevant information while keeping pilots firmly in control of operational decision-making.
It also looks at the growing importance of interoperability and connected EFB ecosystems, including ARINC 840A and app-to-app information sharing. As individual applications become increasingly connected, the EFB has the potential to move beyond simply displaying information toward providing greater operational context and awareness.
A central theme is that aviation’s adoption of AI cannot simply follow the consumer technology model. Transparency, validation, cybersecurity, regulatory oversight and human accountability will remain essential. AI may become an increasingly capable analytical assistant, but the pilot remains the decision-maker and the operator remains accountable.
The article also considers what this evolution could mean for the EFB Administrator. Rather than disappearing through automation, the role may evolve from managing devices and applications toward governing data, intelligent workflows, cybersecurity, compliance and operational trust, becoming what the article describes as the “Guardian of Trust.”
The article concludes with a look at the EFB of 2035, where AI could verify hundreds of operational parameters and highlight the small number requiring human attention, while leaving responsibility and decision-making firmly with the flight crew.
Read the full feature in Aircraft IT Operations, Q3 2026: