AI is everywhere these days. It’s being used in almost every single industry and we’re especially seeing this in the events. Over the last few years we’ve seen a shift from manual operations into a streamlined use of AI to manage event guest lists, create custom agendas for attendees, automate insights, and more.
In this article we’ll dive into the different ways that AI is already being used and what could happen in the future as it continues to evolve. We’ll also touch upon the importance of human interaction and why at the forefront of events, emotion matters. When it all comes down to it, people host and attend events to create connections and AI cannot replace that.
Current Landscape: AI in Events Today
We’re already seeing a great use of AI technology in the events industry, especially when it comes to large conferences. Facial recognition is being used to speed up the check in process and help with security. Companies are creating AI agents by using chatbots to help with scheduling and FAQs, providing 24 hour support. They’re even helping people network, by connecting them with other attendees who have similar interests or signed up to the same sessions. And throughout the conference and beyond, data is being analysed to make things better in real time and for future events.
Emerging Trends & Innovations
More recently there’s been an uptick in the use of AI on a broader scale. For example, Chat GPT and other LLMs are being used to help create marketing materials, draft emails, and even make images and videos. However, it’s important to always check the output to make sure it’s relevant and has your brand’s tone in mind. Refining prompts helps eliminate careless errors.
As briefly mentioned above, predictive analytics and event forecasting is being used to tell event organisers if a session is overbooked or if registrations are low. People are now using AI to look at event behaviour to see if it can help with identifying strong leads, which is a great way to prioritise follow ups and maximise ROI. Imagine it, you can tell if someone visits a stand multiple times and then signs up for a newsletter or downloads something –they would be considered a warm lead. Alternatively if someone checks into a stand but never engages again with the brand, you can add them to another list to nurture this lead.
In terms of logistics, AI is also being used to transcribe talks and sessions and translate them to other languages or for use for accessibility. For attendees AI can help people figure out what sessions to visit based on their profiles and preferences.
Benefits of AI for Event Professionals
So, what’s the real benefit of AI for event professionals? For one thing, it makes people more efficient and allows for more time to be creative. “As technology takes over more administrative tasks and drives greater efficiencies, meeting planners can focus on being creative and delivering memorable experiences,” said Noelia Herranz, Vice President, Global Meetings & Events Strategy and Business Enablement in the Amex GBT Meetings & Events Forecast for 2025.
It can also provide excellent data insights with actionable follow ups, with a click of a button. This means that there will be an opportunity to save money and cut costs on labor, but you do have to worry about the loss of the human element.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations
As with anything, there are always going to be challenges and ethical considerations, especially when it comes to technology and AI. One important thing to look at is how to protect data when using AI. The data collected should be minimal, it should be encrypted, and should not be shared. Another thing to consider is that AI is not always accurate. It’s always learning so it does make mistakes, which means you need to be diligent about checking content you’ve created with it. Finally, you can’t run an event without human connection. So while AI can be used as a tool, it shouldn’t be used to run the entire event.
Future Outlook: What’s Next?
If you’re curious about what’s next for AI in events, one things for sure, it’s here to stay. People will need to start embracing AI and using it as a tool to help streamline planning and running events. It’ll be super important to lean on AI so event organisers can focus on less of the admin and more of the big picture stuff.
Actionable Recommendations
Staying ahead of AI trends can be challenging when things are changing so rapidly. But, it’s a good idea to try and stay ahead of the game. If you’re interested in learning more about AI in the events industry, we have a collection of resources available to read.
For now, why not try your hand at using Chat GPT, Gemini, or Co-Pilot to help you with one of your admin tasks? Make sure to check the responses so you can refine your prompts and help teach the tool you’ve used.
