Track attendee engagement in real-time, curate hyper-personalised agendas, optimise food choices and more. Photo Credit: iStock/Pakin Jarerndee
Content creation is often the first thing that comes to mind when looking at AI for event planning. But how can planners use AI to work in smarter ways that go beyond content generation, to impact the planning process and influence events in real-time?
Create smarter event diagrams
At a recent webinar hosted by Cvent in partnership with SACEOS, Will Kataria, country head & senior director at Cvent Singapore, outlined how AI assistants are a key differentiator in how the technology is being used.
“They can be more responsive, they can quickly understand unique contexts and help not only to automate tasks, but also to enhance business processes as well.” he said.
Visualising venues in a 3D format isn’t new but AI assistants can map out different formats to enhance planning. “It can show you the venue, the tables and the ceiling and you can easily change the layout by letting the AI designer know, for example if you want six to eight chairs per table, or if you want people to be a distance of six feet from each other,” Kataria explained.
Curate hyper-personalised agenda
With most attendees already engaging through event apps, AI takes personalisation a step further.
“AI can dynamically curate a hyper-personalised agenda, where attendees are not just recommended popular sessions, but they can also see what other sessions could interest them,” said Kataria. “There's also chat assistance, where attendees can ask questions and AI can answer them, as well as recommend topics and interests depending on who attendees are and what they do.”
Other options include an AI-managed concierge for events, enabling attendees to ask a range of questions, such as who the guest and keynote speakers are and even what the dress code is.
Identify risks and react in real time
Traditionally, planners analysed event data after the fact. Now, AI is turning historical data into predictive insights. “AI models are analysing your historical data, your event trends, and external factors, such as flight schedules or local events happening at the same time,” said Kataria.
“This could impact your event, predict fluctuations, help you optimise your food and beverage orders and allocate staff. It can even recommend the ideal room set-up depending on your audience. This can help reduce waste, minimise costs, and, most importantly, optimise attendee flow.”
The same tools can be used to predict your customer behaviours and preferences, helping to identify risks ahead of time. This can enable planners to make changes in real-time.
Track audience engagement
Imagine if AI could monitor levels of social media use and attention during a live event, when people are sitting in sessions.
Kataria suggests the technology could monitor what people are doing, such as whether they are looking at the speaker, chatting or on their phones. This can help planners gauge attendee engagement in real-time, such as if a session is falling flat, or if it’s getting negative feedback at certain points.
These AI alerts can create triggers to help planners make adjustments to event content, the crowd and even the catering, to ensure that any negatives can be converted into a positive experience.
Boost sustainability
Picture a physical event, but where everything is rendered in AI apart from the attendees. Such a scenario was suggested by Nina Xiao, VP of digital and marketing at Informa Markets, who also took part in the Cvent webinar.
“Everything you see is rendered through AI, including exhibition booths, stages, billboards and hanging banners,” she said. “We have been talking about sustainability for events for many years. Maybe it's about time to make it really happen, to see if event production costs can drastically benefit from AI.”
Don’t overlook the human connections
Despite AI’s growing role, industry leaders agree that nothing replaces the emotional resonance of in-person experiences.
“While AI has made it easier to connect virtually and automate many aspects of event planning and communication, it’s also highlighted what digital can’t replicate: authentic human connection,” says Jade Ball, head of events at BI Worldwide.
“People are increasingly craving real, in-person interactions while presenters feed off live audience energy - something that’s hard to recreate through a screen.”
Natalie Crampton, director at TEC, echoes the sentiments. “Striking the right balance between in-person events means using AI to enhance, not replace, the human experience. “That’s where AI adds value – in support of, not in place of, human connection,” she says.