AI for Events - everyone says they’re doing it but does anyone really know what it is?

AI is the buzzword of the year…and I’m pretty sure I’m not the first piece of content you’ve read this week that’s focused on it. 

“A.I. is like teenage sex,” says Frida Polli. “Everyone says they’re doing it, and nobody really knows what it is.”

Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration…but I still think it’s worth diving into practical applications of AI can help with events. TLDR; I prefer to liken AI as a “co-pilot” rather than replacement for humans…at least for now!

There are diverse perspectives regarding the use of AI and whether it will replace human capital in its current form. I still remember attending a TED event in Vancouver where scientist, Kai Fu Lee presented on AI and the future of work. 

I’ll never forget when his slide which listed ten careers he felt would NOT be replaced by AI. 

The two I remember vividly were: 

1) CEO 

2) Event Professional

These roles were said by Kai Fu to be AI-proof because they require a high degree of emotional intelligence to navigate the high-touch, complex, interpersonal navigation required for the role. 

A great Head of Events is like the Conductor of a Symphony Orchestra who takes many instruments and leads them to do more than simply play notes. A great conductor inspires with passion, inflection and harmony in the individual musician, causing them to listen to each other and create a body of music that moves both those listening and those playing.

AI is like a highly intelligent intern to support your event planning. In today’s climate of reductions in workforce, remote teams, and a demand for  great ideas, often without a team in the same office, AI can help generate ideas, frameworks, review data, or cut back on monotonous tasks that don’t require a high level of human oversight.

Below are the top ways I’m currently using AI to support my clients and my own practice and a few vendors you might be interested in checking out:

Timeline and task management:

AI can create detailed timelines and task lists, automatically updating and adjusting schedules based on progress. It can send reminders and flag potential conflicts or bottlenecks.

I love Anthropic’s Claude Pro for this! I’ll upload a few key documents and it can help combine and organize my key dates. It does still take my oversight to establish which are true “break points” and check for accuracy (think spell check - you still review the suggestions), but can help get the process started, which is often the hardest task.

AI-enhanced project management tools like Airtable, Asana, Trello, or Microsoft Project are also great and I have a sweet spot for Airtable since I formerly led their events and leveraged Airtable as a relational database that established relationships and dependencies between work streams on my events and flagged this to us once we programmed in the AI to do so.

Venue and vendor selection:

AI can analyze large datasets of venues and vendors, matching them to your event requirements, budget, and preferences. It can provide comparisons, ratings, and recommendations based on past events and reviews. I love BoomPop and Events.com for finding venues, evaluating competitive events and sponsorship opportunities.

Guest list management and communication:

AI can assist with creating and managing guest lists, sending personalized invitations, tracking RSVPs, and handling guest inquiries through chatbots or automated responses.

Check out my favorite platform for this, Gatsby, and if you mention the code: GIANNAISAWESOME20, they’ll even give you 20% off your first year with them! Gatsby can also configure your table seating plans based on “personas” and “rules” you create. I sure could have used it for my wedding!

Budgeting:

AI can help forecast costs, track expenses in real-time, and estimate budgets based on inputs like venue contracts and menus. It can also analyze past event data to predict potential budget overruns and areas for optimization.

That said, I have found that it often takes a hum Event Pro to optimize budgeting when it is customized and takes into account nuances that only a planner would know (like this specific venue over-serves by 5% and/or attendees at my company generally skip the breakfast, so we budget for 75% of the attendee count for that meal). But eventually, AI will get smart enough to learn this as well!

Offsite and experience design:

AI can analyze attendee data and inputs from planners (like cost, desired activities, location, personas and preferences) to suggest personalized experiences, such as tailored session/speaker recommendations, networking or activity opportunities, or menu options. It can also help create custom event apps or interactive elements to enhance engagement.

I love platform MarcoExperiences for this (drop my name and Marco will give you a discount). Others I have tried and enjoy are BoomPop and Retreat. For virtual offsites, I love working with TeamClass to plan custom activities based on what has resonated with attendees most in previous events (they will also give you 10% off if you mention my name). 

Content Generation, Capture and Repurposing:

Honestly, this is a whole other blog post! In short,  AI is excellent for drafting outlines for content, suggesting topics and speakers, and finding ways to “atomize” your content post-event. 

I love the platform Gradual for customizing content for specific community members and personalizing sessions and content to meet attendee needs (drop my name for 10% off their services). Even OpenAi uses Gradual for their virtual events, so you know the Ai is high quality.

There are bespoke platforms to help with Automated transcription and translation (i.e. Otter.ai), AI-powered speech recognition can transcribe speeches, panel discussions, and presentations in real-time or post-event. 

AI algorithms can analyze long-form content (such as conference talks or day-long events) and generate concise summaries to use for post-event reports, social media content, or quick recaps for attendees (check out Hubilo’s snackable content hub and use my discount code for 10% off here). Similarly, AI can analyze video footage to identify key moments, based on factors like audience reaction, speaker emphasis, or specific keywords and then create highlight reels or short clips for social media. It can also be used to personalize content recommendations for individual participants (and so much more)! 

If you’d like my help navigating the brave new world of leveraging AI for your events, help auditing your current program or event tech stack, shoot me an email and let’s connect!