AI in Events: Smarter Planning, Better Experiences

Artificial intelligence has gone from something that felt futuristic to something that is already part of everyday life.

The events industry is no different. AI is opening up new possibilities for how events are planned, delivered and experienced.

At Centigrade, we think there's an important distinction to make. We believe that AI shouldnot replace creativity. It should give creative teams more opportunity to use it. Teams should always be wondering if AI could make their events better.

Personalisation at scale

One of the most interesting applications of AI in events is personalisation. When you aredealing with hundreds or thousands of attendees, creating an experience that feels individual can be difficult. AI can definitely help with this. It can analyse preferences, behaviour and previous interactions to help recommend relevant sessions, content, networking opportunities or experiences.

For an attendee, that could mean being presented with a programme that is more relevant to them rather than having to work through an entire schedule themselves. For organisers, it can provide a better understanding of what different audiences actually want from an event.Ultimately, it can lead to a more engaging experience for everyone.

Chatbots and virtual assistants

Nobody wants to spend ten minutes trying to find out where a session is being held, or queue at a registration desk to ask a question that could have been answered instantly. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can help with some of those everyday event questions. If AI can take care of simple queries quickly, event teams can spend more time dealing with the things that genuinely need a human touch.

What about the creative side?

AI can help generate ideas, create content, analyse information and speed up certain processes. However, an event isn't just a collection of data points - It's about people, atmosphere, emotion, the unexpected moments that happen when people are together in the same space.

These things still need creative thinking, and although AI can give us more information and more tools, it is unable to replace the instinct to know when an idea will make an audience stop, look and be amazed.

Adding AI to an event does not automatically make it innovative. If it is unable to solve a problem, improve the experience or create something genuinely useful, why use it? The best event solutions start with the objective. Then we can look at the creative and production tools that will help us get there. AI may be one of a number of those tools.

The future of AI in events

AI is developing quickly, and its role in the events industry will undoubtedly continue to evolve. It could help make experiences more personalised, planning more efficient and event data more useful. However, the biggest opportunity is not about replacing what event professionals do. Instead, AI can give them more time to do the things humans do best.

We are interested in technology when it helps turn a good idea into a great experience, and if AI can help us do that more effectively, we are open to including it in our processes.

We want to use the right technology for the right reason.