Adam SloyerPhoto: Courtesy of Sequence
AI is generating major buzz right now—and for good reason. The advancements are monumental, the race within big tech is on, and while we’re still likely a ways away from streamlined integration, disruption is imminent. AI is going to impact the majority of businesses—but for an industry like events, which is traditionally non-scalable due to labor intensiveness, the potential is even more significant.
As the owner of an event and experiential marketing agency, here are five ways I’m expecting AI to be used by event professionals...
1. As a search engine
Over 20 years ago, search engines changed the way event venues, vendors, and other resources were marketed and sourced. My prediction? Large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT-3 will do this again.
The ability of a tool like ChatGPT to tap into and synthesize vast amounts of information will add a layer of sophistication that will trump what any search engine can do on its best day. Receiving accurate, compelling, and lightning-quick answers to questions like “Where in Southern California can I host a 1,000 person conference with 750 sleeping rooms, two general sessions, and 10 breakouts?” or “What are the pros and cons of utilizing the in-house audiovisual company at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami?” will make the opportunities here endless.
2. As a design tool
Text-to-image generators like DALLE-2 are a lot fun right now for generating instant, silly visuals of anything your mind can conjure up. But what about once the sophistication is leveled up, and you’re able to immediately produce images for mood boards, room environments, and scenic designs? Game changer. And that doesn’t even take into account advances in text-to-image 3D and video! This type of software will eventually redefine how event spaces are designed.
3. To help organize logistics
So much of event success is rooted in process—and process can take time. From weekly client calls with notes and action items to building timelines and communications, the core work can be labor intensive. So when an AI tool like Jasper or ChatGPT can summarize call notes and identify action items, draft guest communications or presenter remarks, or eventually build out accurate production timelines? Again, nothing short of an industry-altering evolution.
4. To simplify attendee management
Speaking of labor-intensive event elements, not much is more tedious than attendee management. From tracking to synthesizing to communicating, managing the attendee aspect of a program can be an event all unto itself. So when you see the early stages of tools like this GPT-3 plug-in someone created for Google Sheets, allowing you to answer questions, write letters, and extract key data? Wow.
5. To dream big!
With AI advancements seemingly coming daily, it seemed only right to leave the last spot attributed to the unknown. From AI’s impact on event technology to potential advancements in entertainment to interactive, and more, what hasn’t even been dreamt up yet is the most exciting of all.
Event professionals have been using artificial intelligence for years for things like networking, chatbots, and data analytics. But these exciting new advancements in LLMs have the potential to bring the industry to new heights—and personally, I can’t wait.
