AI is being billed as a transformative technology set to take events planning to new heights. The Amex GBT Global Meetings and Events Forecast for 2026 expects AI to
transform the industry and supercharge its capabilities, finding that international meeting and events planners are embracing AI for a range of use cases.

In our experience, AI certainly does help event planners to streamline planning, generate creative concepts and presentations, write proposals and prepare reports faster. It enhances digital tools we have used for years and is becoming vital for data-driven tasks like tracking trends – particularly at major events with thousands of attendees.

For annual conferences or events where you are engaging with the same community every year, AI tools can be invaluable for sorting through data mines to plan and generate targeted event communications. This is particularly true for the brand hosting the event, who may want to analyse event data to inform ongoing marketing, sales and to improve attendee experience.

Novel event-specific AI tools are also helping brands maximise the value of their event participation. For example, in the exhibition world, new AI capabilities allow exhibitors to record, transcribe and interpret conversations with visitors so brands know what their follow-up action has to be with that lead.

Internally, we also find AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT useful for preparing creative proposals with event mood boards to help clients visualise proposed event decor and layout.

But AI probably won’t change the very nature of events, because events are inherently human-centric. Events are experiential, involving sight, sound, touch and taste, and humans are best equipped to plan and execute experiential events with a human touch.

Venue selection, for example, is best left to experienced event planners. You can’t rely on AI to do that research – you have to see the venue in person to get a sense of whether the space aligns with the event’s objectives and is suitable in terms of the numbers, the structure and flow of the event. AI might offer information on the venue’s location, available spaces and reviews, but it can’t pinpoint the human feel for the venue, and know from a human perspective whether the attendee experience will be a good one.

AI can offer fun and novelty elements at events, such as digital concierges where avatars answer attendee questions. But again, we find this is not the same as having a friendly chat with a person, who can quickly answer multiple questions at once. This kind of meaningful and empathetic human interaction remains essential at key points throughout the event experience.

Human creativity and problem-solving sits at the heart of successful events, so while AI is an increasingly useful data and planning tool, human intuition, experience and engagement remain key to planning and executing events.