How to use AI at events: Tools, tips, and practical insights for every stage of planning and delivery

Planning an event involves a lot of moving parts – from choosing the right venue and filling seats to pre-event communications and ensuring everything runs smoothly on the day. Even for smaller events, there’s a lot to consider. Increasingly, we’re finding that AI is taking a larger role at all stages of event planning and delivery. Keep on reading to unpack exactly why AI can be so beneficial to event planning, and how to use it at your next event.

So, how exactly does AI impact events? In simple terms, AI can carry a huge amount of the problem-solving load. In events, that means data analysis, automated routine tasks, and recommendations based on attendee behaviour and feedback. Whether you’re organising a corporate event, planning a team party, or hosting a conference, AI offers a useful tool at every stage of the event process – from promotion and logistics to managing registrations and optimising targeted ads.

Now, the next frontier for AI in events is the development of more sophisticated event apps. What were once simple digital agendas are now increasingly powered by AI, mostly for networking and matchmaking purposes at large-scale events like trade shows, conventions and expos. For now, these tools are most useful at larger scales, processing mountains of data to inform future processes.

If you’re interested in using AI for your event but aren’t quite sure where to start, or even whether it’s the right option for you, don’t worry. In this guide, we break down how to use AI in events, where it can fit into your planning process, and what tools might be best for you. You might find that some of the below aren't suited to your personal needs, and that’s totally fine. But whether you’re running a large-scale conference or a small gathering, even using AI in one or two areas can have a huge impact.

AI before the event: Planning, promotion, and registration

From marketing and promotion to content creation and fielding guest questions, there are multiple areas where AI platforms and tools can streamline your process. 

Streamline registration and guest management

Managing guest lists manually is a monumental task, especially when there are multiple ticket types and large numbers. Multiple platforms can automate that entirely, send confirmations and reminders, and help segment attendees, all while gathering valuable data. This remains rule-based, often with human input. But you’ll find these are increasingly layered with AI to further personalise communications at scale, and offer smarter scheduling and content recommendations. For example, a large corporate event might group guests by role, branch, or department, while public talks and conferences can tailor communication based on ticket type - particularly relevant for hybrid events.

Best for: Public or ticketed events, corporate events bringing together teams across multiple locations, conferences, and hybrid events.

Tools to try:

• Eventbrite is one of, if not the, most widely used ticketing and registration platforms in the UK, automating confirmations and attendee comms with built-in analysis that gives real-time visibility into registration patterns and demand.
• Splash offers branded registration pages and guest data management, with real-time updates and the ability to personalise follow-ups.

Predict attendance

Clarity on numbers shapes the core elements of any event, from room layout to cutting spend on catering and staffing. AI tools are increasingly able to forecast actual turnout more accurately – and, crucially, pick up any issues with enough time for you to act. Two weeks before your event, if registration trajectory suggests a 30% lower turnout than targeted, AI features may recommend additional reminders to a specific audience segment to close that gap.

AI analysis and prediction can help fill large spaces and venues with tiered auditorium seating, like The Barbican Conference Centre

Best for: large events like conferences and corporate events, as well as public ticketed experiences (particularly free ones or those with affordable ticket prices).

Tools to try:

• Splash offers Attendance Insights, using predictive AI and machine learning to forecast registration trajectories and offer specific recommendations based on real data - like which audience segments you should target for a follow-up, and when to send a reminder to sign up.

Smarter event promotion and audience targeting

Half the battle of any event is getting the right people in the room. AI powered marketing tools can analyse audience demographics, engagement data, and past behaviour to target audiences that are likely to be interested in your event. From optimising marketing messaging and social media strategies to identifying trends that fit with your campaign, AI can markedly improve the efficiency of an event marketing team.

For instance, someone organising a conference on email marketing might use Meta Ads Manager to run a campaign targeting professionals with job titles like ‘head of marketing’, pushing ads towards audiences with the highest click-to-registration rates – all without any human intervention.

Best for: large-scale conferences, trade shows and expositions, ticketed public events, brand activations and product launches.

Tools to try:

• Meta Ads Manager uses machine learning to automatically refine ad targeting across Facebook and Instagram, optimising placement across news feeds, stories, reels, marketplace and search results based on real-time performance.
• Mailchimp uses AI to optimise email send times and segment audiences, helping improve open rates and registrations among an existing recipient base.

More efficient content creation and targeted messaging

Producing event content, from invitations and social media assets to speaker bios and session descriptions, can quickly become a time-consuming process. AI language models work well with factual content and can bulk generate multiple bios and descriptions (though you’ll still need to triple-check for hallucinations/inaccuracies). They’re also very useful as a sounding board for finetuning marketing copy and developing targeted messaging ideas that are more likely to resonate with particular audiences. AI excels at generating possibilities; creative judgment will still rest on your expertise.

Canva Magic Design can be used to create event invite templates. We generated these in 30 seconds (clearly, they need some edits - but it just shows how simple it can be!)

As an example, if you were hosting a 40-speaker conference, you could prompt Claude or ChatGPT to generate first drafts for all speaker bios simultaneously, reducing days of work to a few hours of editing. Alternatively, if you’re making digital invitations, you may use a generative image tool to create multiple templates, which you can then edit and send over email or use for a social media post.

Best for: works for all events, though size and brand presence will dictate how sophisticated you need to go with content tools.

Tools to try:

• Claude is a language model that’s conversational and particularly good at complex analysis as well as long-form drafting.
• Canva Magic Design is an AI design generator which can create custom templates for invites, decks, and social media assets using your branding, imagery, and creative direction.

Chatbots and virtual assistants

In the lead-up to the event, you’ll be expected to handle a variety of questions and queries, often surrounding timings, locations, logistics, and accessibility. Being able to respond quickly can increase confidence and improve turnout. AI chatbots handle this volume with ease, and most will store data and feedback so you can make adjustments for future events. A large trade show might train a chatbot on its event FAQs, floor plan and session schedule, so attendees can ask ‘Where is meeting room 7?’ or ‘Where are the accessible toilets?’ and get an instant response, either before or during the event.

Best for: public events or large conferences with high volumes of enquiries.

Tools to try:

• Intercom provides AI-powered chatbots that can answer FAQs using existing support content on your website, escalating to human agents when needed
• Tidio is a good, cost-effective option popular for smaller events, offering assistance that can be set up quickly without too much technical know-how.

AI during the event: Enhancing attendee experience

Engagement is a crucial part of any event, and AI platforms can help with that. From live captioning and translation software to AI polls and quizzes and apps that connect guests based on their profile and intentions.

Personalised event apps and AI matchmaking

Event apps have come a long way, and are only getting more sophisticated each year. The primary function is to provide an agenda for the day, but platforms are upping the personalisation. Informed by user data, they are now able to recommend specific sessions, seminars, and talks based on self-reported preferences and on-app behaviour.

Many also have matchmaking features to connect people at networking events and expos where varied businesses and representatives are due to attend. A product manager at a tech trade show might be automatically matched with three relevant vendors and two potential collaborators based on the goals they set. Some even offer the option to book a meeting directly, even before the event actually starts.

Best for: trade shows, conferences, and industry events where networking is the objective.

Tools to try:

• Grip suggests relevant contacts based on user profiles and goals, and allows attendees to book meetings in advance.
• Brella matches attendees based on interests and goals, helping to identify and connect people pre-event.
• Swapcard combines matchmaking with broader event personalisation, recommending networking opportunities based on user data.

Keeping audiences engaged

Audience engagement is the goal of any event, particularly for longer sessions and conferences. There are a variety of tools out there which allow attendees to participate and respond in real time via their devices, allowing organisers to run live polls and manage Q&A sessions without passing a microphone around or shouting across the room. It can also be used to gather feedback in real time via polls and surveys. Some will even suggest polls based on each speaker’s presentation slides and prompt the audience to vote at the optimal moment.

Best for: Conferences, seminars, training days and events with Q&As or large audiences

Tools to try:

• Slido uses AI to create tailored polls based on slides in a presentation, recommend times to release the poll, and assist guests with writing clear targeted questions, all without adding to anyone’s workload.
• Mentimeter’s AI Menti Builder can generate a fully interactive presentation, with polls, word clouds, and Q&A slides. It also uses AI response grouping to cluster similar open-ended question answers into labelled themes in real time.

AI translation and accessibility tools

Ensuring everyone can access the value of your event, regardless of language, is a key challenge for events with international audiences. Tools can provide live captions or real-time translations, which are particularly useful for hybrid events and conferences that involve international offices.

{10-11} Carlton House Terrace has partnered with TranslateAble, a language agency which offers AI translation, live captioning, and transcription

Want to delve deeper into all things accessibility? Check out our interview with Catherine Owens of {10-11} Carlton House Terrace on all things inclusivity at events

Best for: International conferences, hybrid and virtual events

Tools to try:

• Worldly.ai provides live, high-quality AI audio and transcript translation for in-person, hybrid and virtual events, integrating directly with major platforms like Zoom and Teams.
• Interprefy works with cloud-based AI interpretation for events of any size, integrates with major platforms and can switch between professional human or AI-powered interpretation

AI after an event: Analysis and follow-up

The work doesn't stop once the event concludes. In the days following, you'll need to maintain contact, offer resources and recordings, and gain insights and feedback. AI can help personalise this process, gather masses of data, and produce invaluable insights.

Smarter follow-ups and ongoing engagement

Just because the event has ended doesn’t mean engagement has to as well. Follow-up emails and relevant content can help maintain relationships with attendees and encourage future event attendance, too. It’s always a good idea to send recordings and event materials after the event, but AI tools help tailor follow-ups according to attendees' job titles or stated goals, and guest movements while at the event. This might include newsletter sign-up prompts, information on more upcoming events, content, or social media channels.

Some will convert session recordings into short highlight clips or blog posts to send out the following day, then trigger a secondary follow-up tailored to guests who visited the exhibition floor vs those who only went to keynote speeches – keeping contact concise and relevant without feeling like you’re spamming everyone.

Best for: Recurring events, B2B events, conferences, and client events focused on building a lasting relationship

Tools to try:

• Zuddl is a B2B event platform which can track detailed guest engagement data (e.g. sessions attended, poll responses) and use data to support personalised follow-ups. It can also automatically recut recordings to highlight clips and provide rough drafts for website blogs and recaps.
• ActiveCampaign builds sophisticated behaviour-based email and SMS journeys, varying content and send times based on individual engagement.

Event feedback and AI analysis

Collecting feedback after an event is essential, but understanding and analysing all that information can be a bit of a drag. AI tools, meanwhile, summarise survey responses in seconds, highlighting relevant themes that can help organisers quickly see what worked well and what didn’t. Say a music event or an industry wine portfolio tasting receives 400 responses to ‘What would you improve?’, in just a few short moments, you could have all answers clustered and discover that 35% of responses reference frustrations about queues.

Best for: Everything, from internal team events to large ticketed conferences

Tools to try:

• SurveyMonkey’s AI Analysis Suite offers sentiment analysis and thematic grouping, as well as a conversational tool so you can ask questions in plain English without reading reports.
• Typeform creates surveys with Interaction AI - a feature which adds in clarifying questions mid-survey if responses to open-ended questions are too vague. It also offers thematic analysis and generates charts to explain survey results

AI for events FAQs

How is AI used in events?

Applications vary, often depending on the event's purpose, size, and style. Informal events may use AI simply for the odd bit of content creation, or ads (e.g. Meta Ads Manager). Whereas larger events might use AI chatbots for FAQ information, and events with a networking angle or various sessions and talks may look to AI matchmaking apps, which recommend specific talks and event sessions based on a user’s data. But these are just a few key uses; we’ve outlined a few more below.

What are the benefits of using AI for event planning?

The most obvious benefit of using AI in events is efficiency. By automating routine tasks, you can reduce workload significantly and free up your team to focus on the things that require a human touch. Beyond that, using AI has particular benefits when it comes to data analysis. It can highlight patterns and insights on attendee behaviour, registration trends, and post-event feedback that would otherwise take hours to sift through (or even go unnoticed). More data means better learnings for next time, so you can constantly improve your events.

There’s also the question of scale. Using AI event tools can make it possible to run a 2,000-person event with the same-sized team you’d need for a 400-person one. You’ll still need people for oversight (AI is never flawless), but you’ll find tools that can personalise communications based on attendee information and tailor the experience for thousands of individuals in a way that simply isn’t possible to do manually.

Is AI only for large events?

While the impact is felt most when planning large-scale and ticketed events, AI’s event applications are wide and varied. Smaller events, for example, may use AI to generate attractive invitations or draft copy, while larger events tend to leverage the analysis power of AI tools - harvesting data on audience engagement, FAQs, and feedback forms, or looking to event apps to offer personalised guest information and recommendations.

Is AI for events expensive or difficult to use?

Some AI platforms and tools will cost more, but on the whole, it’s fairly affordable - especially if you view it as an efficiency tool, freeing up time so your team can look to other tasks. Most tools offer taster deals and free trials, so you can assess the value beforehand. In terms of difficulty, as with anything new, it can take a while to get the hang of it. That said, with increasingly user-friendly interfaces and support teams, they tend to be fairly straightforward.

Will AI replace event planners?

It’s a common question, and fortunately, the answer is a resounding ‘no’. There’s no denying that AI’s role in event management and planning is on the rise, but it’ll continue to serve as an invaluable partner rather than an outright replacement. The reason? AI is incapable of planning events with emotion and considering real human experiences.

It also lacks the instincts which form the backbone of real-world event planning: crisis management, human judgment, client relationships, and the simple ability to read a room. If something goes wrong on the day, it’s people who fix it. AI might be able to optimise marketing messaging and automate registration, but it can’t negotiate with a caterer or create the shared trust and emotion which turns a good event into a great one.

What about data privacy and GDPR?

This is a great question. Many of the AI tools used for events collect and process personal data, be it registration details, session attendance, or even poll responses – in the UK, you’re responsible for how that information is handled. It means you’ll need to check that all platforms you use are GDPR-compliant, and be incredibly clear with attendees about what data you’re collecting, why, and how it will be used, ensuring you have consent. Most platforms will already cover this, but it’s always worth checking.

If you're looking to level up your event planning game, it's important not to just focus on the shiny new AI tools out there. While you're here, check out some tips on how to make events accessible and inclusive.