Artificial intelligence (AI) became an everyday aspect of our lives so subtly that it’s now hard to remember a life before it – or picture a life without it. Whether we’re asking for directions from Siri, having Alexa set a timer, or asking the Google app to help you with a search, all of these interactions are powered by AI.

Event professionals are also seeing AI integration as a way to bolster and improve their shows. But even the most dedicated pro may not realize all of the AI opportunities that will soon be available to them.

Here are seven examples of how AI is poised to improve the performance of your exhibitions.

Anticipatory Computing

Also known as deep learning, anticipatory computing is the ability for AI to recognize patterns and predict future scenarios, such as how attendees will respond to specific situations.

Anticipatory computing takes the data from previous events, almost any data (including voice, photo, and video) and uses algorithms to develop the most likely outcomes. However, these are complex systems and take a great deal of time to run (not to mention expertise to develop). Which is to say, don’t expect to have all the answers you need after just a month or two.

However, over time, anticipatory computing can help you predict staffing needs, foot traffic, food and beverage purchasing, crowd control, etc. These predictions are based on information from previous events and feedback from those events, as well.

Personal Assistants

You will soon be able to integrate a personal assistant into your event app, similar to Siri and Alexa. By giving this personal assistant a name and attitude that fits your event, you will be delivering more personality to your attendees while rewarding them with a more personalized experience.

Best of all, the days of scrolling through several screens for information is over. Your event app will immediately become extremely intuitive to use.

Photo Credit: Android Booth

Personalized Recommendations

AI-enabled event apps, aside from promoting brand personality, will also be able to provide more relevant recommendations for attendees.

Previously, attendees were given recommendations – probably manually – based on a form they filled out or interests they had indicated. However, AI will utilize data from social channels, like LinkedIn and Facebook, to personalize recommendations, including which sessions to attend, what products are likely to meet their interests, and where to find the people they would most like to meet.

Best of all, this can all take place before the event begins – meaning people can look over the recommendations and indicate interest or disinterest – which will strengthen the AI’s ability to make future suggestions. The more the AI works with someone, the better and more accurate it becomes.

It’s not just attendees who benefit. Exhibitors will also see improved interactions since the people who are swinging by their display are much more likely to have a genuine interest in their products and services. And if they can know what potential consumers are interested in them before the event begins, they will be better able to personalize their client presentations. 

Uncover New Visitors

One of the most important aspects of any event is gathering new insights about your attendees. Because, in order to find new audiences, you have to understand what it is that your current attendees want and are getting from your event.

An AI-enhanced app will be able to dig deeper into the data to discover nuances in attendees that will lead to previously untapped segments.

This will free up your team from all that post-event data combing. The AI can discover new segments, give you detailed reports on their wants and needs, then your team can create the marketing plans to reach out and convert them into becoming attendees. In addition, you will notice the boost to your time and budget.

Photo Credit: Quartz

Efficient – and Accurate – Language Translation

Business is more international now than ever before – and having the ability to communicate with people who speak a language other than yours is a necessity that is only going to increase.

Fortunately, AI will make it a snap to convert your event app into any language, which will give you an instant leg up when it comes to international marketing. Currently, your only option is to hire a translator – and, if there are regional differences, maybe several translators. Very soon, AI will be able to translate languages, regional specificities and all, with remarkable accuracy, which will improve your audiences’ overall experience.

Data Protection

Everyone loves the end result of what data integration and analysis brings to events (and everyday convenience), but no one likes the idea of their data being available to simply everyone. There is a balance that has to be found between the sophisticated data analysis that leads to creative ways to improve attendee experience and the need to ensure that your visitor’s data is secure.

Interestingly, one of the aspects that may be of most concern to people when they hear it – AI – can actually be on the front line when it comes to data security. With regards to networking, AI can help ensure that user’s private messages remain private, and that both parties are truly interested before a meeting is set.

The more you can ensure attendees that their data is secure and in trustworthy hands (for example, any analysis shared with vendors is aggregated, no personal information is distributed) the happier your attendees will be.

Photo Credit: Tech Talks

Lines and Crowd Control

Biometrics is a key aspect of AI – facial recognition software would not work without it. In fact, every year, facial recognition gets better and better at detecting specific people, whether they are wearing a hat, sunglasses, even a fake mustache.

How you can use this at events is by cross referencing your attendees with their social media profiles and using AI to recognize faces, so they can bypass the line. The reverse is also true. It can be especially useful for spotting people who are not registered to be at the event, which will help bolster your security efforts.

Everything discussed in this article is either possible today or just around the next corner, which means that we are just scratching the surface in advancements to AI. The technology is going to continue to dramatically impact our lives. It’s good news for event planners. AI will continue to take some of the grunt work off your plates and leave you freer to be creative and innovate. For more insights in how AI will impact the events industry for the years to come, give Event Architecture a call at 972-323-9433.