How AI & Interactive Technology Are Revolutionising Event Engagement and Experiences

The virtual experience economy is a major focus in the events industry today, reflecting how attendees engage with content, brands, and each other. Virtual experiences and interactive engagement are now standard elements in professional and social events, enabling organisers to connect with attendees in more meaningful ways.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and interactive technology provide tools and solutions that can enhance both event organisation and attendee experience. From automating processes to creating immersive experiences, these technologies are reshaping the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) sector, offering opportunities to increase engagement, boost brand awareness, and improve overall satisfaction.

In this article, we explore the benefits of these technologies, their applications in events, and how they are shaping the future of attendee experiences.

Before we discuss how AI, virtual reality, and interactive technologies are being used in the events industry, it’s first important to understand how and why using this technology can be so impactful.

Engagement measures how focused and involved attendees feel during an event. When participants are engaged, they are more likely to connect with the purpose of the event, interact with the content, and enjoy the experience.

High engagement not only enhances attendee satisfaction but also benefits the brand. Engaged participants are more likely to remember key messages, share their experience, and return to future events. Studies show that attendees of immersive, brand-focused experiences often share these experiences with an average of 17 others, boosting brand awareness.

In addition to awareness, engaging events build loyalty. According to the Freeman Trust Report 2023, 77% of attendees reported increased trust in a brand following a positive event interaction, and 55% noted that these impressions persisted in the months afterwards.

AI for events enhances engagement by automating administrative tasks and providing personalised experiences. Tailored content, AI-driven recommendations, and networking suggestions make attendees feel more connected to the event and the brand behind it.

AI analytics provide organisers with insights into attendee preferences, enabling them to create more relevant sessions, personalised itineraries, and content. This deepens engagement, fosters loyalty, and increases overall brand impact.

AI has been a hot topic in a wide range of industries for many months, with new developments and applications of the technology continuing to emerge as our understanding of artificial intelligence grows.

There are plenty of ways of using AI for events to help improve attendee experience and make the process of organising and running events easier, which we’ll explore in more detail below.

AI-powered event management tools help organisers streamline administrative tasks, such as scheduling, email communication, and data analysis. Automating these processes frees up time to focus on creative, attendee-facing strategies, enhancing engagement and overall event quality.

Chatbots provide instant answers to attendee queries on websites or event apps, keeping participants engaged and informed. They reduce the risk of losing potential attendees due to unanswered questions and allow organisers to dedicate more time to improving other aspects of the event experience.

In apps, chatbots can guide attendees through schedules, recommend sessions, or provide real-time assistance, enhancing engagement and satisfaction.

One of the most interesting ways that event planners can utilise AI for events is to help with personalisation. If you’ve got a lot of data about your attendees, AI software can be used to create personalised itineraries, communications, and content for each person coming to your event, providing a much more tailored experience.

Research by McKinsey shows that 71% of consumers now expect personalisation from brands that they interact with, so you’re instantly tapping into attendees' desires and expectations when you use AI to provide a more personalised experience.

Personalisation will also help to increase engagement, as attendees are likely to feel much more connected to content that has been tailored to their preferences.

If you’re organising an event in the MICE industry that involves networking, AI software can be a huge help in creating a better experience for all attendees.

By providing an AI tool with information about all of the people attending the networking event, you’ll be able to generate suggestions about who should interact with who, based on a range of factors such as role, background and interests.

This can facilitate much more productive and harmonious conversations, which leads to a more engaging networking experience that everyone gets a lot out of.

Finally, you can use AI in events to analyse data about your attendees and pull out trends and patterns that can help you to refine your approach.

For example, by using AI to identify the most common traits or interests of your attendees, you can tailor the content of the event to appeal more to the majority, providing a more engaging experience because of this personalisation.

You can also use AI to analyse data after an event has taken place to gain more insight into what was successful and what needs to be improved. Pulling key trends out of feedback, generating average satisfaction scores and identifying the most engaged-with aspects of your event can all be done quickly and efficiently with AI, providing you with a lot of data to work with.

Whilst perhaps not as talked-about as AI at the moment, interactive technology is another area that has and will likely continue to make an impact on attendee engagement in the event industry.

From VR experiences to apps and games that allow attendees to interact with each other from different locations, there is a wide range of applications for interactive tech.

VR and AR are some of the best ways to create immersive experiences for event attendees, whether they’re attending your events virtually or in person. These technologies can create interactive and immersive experiences for attendees, enhancing engagement and enjoyment by creating new ways for attendees to experience things or interact with each other.

Classic examples of using VR and AR at events involve giving attendees headsets to experience immersive environments or stories that link to your brand or the purpose of the event. These headsets are also being used for meetings as a way to bring together remote attendees in the same virtual space and facilitate more engaging meetings that allow everyone to feel more connected.

You can also use AR as a way of making presentations more immersive, which will help to increase engagement and also make them more memorable.

One of the biggest benefits of VR and AR in the MICE industry is that it allows for great experiences for all attendees, regardless of their location. If you’re hosting a virtual or hybrid event, you can ensure engagement remains high by helping attendees to feel more present using this technology.

Gamification in events involves using game-like processes and systems to add more playful and competitive elements to aspects of the event. It’s a classic way of improving engagement at events by turning otherwise standard elements and introducing stakes, rewards and competition to get attendees more involved.

You can use gamification at your events by running competitions or giveaways where attendees receive merchandise in exchange for competing in a game, quiz or challenge that is related to your brand or the event theme.

It’s also a really useful way to improve engagement during presentations or talks by asking attendees questions, encouraging participation and introducing competition.

Interactive event apps are a really impactful method of improving engagement that is a great investment for large, recurring or multi-day events. They should include useful information like schedules, details of different activities, and links to relevant websites or platforms. But you can also get more from your event app by including other features that are more interactive.

We’ve already touched on how AI can be used with chatbots or personalisation, so consider whether you can add these elements to your app to give attendees the chance for more personalised experiences.

You can also use your app to collect real-time feedback, facilitate connection and conversation between attendees, and share additional content that will help to improve the overall event experience.

Leading on from that point, interactive technology is a great way to improve engagement with things like attendee polling and interactive Q&As at your events.

Whether you use an event app to do this or another type of technology, giving an audience the chance to share their opinions or ask questions in real time is a great way to keep them engaged and create experiences that feel more meaningful and helpful because of this audience interaction.

This can also help events to be more accessible, as it encourages all attendees to ask questions and share their opinions, which they may not have felt comfortable doing without the help of anonymising technology. It also means that interaction is easier for hybrid events, which can greatly improve engagement for remote attendees.

Finally, a use of interactive technology in the event industry that is particularly useful at trade shows or conferences is interactive displays and touchpoints. These present a unique and more interactive way for attendees to explore content, products, and services, and can also be a great way to display visual branding or marketing material on devices that facilitate greater engagement.

AI and interactive technology have the potential to totally transform how events are organised, managed and delivered in the MICE industry, and we are already starting to see these applications in a variety of areas.

Whilst this kind of technology can seem daunting when you’re new to using it, it’s undoubtedly going to become more and more integrated into events in the future, so the best thing to do is start understanding how it can help to improve experiences and attendee engagement.

What are the benefits of using AI in event planning?

AI automates scheduling, communications, and data analysis, allowing organisers to focus on creative, attendee-facing tasks.

How can virtual reality enhance event experiences?

VR immerses attendees in interactive environments, increasing engagement, memory retention, and remote participation.

Why is personalisation important for event attendees?

Tailored experiences make content more relevant, improve engagement, and build loyalty with the brand.

What is gamification in events?

Gamification introduces game-like elements such as challenges or rewards to increase participation and interaction.

How does interactive technology improve networking at events?

AI and interactive tools facilitate personalised connections, improving networking efficiency and attendee satisfaction.

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