One factor that is bringing change to the industry, for better or worse, is artificial intelligence (AI). Although the tech is still relatively new, MPI’s quarterly Meetings Outlook survey found that many in the industry have positive sentiments about it, and some have been early adopters in exploring it.  

With so many throwing out the welcome mat to this new technology and tech companies making massive investments in developing AI, it’s likely AI will only become more and more infused into the standard toolkit of meeting and event professionals. 

• 22% of respondents say they use generative AI regularly but 48% say “not at all.” 

• 30% believe they have a better-than-average ability using AI to help deliver meaningful experiences and events.  

• 50% have a positive sentiment to AI’s use in the industry, with only 19% reporting a negative sentiment. 

“Quietly, over this past week, I took a deep dive into the AI, and I am now of the opinion that it is going to have a seismic impact sooner rather than later,” says Michael Scott, a New England-based speaker. He sees the arrival of AI as parallel to the internet in the 1990s.  

“There were all of these people coming out and saying how bad it was going to be for our world—which, in some respects, proved to be true—but what we quickly learned is if you’re not adapting to it and at least understanding it on a very basic level, and what its potential impact could be on the meeting industry, you’re going to get crushed,” he says. “It’s here to stay, and it’s a little scary because there are no guardrails on it.”  

Jason Allan Scott, a keynote speaker from the U.K., is keeping a close eye on how he can deploy AI in meetings. He is already using it for sentiment tracking, tapping HOLOPLOT technology to read the room. “That’s been one of the best things ever,” he says.  

The tool tells him how many people look happy, annoyed, upset or confused. “Then you can work out what’s going on,” he says. “Is it the way you set up the room? If one area of the room is looking upset, is it because the food hasn’t reached them, or there’s a draft?” 

He is particularly interested in the potential of AI to speed up registrations for events. 

“You can get people to sign up at mass incredibly fast using AI to machine-learn how people are signing up, what’s the fastest way to sign up, using an AI bot that answers questions like, ‘Where do I park?’ or ‘How do I get there? I’m disabled—what’s my opportunity to access the event?’ All of that is done with the AI helper. AI will beat everyone who doesn’t know how to use AI but if you know how to use AI, you’ll feed everyone.”  

MPI’s 2023 Q4 Meetings Outlook is sponsored by ALHI. Meetings Outlook is supported in partnership with IMEX Group.