AI in event production: between hype and reality

AI appears everywhere - writing scripts, analysing data, generating visuals, and always available as a strategic or creative sparring partner. I’ve been experimenting with AI since the early ChatGPT3 days; by now, it’s become my daily companion.

But when it comes to event production - an industry built on complex decision-making, adaptability, and human connection - what role can AI play?

Undoubtedly, AI won’t replace planners, producers, or show callers anytime soon. I don’t see a robot managing the last-minute heat of incoming unknowns during rehearsals, prioritising overlapping tasks, or adding that final touch of magic just before showtime.

However, AI undeniably reshapes how we plan, execute, and analyse live communication.

In this article, I’ll sidestep the obvious AI applications like participant management and instead focus on how AI transforms our three key areas: Event Design, Production, and Visual Communication.

AI for event planning and design

AI tools like ChatGPT can supercharge your creativity as a brainstorming partner. It can do that - providing you give it the data and prompts it needs to deliver. AI doesn’t pull magic out of thin air. It requires detailed data about your audience, clear event objectives and as much information as you have about your venue. To get the results you want, you need to spend time up front correctly prompting AI. With enough detail you can expect:

1. A theme people remember

You can use AI to quickly analyse trends, past feedback, and competitor events. Based on this you can prompt AI to explore metaphors and alternative wordings for your theme. So, instead of “Advancements in neurotech,” you might get “Hacking the human brain: the next frontier”. To this you bring your own experience of brand guidelines, organisational tone and situational experience of audience needs.

2. Agenda development

AI can help you discover new combinations of formats and ways to structure your agenda. Due to data privacy laws, we are limited to general prompts and cannot share specific information about content or participants.

However, you can revitalise your agenda development process by crafting clear prompts that address WHO is attending the meeting (leaders, cross-functional teams, external stakeholders) and WHY they are participating (to learn, collaborate, celebrate, etc.). Consider HOW they can best engage with the content and each other (knowledge sharing, experience exchange, trust-building, etc.) and WHAT you want them to remember and do after the event (become advocates, teach others, change behaviors, etc.).

By using these prompts, AI can generate specific recommendations tailored to your goals, integrating best practices and behavioral insights that lead to higher engagement and a more impactful meeting experience.

3. Engagement that works

Use AI to help map out engagement formats based on your audience’s preferences. Instead of a standard Q&A, it may recommend immersive debates, AI-powered matchmaking, or live sentiment tracking. You can also ask AI to help flesh out logistic details of an engagement activity with timings and step-by-step instructions.

Once you have the tools in hand, you can work with everyone on the event team to maintain a red thread in terms of content, ensuring creative integrity and quality production values.

AI for moderators and presenters: Summarising, context-building & script support

We support speakers by helping them prepare and providing a nurturing environment on-site. This equips them to connect confidently and authentically with their audience. AI can play a role here too.

1. Summarising scripts & introductions

Feeding a language model such as ChatGPT with the script will give you a summary of the talk at light speed. This helps me prepare deeper questions and draft an introduction that sounds interesting, supports the speaker, and doesn't give the idea away. Hey, is the latter not a prompt, too?

Yes, it is. Based on the script, the language model can draft the introductions for the speakers in the tonality that you prompt it to. In my experience, I usually get an 80% result, but it is an unbelievable time saver to have an AI draft and then edit your version for introductions.

2. Content creation & structuring

It is a slippery road, but you can use the same tools to draft compelling narratives for your presentations, structure your script, and structure it. Slippery in that when you rely too much on AI, you might lose your authenticity and the key messages you hope to convey.

3. Delivery coaching

Apps such as Speeko or Orai help you become a more confident presenter. They check you on pace, filler words, energy, and confidence at any time of the day. I have used Speeko, and it is so much better than talking with your kitchen wall. But don't miss out on standing in front of real people, too.

AI in visual communication: more than just a quick fix

AI brings many opportunities in visual communication. Many tools are funny claptraps, but let’s break down some of the tools that are really useful in professional production.

1. Audio enhancement

Post-pandemic, most studios still have to deal with homemade recordings, using iPhone or laptop mics in a big room. The audio is too quiet or echoey. Adobe has tools that can fix almost any of these recording problems, from poor to high quality, with a push of a button.

2. Visual correction

Have you ever forgotten to look into the camera or visibly read a script from the screen? An app such as Captions can correct eye contact with the camera with impressive results. Beyond that, there are many integrated tools that support post-production in correcting images, changing backgrounds, and improving quality.

3. Captions, translation

Many apps deliver live captions and translations. The results are becoming better every day. For accessibility and quick support, these tools are excellent, but if you have a lot of technical terms, scientific jargon, and heavy accents, you will require human reviews or even certified interpretation agencies. But check out what D-ID can do. I spoke greetings in German and asked to translate it in multiple languages. The result is really impressive.

4. Image generation

Open AI unveiled a new image generator for Chat GPT that produces stunning results. The results are of higher quality with lower content errors, and a new feature is that you have limited capacity to edit existing images. The model is trained on publicly available data as well as proprietary data from partnerships with stock databases. As a result, some generated images continue to look staged.

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AI can also give you ideas on how to scale visuals seamlessly across omnichannel. From massive LED walls to mobile-friendly social clips, you can ask AI to auto-adjust resolution, format, and composition.

You can use it to build a visual rollout plan, mapping when and where to drop content for maximum engagement. The key here is to take a burger approach—good briefing up front and careful editing before final production.

Using AI compliantly - be careful with protected data

The use of AI tools presents critical challenges surrounding data privacy. Therefore, it is essential to carefully evaluate which information you can share with an AI tool to ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR.

In other areas related to compliance reporting and legal regulations, AI can save time by rapidly identifying legal risks, drafting vendor contracts, or creating compliance or sustainability checklists for various event-related issues.

Additionally, AI can analyse real-time logistics data to assess and optimise carbon footprints by refining transport, catering, and waste management strategies to reduce emissions significantly. You can even use it to help you with your sustainability reporting after an event.

Reality check: AI won’t replace us, but it’s changing the game

AI’s impact extends beyond production. In the past, when a client asked us to find a theme song, we’d research, shortlist, analyse lyrics, assess cultural fit, and craft an executive summary. Now? AI can do most of this in seconds.

Yes, some hours of work have disappeared. But here’s the thing—those weren’t the hours that defined our value. It’s not our core expertise that AI replaces, but the “borrowed time” that we used to spend on tasks like these, honestly? No hard feelings.

AI isn’t a magic button. It speeds up workflows, enhances creativity, and boosts engagement, but the best events will always be where AI and human intuition work together.