ON TREND
A report from consulting company McKinsey & Company verifies the technology’s place in the world: “Organizations are already seeing material benefits from generative AI use, reporting both cost decreases and revenue jumps in the business units deploying the technology.... The biggest increase from 2023 is found in marketing and sales, where reported adoption has more than doubled.” Baird does encourage event pros to use caution when getting started. “Planners need to be incredibly cautious when it comes to using AI for hybrid events. Consumers are smart and can tell when content is not human-generated. While there are benefits and it is a time-saving tool, it is vital that event planners don’t just take the easy way out. Rather, they should spend time checking AI’s work and applying human strategy and thought to it.” It is this human relation with AI that will allow event pros to optimize their efforts. In other words: let AI help with the logistics, not the creativity or relational sides of events. As Colja Dams, CEO of VOK DAMS (Frankfurt, Germany), said in his session How Will AI Transform Events? at Catersource + The Special Event 2024: “AI is not going to kill the job of an event manager, but event managers using AI will be the ones being successful in the future.” Don’t let overwhelm or hesitation keep you behind your competitors. Now that you know a little bit more about this new technology, choose a tool you’re comfortable with and start experimenting. AI is here and it’s all around us—heck, I used ChatGPT to help create this article title (but my human editor changed it slightly)!
A graph from a report by global consulting company McKinsey & Company shows the increase in AI adoption throughout organizations across the world. Photo courtesy McKinsey & Company
Attendees at Catersource + The Special Event 2024 experienced AI with SpotMyPhotos, an AI-powered photo delivery platform that allows attendees to receive photos of themselves directly to their phones as photographers make the rounds throughout the event. Photo courtesy Ivan Piedra Photography/AGNYC Productions
16
SPECIAL EVENTS FALL 2024
Powered by FlippingBook