“Don’t Wait Too Long, Get Started” – Boosting Events With AI

“Don’t wait too long, get started” – that is Dr. Uve Samuel’s recommendation to the event industry. What should the industry start with? With the integration of AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually changing the way events are planned, held and experienced. What was considered a dream of the future just a few years ago is now reality: automated workflows, personalized events, AI-supported content production and virtual event worlds in the metaverse. Getting to grips with AI and its possibilities now will give you a competitive advantage in the short and long term. “This is an efficiency advantage, but also a quality advantage,” says Dr. Uve Samuels, founder and CEO of the Exponential Innovation Institute and an expert who not only observes the AI transformation, but actively supports it.

Emotionalization: special opportunities for AI integration

Events have always been places of encounter. People come together to share knowledge, make contacts and gain inspiration. Events are characterized by the high level of emotion associated with them – the moments of amazement, the goosebumps in the audience, the feeling of being part of something special.

This is exactly where AI comes in: It amplifies this magic by connecting people in an even more targeted way, linking networks more intelligently and taking exchanges to a new level. AI is far more than just a technical tool. It acts as a catalyst for encounters, inspiration and shared experiences. The event industry benefits particularly strongly from this because its DNA is based on encounters and emotionalization. Precisely because events move people and create memories, AI is particularly well suited to enabling a new quality of experience with intelligent tools.

“I see the potential here to get started particularly quickly because you have to deal with so many people and there is so much emotionalization involved. AI has special skills in this area,” says Dr. Uve Samuels. The renowned consultant for AI, digital transformation and exponential innovation from Hamburg has already managed over 100 transformation projects, supported numerous start-ups and advised major companies such as Beiersdorf, Microsoft, KPMG and Vattenfall. At Prolight + Sound 2025, Samuels opened the trade fair with his keynote speech “AI: The Stage is Yours”. His experience shows that AI offers a wide range of opportunities for the event industry in particular – from planning and marketing to the actual experience itself.

Individualization and automation

Samuels currently sees the greatest opportunity in individualization and automation. While events were previously often planned according to the “one-size-fits-all” principle, AI opens up the possibility of easily individualizing events for visitors and thus increasing their own added value. For example, at a large event: instead of a confusing, extensive (digital) program booklet, half of which is irrelevant to the visitor, “everyone receives their own individual plan for their implementation with their interests. And it’s all automated,” says Samuels, describing a possible scenario.

In concrete terms, this means

• Reach-out & invitation management: Instead of mass emails, guests receive personalized invitations tailored to their interests.
• Agenda planning: Participants receive customized daily plans that are tailored to their preferences.
• Content recommendations: AI suggests suitable sessions, networking partners or side events.

Automation plays a key role here. While traditional event teams spend a lot of time on coordination, reminders and billing, AI handles these tasks efficiently and error-free.

Matchmaking: added value through shared interests

Uve Samuels also sees particular potential in matchmaking. AI can do much more than just organize events. It can bring people together who share similar interests. This creates encounters that might otherwise never have happened. “For example, at Prolight + Sound last April. There was an Eintracht Frankfurt match at the end of the weekend. How nice it would have been if all visitors to Prolight + Sound had been able to network and experience the soccer match together at the weekend,” says Samuels, citing one example. In this way, you could see which interests the participants of an event have in common in order to generate added value and even more emotionality for people.

This is precisely where the power of AI lies: it creates connections that have an impact beyond the moment. Whether networking based on shared hobbies, community building beyond the event or the combination of business and leisure, such experiences make events more personal, more intense and, above all, unforgettable.

AI agents: the new colleagues in the event team

These new ideas can be implemented with a further milestone on the path to AI transformation: the AI agents. They are still young, “a great tool that is just about to see the light of day and yet they already have incredible potential,” says Samuels. These digital helpers can take on tasks independently and act like new colleagues in the team.

However, as with every new employee, they know nothing at the beginning. The employees in the company must guide them, give them knowledge and clearly describe their tasks. The better this is done, the more they can support a team. “They are like new colleagues: if we help them to settle in, they can enrich our team enormously,” explains Uve Samuels.

The possible applications are many and varied. With tools such as n8n can already be used to send invitations, control ticketing processes, set up automated reminders, process billing or even create entire route plans for guests. All of this happens reliably in the background and gives the event team more time for what really matters: Creativity, inspiration and the personal care of guests.

Exponentiality: virtual and hybrid formats

AI agents, matchmaking, individualization and automation are just the tip of the iceberg of AI transformation. At the moment, the development is characterized by exponentiality: an accelerated development through technological leaps that can change entire industries in a short space of time. For the event world, this means that virtual and hybrid formats are not only on the rise, they are rapidly gaining in importance and are already shaping the experience of an entire generation.

A look at the gaming world shows where the journey is heading. Platforms like Fortnite have staged concerts by global stars such as Travis Scott or Ariana Grande completely digitally: in front of millions of fans who met simultaneously in the virtual world. Similarly monumental are the League of Legends Worlds, where e-sports tournaments not only captivate millions online, but are also broadcast live in sold-out stadiums. Digital events thus create global communities that are virtually connected for months, only to meet again in physical highlights. Samuels sums it up: “This is a trend among young people that we should definitely be following.”

The core of events themselves is also changing: AI is moving ever closer to the spotlight. Entire concerts are already being created that feature music, images and videos generated exclusively by AI. Samuels is convinced: “AI is flowing more and more into the event core, for example in sound and image generation. Entire concerts can be AI-generated.” This does not mean that human artists are being displaced. Rather, a new field is emerging in which creativity and technology are merging and creating completely new worlds of experience that would never have been possible with traditional means.

But despite all the enthusiasm, one point remains central: the interaction between humans and machines. For Samuels, the organization of the future is very clear: “It will definitely be hybrid. It won’t be completely AI, there will always be people too. Working together as a hybrid team is particularly promising.”

In practice, this means

• AI takes on monotonous, data-based and repetitive tasks.
• People shape strategy, creativity and the emotional interaction that no algorithm can replace.
• Together, they create a hybrid team that works more efficiently, reacts faster and creates more innovative experiences.

A picture of the future is emerging in which events become more digital, interactive and creative without losing their human core. AI expands the possibilities, but the magic still happens when people meet, whether virtually or live on site.

“Don’t wait too long, just get started”

For Uve Samuels, there is no better time than now. Waiting and making plans may be convenient, but in such a dynamic development as AI, it inevitably leads to falling behind. His appeal is clear and urgent: “Don’t wait too long, get started. Try out not only language models, but also visualization and campaign tools such as Neuroflash.”

The way to get there starts small and pragmatically. Samuels recommends reserving fixed time slots every week – for example five hours – to work on AI. These slots are not about tackling large-scale projects straight away, but about gaining experience step by step. Small pilot projects, initial tests with automation or trying out new tools in marketing are the key. In this way, the team’s expertise gradually grows and AI is not perceived as a foreign body, but as a natural part of everyday working life.

At the same time, this is a clear competitive advantage for all those who start early. “It’s an efficiency and quality advantage because I can use my knowledge much more intelligently,” emphasizes Samuels. AI not only ensures faster processes and less manual work. It also enables more tailored offers, increases the quality of communication and experience and gives teams the freedom to focus on creative and strategic tasks.

Those who start now set standards that others must first follow. Early adopters not only gain time, but also confidence in the technology, and this confidence is crucial when it comes to rethinking events. In this way, early action becomes more than an advantage: it is the key to actively shaping the future of the event industry instead of being surprised by it.

Security and data protection: focus on GDPR

Despite all the euphoria about the new possibilities, security is important. Not only with regard to GDPR or copyrights, but also with regard to your own knowledge. Samuels warns: “My data is my greatest treasure. It mustn’t just end up in the AI.” When using AI, companies should therefore always pay attention to what it does with their knowledge and data.

In concrete terms, this means

• AI models should be GDPR-compliant.
• Data must not automatically flow into the training of global models.
• Local storage and processing are key requirements.

Responsible handling is a must, especially in the event industry, where participant data is particularly sensitive. Event organizers who rely on secure solutions create trust and secure long-term competitive advantages.

Act now to shape the future

The AI transformation in the event industry is no longer a vision. It is already happening. From personalized event programs to AI agents in the organization team to hybrid metaverse events: the possibilities are enormous.

Those who act early secure efficiency and quality advantages. Those who wait run the risk of being left behind. Dr. Uve Samuels’ advice is therefore clear: start, try, learn – and help shape the future step by step.