How Event Professionals Use AI to Save Time and Increase Productivity in Event Planning

Discover how forward-thinking event professionals are cutting through the AI hype to implement practical, time-saving workflows that transform event planning, while building the skills needed to stay competitive in an AI-driven industry.

AI Adoption in Event Planning By the Numbers

• 43% of event professionals are dipping their toes into AI as beginners.
• 38% are using AI regularly and building practical skills.
• 14% consider AI an essential coworker they can't live without.
• Event timeline creation improved from 7-8 out of 10 rating using custom AI tools.

What You'll Learn

In this 60-minute webinar, Michelle Wester (Senior Director of Global Events at Davo) and Noah Chat (Co-founder at Speak About AI) share practical frameworks for implementing AI in event operations, including:

Getting started with AI: foundations and misconceptions

• Understanding AI beyond generative tools: machine learning, natural language processing, and large language models.
• Why AI adoption is becoming the new standard, not just a competitive differentiator.
• Treating AI like a talented intern: delegation, oversight, and ethical responsibilities.
• Avoiding common mistakes like using AI for your most complex tasks first.
• Understanding data privacy, bias risks, and hallucinations when working with AI tools.

Operational efficiency: automating repetitive tasks

• Building custom GPT tools to generate event timelines with industry best practices built in.
• Creating AI twins for events to handle stakeholder FAQs without constant Slack interruptions.
• Automating rooming lists for hundreds of attendees across multiple hotels based on seniority and preferences.
• Using voice prompts to save time versus typing detailed instructions.
• Generating workback plans and run-of-show documents 30-40% faster.

Strategic applications: contracts, vendor management, and revisions

• Uploading venue contracts for first-round legal review before engaging legal teams.
• Comparing approved contracts against new vendor agreements to identify discrepancies.
• Adjusting entire event timelines instantly when vendors fall through or executives change dates.
• Maintaining complete chat histories to track how event scope evolves from planning to execution.
• Using AI as a strategic sounding board when you lack a peer in your role.

Custom GPT development: building your own tools

• Setting up conversation starters to eliminate repetitive prompting.
• Adding limitations and guard rails to prevent false information sharing.
• Uploading knowledge bases with industry standards, past event data, and company-specific information.
• Turning off conversation data to protect client confidentiality and proprietary information.
• Creating team-accessible custom GPTs for event-specific information hubs.

Data analysis and visualization: extracting insights

• Uploading registration data to generate charts and graphs instantly.
• Analyzing qualitative survey feedback at scale to identify trends.
• Merging quantitative and qualitative data for comprehensive event debriefs.
• Creating executive summaries with AI-generated visualizations for leadership.
• Removing personally identifiable information before analysis to maintain data security.

Future capabilities and limitations

• Understanding which tasks rate 1-10 on the AI readiness scale (venue layouts currently rate 2/10).
• Why text-to-text AI works better than spreadsheet generation right now.
• Anticipating AI-powered spreadsheet manipulation through natural language in Google ecosystem.
• Recognizing when AI lacks sufficient venue or industry-specific data to generate useful outputs.
• Preparing for computer vision and machine learning applications in attendee experience.

Who Should Watch This Webinar

• Event planners looking to save hours on timeline creation and administrative tasks.
• Event managers wanting to build AI fluency within their teams.
• Individual contributors seeking quick wins with time-consuming workflows.
• People managers responsible for guiding teams through AI adoption.
• Small business owners and agency professionals without dedicated IT support.

Real Results from AI Implementation

Learn how event professionals using AI achieved:

• Event timeline generation tools rated 7-8 out of 10 for usability with minimal training.
• 30-40% time savings on tasks like rooming lists and workback plan creation.
• Instant timeline revisions when vendors change or executives adjust dates.
• First-draft contract reviews completed before engaging legal teams.
• Qualitative survey data analysis at scale for the first time.

Featured Speakers

Michelle Westhafer serves as Senior Director of Global Events at Docebo, a technology company focused on enterprise learning. With experience leading events at Microsoft and Meta, she navigates massive technology shifts in the industry and experiments with AI to help small but mighty event teams deliver impactful global programs.

Noah Cheyer co-founded Speak About AI, a speaker bureau representing 50+ top AI experts, and leads marketing and operations. Growing up around AI innovation (his father co-founded Siri), he creates free resources for event professionals, including a newsletter with custom GPTs and practical AI workflows for the industry.

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Tools and Resources Discussed:

• ChatGPT custom GPTs for event timeline generation
• Claude AI for advanced workflows
• Microsoft Copilot for enterprise users
• OpenAI's free AI Academy for beginners
• Event timeline generator custom GPT (available to attendees)
• Voice prompting features in ChatGPT
• Code interpreter for spreadsheet analysis

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