Skift Meetings just dropped one of the most comprehensive looks at AI in the events industry to date, and the verdict is worth some real attention.

Working with MPI and sponsor Wordly, Skift Meetings analyzed nearly 700 event tech tools to map out where AI is genuinely changing what's possible in events, and where it's just a label slapped on the same old features. The result is a report built for anyone making event tech procurement decisions right now.

Grab the full report here: Skift Meetings: AI & the Future of Events

What the Report Found

The report's core argument is simple: the right question isn't whether a piece of event tech "has AI." It's whether that AI unlocks something genuinely new, real-time translation, facial-recognition check-in, intelligent matchmaking, versus a platform quietly rebranding an existing feature as "smart."

A few of the report's key findings stand out:

• AI introduces new categories of risk. Consumption-based pricing tied to compute usage can scale unpredictably, and issues like algorithmic bias and energy footprint now deserve the same procurement scrutiny event planners already apply to travel and logistics.

• Discovery itself is shifting. As attendees and travelers increasingly turn to AI assistants instead of search engines, event brands need to think about generative engine optimization (GEO), not just SEO.

• "Vibe coding" is changing who can build software. Non-developers can now stand up lightweight tools in hours. That's powerful, but experts caution it's not yet fit for mission-critical, attendee-facing systems without real governance behind it.

• Human skills become more valuable, not less. Emotional intelligence, creativity, and relationship-building are the report's throughline for what AI can't replace, even as it reshapes everything around them.

The report also profiles more than 130 AI-native event tech tools mapped across six phases of the event lifecycle, and includes a plain-language explainer on LLMs, agentic AI, and MCP written specifically for practitioners rather than technologists.

Deep insights throughout the report come from voices including Sina Bünte, CMP, DES, Doug Muller, Tess M. Vismale, CMP Fellow, DES, CGTP, Keith Johnston, Vanessa Lovatt, and many others across the industry.

Here's what stood out most to us, broken into six takeaways.

1. Stop Asking If It Has AI. Start Asking What It Unlocks.

Real-time captioning, facial recognition check-in, live matchmaking: these are capabilities that simply didn't exist before AI made them possible. An "AI" label on a registration form isn't that. The report draws a clear line between tools that are AI-native and tools that have bolted a feature onto an existing platform to keep up appearances.

"Many AI-powered features still feel like add-ons rather than something truly useful." — Sina Bünte, CMP, DES, DigitalMind.events

2. The Real Risk Isn't the AI. It's What's Hiding Behind It.

Vibe-coded tools let anyone stand up software in hours. The catch is what you don't see coming: usage-based pricing that scales unpredictably, unclear data retention policies, and testing that never happened before the tool touched your attendees.

"Vibe coding can create simple event tech tools, but it's harder to create complex ones." — AI & the Future of Events report

3. Governance Beats Blind Faith.

AI can't do anything without real human expertise behind it. Before adopting any AI-powered tool, the report urges organizers to get clear answers on what policies control its use, what security protocols protect attendee data, and whether the team is actually resourced to manage it for the long haul, not just the pilot.

"Governance comes first." — Thomas Blasucci, MPI

4. Design the Outcome First. Then Find AI Built to Go Further.

Don't shop for AI features. Define the outcome you actually want, then look for tools built by founders who are genuinely committed to pushing AI forward, not software with AI bolted on after the fact to check a box on an RFP.

"The real innovation lies in AI-native event tech." — AI & the Future of Events report

5. Discovery Is Moving from SEO to GEO.

As more attendees and travelers turn to AI assistants instead of traditional search, being visible in generative engine outputs is becoming as important as being visible in search results. Event brands and organizers who haven't started thinking about generative engine optimization are already behind.

6. The Human Skills Get More Valuable, Not Less.

Even as AI reshapes event tech from the ground up, the report's throughline is that emotional intelligence, creativity, and relationship-building are what AI still can't replicate. The tools change. What still closes a deal, calms a nervous sponsor, or reads a room hasn't.

The Industry's Wish List

The report closes with a look at the gaps AI-native event tech still needs to solve:

• Predicting and tackling no-shows

• Interactive real-time event dashboards

• Sponsor success dashboards

• Holistic post-event follow-up that combines communications, content, and ROI in one place

These are the areas where the industry knows what it wants and is still waiting for the tools to catch up.

Where Markus AI Fits In

This is exactly the thinking behind what we're building. Markus AI is an event super agent, an intelligence layer that runs across the tools organizers already use, not another platform to bolt on and manage separately. It connects the dots across your existing event stack to create more personalization for attendees, more meaningful connections between buyers and sellers, and more measurable results for sponsors. The goal isn't AI for its own sake. It's using AI to get more out of every event you run.

Sources:

• Skift Meetings: AI & the Future of Events (full report)

• Skift Meetings on LinkedIn

• MPI

• Wordly