Chatbots and AI: The Key Event Tech Trends for 2018
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Back in the early days of the internet, one of the most common complaints that you could hear was that online interactions will render live events obsolete. As it turns out, these fears were largely unfounded – the event industry is in the best shape it has ever been. In fact, event organizers should appreciate the role the internet has played in creating the modern tech-savvy consumer, giving them the opportunity to utilize a host of new technologies in their events.
Each passing year brings with it a score of new tech trends, and 2018 is no different. As far as event planners are concerned, the two most interesting ones seem to be chatbots and AI. The main thing that chatbots have brought to the table is a new means for boosting audience engagement, whereas AI-based tech tends to shine in the domain of data analytics and marketing automation. To find out more on how these technologies are being leveraged for event planning purposes, take a look at the rest of our article below.
PERSONALIZED EVENT SUGGESTIONS
One of the most straightforward uses of AI in the event industry is for providing personalized event suggestions. When people are trying to decide which event to attend, they usually take into account a number of different factors, such as entrance fees, the distance from their location, the familiarity of brands on display, and others. If an AI had access to information of this sort, it would become capable of providing personalized event suggestions for a wide range of people.
Event organizers are trying to capitalize on this fact by using AI-powered software tools for audience profiling and segmentation, data enrichment, and predictive analytics. Understanding your audience is the cornerstone of event planning, and with the help of AI, this process can be made significantly easier.
EFFICIENT CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Another way in which event organizes can harness modern AI-based tech is by using chatbots as additional support staff. In situations where setting up a physical info booth is not feasible, chatbots can act as virtual Q&A stations, providing attendees with event-related information. Creating a chatbot for this purpose is significantly cheaper than hiring a real person for the job. Your existing staff will also enjoy the opportunity to work on more important matters, instead of answering the same couple of questions for the entirety of the event.
Additionally, chatbots are more efficient than their human counterparts when it comes to how many people they can serve at once, so there is less of a risk of attendees becoming disinterested during an event as a result of not being able to find the information they need.
HEADLINING EVENTS
Bots are not limited to only playing support roles at events – they can also be the stars of the show. More and more companies are attempting to liven-up their events by turning them into multi-media experiences, and having a machine that can talk to people is a novelty that few can ignore. Some top website development companies even go a step further by incorporating elements of AR into their events, such as giving their bots an avatar, in order to provide the most immersive experience possible.
The success of AR games such as Pokemon GO is a clear indicator that people find interactions with virtual entities extremely engaging, which is why event organizers should utilize them whenever circumstances allow it.
SOLICITING POST-EVENT FEEDBACK
Keeping an audience engaged for the duration of an entire event is not easy, but the real challenge is how to hold someone’s attention once the proceedings are over. The reason for why you would want to do this in the first place is to gather feedback for future events. Since handing out forms to fill out is not really a viable option in 2018, some event organizers are choosing to use chatbots to gather feedback en masse.
In contrasts to a review form, a chatbot can be programmed to ask a much greater variety of questions, which makes it easier to identify which parts of the organization went right, and which need more work.
GATHERING CONVERSATION DATA
Even if you don’t use chatbots for the explicit purpose of gathering information, they are capable of performing this function in virtue of their design. Specifically, chatbots can record their conversations with users, which can later be analyzed by AI-based software in order to extract useful event data. This data can then be fed back into the chatbot in order to further enhance its functionality, engagement, or knowledge.
This creates a feedback loop whereby the more you use chatbots and AI when organizing events, the better they become at accomplishing their allotted tasks. In effect, you will be getting a tool that gets better after each use, instead of degrading like physical equipment does.
CONCLUSION
Current trends seem to indicate that AI is the technology to look out for in the future. Event organizers looking to future-proof their business should, therefore, take a closer look at the benefits which AI brings to the table, and we hope that our article can serve as an effective starting point in this regard.
Guest Author Bio: Angelina is a content writer in love with technology and design. In her free time, she is watching tutorials, and trying to learn how to make beautiful images using Adobe Illustrator. She loves Italian movies, Spanish guitars, and sushi.
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