What Does an AI Assistant Actually Do at an Event?

While the events industry widely adopts AI, its use during live events remains limited. In 2026, 91% of business events professionals reported using AI, but Forrester found only about 7% deploy AI assistants at live events. This hesitation stems from the risk of public errors. The most trusted assistants address this by relying exclusively on the event’s own content—such as the agenda, FAQ, session materials, and exhibitor documents—ensuring responses are accurate and sourced directly from the organiser.

An AI event assistant is a conversational tool that draws exclusively from a specific event’s content, including the agenda, FAQ, and exhibitor materials, rather than general knowledge.

Despite widespread AI adoption, live event operations remain largely manual.

Adoption statistics reveal a significant divide. While 91% of business events professionals use AI and 65% use generative AI—primarily for planning, marketing, and post-event content—live event adoption is much lower. Forrester found only about 7% of planners use AI assistants with attendees, and PCMA reports AI in event customer service at approximately 11%.

The primary barrier is trust, not capability. According to Amex GBT’s 2026 research, 63% of planners cite data quality as the main obstacle to effective AI. At live events, mistakes are public and immediate, making accuracy critical. Generic chatbots that rely on open internet sources do not meet this standard.

What makes an event assistant trustworthy enough to face attendees?

Grounding is essential. The assistant must respond using only the event’s materials—such as the organiser’s FAQ, speaker session decks, and exhibitor product sheets—and remain silent or defer when information is unavailable. For example, when attendees ask “where’s the keynote?” or “find me sessions on cybersecurity,” responses are drawn directly from the agenda, not from general assumptions.

Effective implementations ensure answers are actionable, not just accurate. When the assistant recommends a session or booth, it provides an interactive card that allows attendees to add the session to their agenda, visit the booth, or view the speaker. Within a sponsor’s booth, the assistant shifts context to answer product questions using that exhibitor’s documents, offering each sponsor a knowledgeable, always-available representative.

Who does an event assistant serve beyond attendees?

An event assistant also serves organisers, exhibitors, and post-event teams. Organisers benefit from a conversational copilot that answers operational questions in real time, such as “what’s happening right now?” or “which sessions have the highest registration?” Exhibitors receive a booth-specific assistant that summarises visitor activity and drafts follow-up messages in their brand voice, without accessing other booths’ data. After the event, the assistant generates recaps, social posts, and sponsor reports using actual event data.

Virtrio’s AI layer is structured around four roles: attendee concierge, organiser copilot, booth assistant, and content generation. Each function is grounded in its specific event data, ensuring responses are limited to verified information.

What about attendees who don’t want AI in their event?

Respecting attendee preferences is integral to the design. Proactive features, such as session reminders or personalised suggestions, should be organiser-enabled, clearly indicated, and individually switchable. This allows attendees to opt out of recommendations and use the event as they prefer. Assistance is offered, not imposed; those who want a concierge can access it, while others are unaffected.

This restraint distinguishes a useful assistant from a feature attendees ignore. Success is measured not by the frequency of AI interactions, but by the number of questions resolved that would otherwise require help desk support or remain unanswered.

FAQ

What is an AI event assistant? A conversational assistant embedded in an event that answers attendee, organiser, and exhibitor questions using the event's own content — agenda, FAQ, session materials, and booth documents — rather than general knowledge.

How is an event-grounded assistant different from a chatbot? A generic chatbot answers from broad training data and can guess. A grounded assistant answers only from the event's uploaded sources, which is what makes it dependable in front of a live audience.

Can attendees opt out of AI features at an event? In well-designed platforms, yes — proactive recommendations and nudges can be switched off individually, leaving the event fully usable without any AI interaction.

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