Conference Event Managers – Why you should be using Artificially Intelligent Chatbots.
27th February 2018
Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, is the buzzword of 2018! It’s the hottest piece of tech around, making it a game changer for the tech-savvy corporate event managers. AI is now positioned as THE number one event technology trend, as it will enhance your guests’ experience while increasing your efficiency as a conference event manager.
But how can AI do this?
Acting as a personal assistant, AI opens the door to a new level of networking, personalisation, engagement and feedback from guests. Let the tech help to free up your time by tackling your customer orientated tasks! This then lets you focus on other elements of your conference, allowing you to optimise your efficiency – which, as a result, can increase your revenue.
Artificially Intelligent Chatbots can work through third party messaging apps that are already installed on the user’s device, so there’s no need to download another app, meaning easy access for attendees!
Here are four examples of how Chatbots will increase your guests’ experience and efficiency as a conference event manager…
Look out for the light bulb for our top tips on how to use your Chatbot.
You must remember that 84% of your corporate attendees say that powerful networking opportunities are their main priority when attending conference events, so you should always seek to improve your guests’ networking experience.
Artificially Intelligent Chatbots are the perfect solution to enhance conference networking, as they can play an active role in knowledge sharing and creating connections between delegates. Conveniently, Chatbots are often embedded through social media, allowing you to monitor behaviour patterns and characteristics of attendees by interpreting data from their online profiles. Working from real-time information, Chatbots can make tailored suggestions to delegate as to whom they should meet and interact with – matchmaking individuals at your conference.
Your Chatbot needs to be authentic in order to build attendee relationships. The Chatbot can even notify you if an attendee requires human assistance!
Think of the Chatbot as your attendee’s virtual concierge, the technology follows them wherever they go, allowing guests to shape and personalise their own experiences. Attendees are able to design their own schedules by identifying activities and sessions they wish to attend, making the most of their time at your event. Get attendees involved by sending them live updates, push notifications and reminders for various seminars or meetings.
Did you know your Chatbot never switches off… they will operate 24/7 even when you’ve clocked off. They are an indispensable tool tailored to answer any logistical questions or FAQ’s which your guests may have, in a human like manner. Chatbots can also provide guests with floor plans, maps, event schedules and even anticipate their interests to make suggestions, in order for attendees to get the most out of your conference.
You need to make sure that your guests are aware of your Chatbot and how it can benefit them. Try sending out a welcome message, or launch the Chatbot before your event through social media!
In order to maximise the use of your Chatbots, it is essential to consider the benefits from your attendees’ point of view. You need to anticipate their needs and preferences in order to understand how Chatbots can improve their overall experience and increase engagement. Audience engagement is crucial in order to host successful conferences!
The Chatbot will get your audience engaged by drawing attendees’ attention to live questions and polls during seminars. Why not begin with an icebreaker poll to discover your guests’ expectations and objectives. Chatbots can also encourage participation with keynote speakers by asking and nominating questions from attendees’ devices, to create and share knowledge.
But make sure your Chatbot’s design and behaviour is in line with your branding and theme.
Chatbots are a key asset as they allow you to gather relevant data and information 24/7 – helping you to measure the success of your conference.
This seamless technology is the best tech to help you track your event’s success and evaluate ROI through attendee satisfaction. You can enable your Chatbot to ask various questions or create polls, which will gather relevant information and report the findings back to you.
Your Chatbot can generate feedback by creating a conversation with attendees’ based on their specific needs; producing a higher response rate than surveys. This is a great way to help you compare feedback from events year on year and make relevant changes.
You need to design your Chatbot’s language so that it can ask and understand different types of questions. However, try to avoid using rhetorical questions.
The bottom line is that Chatbots are here to stay and conference event managers are already seeing the benefits from using them at their events. Chatbots are set to explode over the next 12 months so start designing yours today!
Now that you know what Artificially Intelligent Chatbots can do for you and your attendees let us know what you think of this vital piece of event tech! Like the sound of Chatbots enhancing your guest experience whilst simultaneously improving your efficiency as a Conference Event Manager? Would you introduce Chatbots at your conference? Comment below and let us know!
Do you think the benefits outweigh the costs?
Thank you for your comment Callum! Yes we do believe that the benefits outweigh the costs. Once your Chatbot has been established you can use it at multiple events, they even work 24/7, so you’ll definitely be getting your money’s worth!
I went to an event with live polls during seminars and found it very effective, as the key speakers would address topics we were interested in
Thank you for your comment Gus! We completely agree that polls are a great way to engage attendees during seminars, we would love to see them being used more at conferences!
Sounds excellent for feedback and also for collating questions prior to talks. Feel that maximum information should be sent to delegates prior to conference and the chatbot would assist for minor details. Also good if can introduce delegates to each other prior to conference.
Thank you for your comment Barrie! Yes we totally agree, Chatbots are the best way to encourage networking prior to the event. Chatbots also allow attendees to get the most out of the conference, as they already know who they want to meet and chat to! Have you attended a conference where you’ve been able to network before the event?
Are Chatbots suitable for other types of events or just conferences?
Hi Sophie, thank you for your question! Yes definitely, Chatbots specialise in customer service so they are suitable for a number of different events, anything from trade shows to festivals. What type of events are you interested in?
“Chatbots are a brilliant idea, however how as event managers can we ensure that no problems would occur with the chatbot associated with our conference events? I feel they have potential to bring more technical issues to an event. Should we use trial and error at real events and risk technical faults or wait until they are well established? “
What a great question Courtney, thank you! We think event managers should take their time building and developing the Chatbot to make sure it is well established before introducing at your event, in order to reduce the risk of any technical issues occurring. Are you considering using Chatbots at an upcoming event?
I love the idea of a chatbot to talk to whenever I felt lonely! But just how would you send a welcome message if guests weren’t aware of your social media profiles?
Hi Sam, thank you for your comment. Thats a good question… Although Chatbots can be promoted through social media before the event, you can also make your guests’ aware of the Chatbot when they sign up to attend the conference, then you can send out a welcome message! Have you ever been to a conference where a Chatbot has been available?
From reading this blog, chatbots definitely seem like the way forward at conference events. By attendees having everything at their finger tips makes it not only easier for them but also gives them the opportunity to know everything there is to know and are able to use the bot to their advantage to ensure they see everything they want to see! I look forward to seeing these more at events
Hi Anna, thank you for your comment! We completely agree, we think Chatbots help to make it so much easier for delegates to find out everything they need to know, they have so many benefits! We also look forward to seeing them become more available at events. Have you been to any events where Chatbots have been used?
So many interesting points in this that I have never considered before. Love your enthusiasm for this and it seems you’ve done a lot of research. I will be looking out for these throughout this year. Thanks for the read.
Hi Helen, thanks for your comment. We are really pleased you enjoyed the blog! If you wanted to discuss any of these points further, just give us a shout!
Is there any examples of corporate events where the Chatbot system has been used, also do the benefits of it outweigh the costs?
Thanks for your questions Colm! Our favourite example is Spikey, the Chatbot for Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity, where Spikey was able to provide detailed schedules and make recommendations regarding appropriate seminars. Here’s a link if you would like to read further: https://chatbotslife.com/an-event-chatbot-case-study-18de3ada34a5. We certainly believe the benefits outweigh the costs, after reading this, let us know if you agree!
As an event management student at Sheffield University I think Chatbots are a great idea for conference events! Its such an easy way for managers to quickly answer guests questions, but I think people will still want a human touch to their event experience?
Thank you for your comment Ellie! Chatbots can definitely be a great addition to any event, especially conferences. They are designed so sophisticatedly that many attendees forget that their talking to a bot! However, Chatbots have the ability to quickly inform a member of staff if an attendee does require human assistance. Have you used Chatbots before?
As a young person who is also an event manager I think personally this is attractive to me, however older generations seem to like to talk directly with a person and can get quite frustrated when that’s not on offer. Therefore it could work very well, but in selected events with targeted customers. A great read though and very interesting points which I’m sure will be ever more relevant in years to come!
Hi Emily, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! We recommend that Event Managers have trained members of staff onsite, to assist with any queries that attendees may have. However, Chatbots will reduce the number of guests seeking assistance, allowing the Event Manager to use their time more efficiently. Do you think the older generation would be happy to use Chatbots at events if technical support was available onsite?
What are the negatives of these chat bots? Can you switch them off? Could they distract from the event experience? Surely we create experiences and good experience includes human interaction? Having experienced automated telephone systems, I am sceptical. ..
Thank you for your questions John! We are aware that there may be negative implications, however these can be avoided if Event Managers spend enough time fully establishing their Chatbot. Attendees can decide whether to receive alerts and notifications, and turn these off when not required. We believe that attendees desire a valuable experience which can be enhanced through the Chatbots recommendation on seminars and who to network with. Chatbots are supporting humans rather than replacing them! Would you be happy to try using a Chatbot at the next event you attend?
As an event manager in the industry, I think chatbots are a great use of technology, relevant topics can be bought up throughout a conference with live polls, keeping attendees involved and interested in the topic being discussed. A great tool to assist in the running of an event, when they can be used for customer service and information! A great topic to read about,I’m sure we will see a lot more of this in our events in the future!
Thank you for your comment Alice! We agree, we think Chatbots are a great tool to help assist in the running of events! They bring so many benefits and we too hope to see them at more events in the future. As an event manager, would you use Chatbots at your events?
I think it’s a fantastic idea! I can imagine it would really help to capture audience engagement at events – plus, it’s moving with the future! A very interesting discussion.
Hi Russell, thank you for your comment! Chatbots are definitely a great way to capture audience engagement at events! We can’t wait to see them being used more in the future. Would you be more motivated to attend a conference if a Chatbot was available?
I’d never really heard of chatbots being used at conferences before but I went to a conference recently and definitely feel like it could have benefitted from live polls to get the audience more engaged. Found this article very informative and will consider using them in future training events.
Thank you for your feedback Dani! Live polls are great way for speakers to engage with their attendees as they help to make sessions more interactive. It also helps delegates to get their say and opinion to speakers in a more accessible way! We are pleased to hear that you will consider using Chatbots in the future. Are you currently planning any training events?
A very well constructed piece of work. The “chatbot” certainly looks to be the way forward. Having the ability to communicate with your delegates during the conference without disruption can surely only help in giving the attendee exactly what he is looking for.
Presumably all information received during the event can also be collated to use in targeted marketing.
If only it was available in my day!
Hi Andy, thank you for your comment! Yes definitely, Chatbots can answer attendees’ questions more quickly and efficiently than human-powered responses! The Chatbot can also store all questions asked by attendees and any information they requested, so you can then make your Chatbot smarter for each event! Have you been to any events recently where a Chatbot has been available?
Seems like chatbots save a lot of time which is great for guests attending these conferences
Thank you for your feedback Alice! We definitely agree, attendees’ can receive instant information about the location of sessions, the times of keynote speakers, the best transport links, nearby hotels and just general F&Q’s. It means that event managers can focus on other elements of the event while the Chatbot deals with customer queries! Do you frequently attend conferences?
Great information on AI chatbots here. There is a high demand for conferences to create more exciting ways to network & humans in general are in desperate need to open up more to the advantages of technology.
In my opinion, chatbots definitely fit into the world of conference events and can offer great benefits for both attendees and the event managers themselves and this blog has some great reasons as to why
Hi Alan, thank you for your feedback! We definitely agree with the high demand, and hope that Event Managers will become more inclined to introduce Artificially Intelligent Chatbots to their Conferences. Have you ever attended a Conference, which you believe, would have been improved by the use of Chatbots?
Are Chatbots more effective than Event Apps?
Hi Ollie, thank you for your response. Chatbots are much more effective than Artificially Intelligent apps! Not only are they easy for attendees’ to access, as there is no need to download an app, every interaction with each person is different and tailored to the individual conversation. Personalising each attendee’s experience! Are you aware of any Artificially Intelligent Chatbots?
A thoroughly good read. However, one question that I have is that are Chatbots used effectively at other conferences and how do you measure the success rate of these chatbots?
Thank you for your comment Tilk! Chatbots have already been used at several conferences, for example the Chatbot ‘Betty’ was used at Bizbash Live Florida conference, with over 70% of attendees engaging with her. Here is a link if you would like any more information about Betty: http://www.siso.org/leadership/__media/PDFs/2017-SISO-Leadership-Presentations/eventbots-by-Sciensio—battlefield—SLC17.pdf. Chatbots store all information and questions that have been asked during the event, so they are constantly learning, and you can collate this data to improve the success of the Chatbot at each event! Would you engage with a Chatbot at an event if one were available?
Thanks for mentioning EventBots by Sciensio! We measure success by the number of questions the bot answers correctly (which is typically higher than human customer service). We also get higher usage than mobile apps, but we don’t consider that to be critical because attendees only need to use the bot if they have a question about the event. If they’ve read and memorized your website and emails, they won’t have any questions! 😉
Icebreaker polls are a fantastic idea, these will encourage people to get involved as they are trying something new… and exciting.
Hi RM, thank you for your response. We completely agree, live polls allow the attendees’ to feel like a part of the conference sessions. It will also improve their overall event experience, as it gives attendee’s a chance to interact and share knowledge with one another! Have you used live polls at an event before?
Really interesting read on the use of the Chatbots. I think they really are the way forward with the development of the events and providing a customer service for the customers 24/7. I think the costs can be regained quickly in saved time, however, I think the question of simple human interaction still stands. Some people just simply want to talk to a human. In the instance of a quick easy to answer question, this is defiantly the way forward!
Hi Daniel! Thank you for the read and the comment. We completely agree on the thoughts of chatbots being the way forward within events, but it is defiantly the case that many people still enjoy the human interaction. Human interaction can still be accessible throughout an event. However we think by also having a chatbot available, it takes strain off event organisers to allow them to concentrate on other activities and also to focus more on the attendees that prefer human interaction. Would you personally be open to using a chatbot instead of human interaction to allow event managers to focus on other things?
As an Event Manager myself, I find that Chatbots are only effective with certain types of events. With corporate conferences they don’t tend to work very well as attendees are often there for work and not because they necessarily want to be; therefore they don’t want to spend time using Chatbots. However, with public conferences, our audiences are a lot more interested in the subject matter and love to interact with the Chatbots to be as involved with the event as possible. We also share promotions through our Chatbots which is also a great reason for public guests to use them.
Do you also think that the type of audience has an impact on the effectiveness of Chatbots?
Hi Alex, thank you for your comment and interesting question! We completely agree that using chatbots at public conferences is beneficial.
In regards to your question, we think it is important for the event manager to carefully analyse their event audiences before implementing a chatbot to ensure it will work well. Would you personally want to interact with a chatbot at an event?
Artificial Intelligence does seem like the way forward for events! But do you think Chatbots will take over human interaction at events in the future?
Hi Liam, thank you for taking the time to read and comment on our blog!
We personally think that human interaction is imperative towards many attendees at events, as people still like to interact with other people. However we think it is important to have Artificial intelligence factored into events to not only help event managers deal with time management, but to also improve how they can help individuals that need more human interaction, and give them more of their time. Would you agree this is a fair statement?
Interesting ideas here… but how can event managers make sure their Chatbot don’t fail? Are you aware of the recent failures of the Microsoft Chatbot?
Hi Tracey, thank you for your comment! Yes we are aware of the recent failures that the Microsoft Chatbot ‘Tay’ had. However, in order to make sure unfortunate things like that do not occur, there are many steps that event managers can take. For example, they should start simple to make sure that their Chatbot works and is running efficiently. If they start simple they will be able to identify any issues and resolve them quickly. Additionally, event managers should also continually work on and invest in their Chatbot as this will help to improve the user experience over time. We suggest that event managers should carefully research Chatbots so they feel confident when launching one. What did you think of the issue surrounding Microsoft’s Chatbot?