Live event tech is evolving to integrate AI and streamline processes, making event planning smoother and more efficient. Learn how new tools are helping organizers focus on creativity and deliver personalized, memorable experiences.
The Future of Live Event Tech
by Jennifer Brisman, Founder & CEO of Event Planning and Guest Management platform VOW
For decades, the world of live events has been a whirlwind of organized chaos. Behind every concert, gala, or corporate event is a team of planners working tirelessly to juggle seating charts, guest lists, ticketing systems, and endless emails.
Despite the emergence of hundreds of event management tools, the industry continues to face two major challenges: fragmented platforms and fractured communication. These inefficiencies prevent event professionals from reaching their full potential, limiting creativity, causing frustration, eating away at precious time and impacting the experience of stakeholders and guests.
Fragmented Platforms
Even as technology has evolved, most event management platforms function as isolated point solutions—ticketing in one system, seating in another, guest communications through emails, and VIP management through spreadsheets. These tools often don’t talk to each other, leaving event teams trapped in endless loops of manual data entry. For every adjustment—whether it’s a last-minute seating change or a dietary request—planners must sync information across multiple channels, increasing the risk of errors and delays.
Fractured Communications
Communication is equally fractured. An event of 4,000 individuals may in reality be made up of 200 sponsor groups of 20 guests, each with varying levels of event needs and access across their groups and guests. Event teams are forced to manage conversations among internal and external stakeholders across email chains, messaging apps, and ticketing platforms. Each change or update requires coordination across these fragmented channels, often resulting in missed details, frustrated sponsors, and diminished guest experiences.
The Future Requires Seamless Integration
Today’s event organizers seek an integrated system where everything—from ticketing to seating and guest management—is managed within one platform and where communication happens in real-time across all stakeholders.
By leveraging AI to automate repetitive, manual tasks—such as seating updates, access changes, and personalized notifications—event professionals can shift their focus from putting out fires to creative and strategic planning. Imagine an event platform that anticipates a guest’s needs.
The Future Requires Personalization at Scale
For planners, personalization has traditionally been a labor-intensive process, requiring multiple exports, manual revisions, and countless conversations with vendors and sponsors. New AI-enabled platforms, however, can manage personalization at scale, handling everything from dietary needs to seating arrangements with precision and speed.
The future of successful live events depends on technology that allows organizers to deliver customized experiences to every guest, no matter the size or complexity of the event. Whether it’s upgrading a VIP ticket in real time or sending personalized notifications via SMS. Burgeoning event tech platforms enable planners to cater to individual preferences so that each guest feels like a VIP.
The Future Requires Real-Time Communication
Effective communication is the lifeblood of any event, but too often it is scattered across multiple channels and siloed within separate stakeholders, leading to miscommunication and last-minute chaos. Today’s event planners are demanding more and as the industry evolves, omnichannel communication will become non-negotiable.
Real-time updates ensure that every change—whether it’s a seating swap or an access upgrade—is reflected instantly across the system, with notifications sent to the relevant parties. AI-powered platforms will also provide predictive insights, allowing planners to anticipate potential issues and make proactive adjustments before they become problems.
The Future of Event Tech Requires Human Creativity With AI-Enabled Execution
As technology advances, the role of the event professional will shift from managing logistics to curating unforgettable experiences. The future of event management isn’t about replacing humans with machines—it’s about empowering event teams with technology that enhances their capabilities. With repetitive tasks automated, professionals will have the freedom to focus on what they do best: fostering connections, delivering memorable moments, and driving strategic outcomes for clients and guests.
This shift will ultimately transform the event industry as we know it. Event teams will no longer be bogged down by inefficient tools and disjointed communication. Instead, teams will be empowered to achieve levels of efficiency, precision, and creativity like never before.
The future of event management isn’t just about better tools—it’s about empowering professionals to be their best, fastest, and most creative future selves. Not bogged down by tech but propelled by it. This is the next generation of event tech—where AI and human creativity collaborate to facilitate enjoyable, memorable events that last a lifetime.
Jennifer Brisman is a 20-year event industry veteran and the Founder & CEO of VOW, the platform transforming how live events are managed and experienced. Learn more at www.VOW.app.