For the past three years, AI in events has been about improving productivity. However, the conversations at IMEX point to a bigger shift: AI is all about revenue growth, and it’s creating a more personable experience in the process.
As the event industry continues to rebound, a resounding question at IMEX has been: what role can AI play in accelerating and managing the industry’s growth, while enhancing human connections.
For event organisers, securing new sponsors and exhibitors is central to future growth. Historically, this has required a lot of hustle, networking and nurturing – the attributes that separate our industry’s most successful sales people from the rest. They’re also skills that AI is rapidly developing.
Before a sponsorship deal is signed, somebody must identify suitable companies, research their priorities and reach a decision-maker with a convincing reason to talk. That work is slow, expensive and often the bane of any sales-person’s existence.
Industry & AI expert Max Gabriel said: “For event organisers, prospecting, outreach and securing interest is what consumes 80% of the effort, and delivers 20% of the value. AI promises to reverse that.”
Informa Markets has been deploying a specialist AI tool to help grow their exhibitor and sponsorship revenue for one of their larger events, and 2026 revenues have grown significantly, without increasing headcount. The tool they attribute this to has been Super Benji, a UK-based AI company that specialises in helping event organisers secure new sponsors and exhibitors.
As Carola Fiameni from Informa Markets said: “Super Benji has genuinely revolutionised the way we run campaigns at Informa. In just one year, it has allowed us to scale our ABM approach at speed”
“What Super Benji does is more human than my humans. The amount of research and personalisation it puts into every touch-point is the level of care that our sales team wished they had the time for”, said one Chief Revenue Officer who preferred not to be named.
David Harrison, CFO of IMEX Group, brings the financial perspective into focus. “AI has immense potential to make our industry more efficient, but efficiency alone isn’t the prize. The real priority is using it to personalise the experience for every sponsor and delegate. Get that right and the numbers fall into place.”
To this end, IMEX demonstrated that AI isn’t just impacting growth, it’s transforming the entire events stack. For instance, Markus AI is using the technology to personalise the event experience for attendees. Similarly, Clarity Media Partners is using AI to enhance the sponsorship onboarding experience, meanwhile Canadian tech company, Planned, is bringing AI to the registration and reporting side of event operations.
As Vlad Ciurca, Co-Founder of Techsylvania, said: “We’re starting to see AI re-invent the entire sponsor and delegate experience, resulting in a more seamless, integrated and highly personalised experience for everyone.”
The next test for AI is whether it can put the ‘human touch’ back into the event industry, and unlock new growth in the process. Tools like Super Benji, Markus AI, Clarity & Planned are on a mission to do just that, let’s hope they succeed.
