Event technology adoption now spans the basic infrastructure of meetings and events as well as newer AI tools. In 2024, registration, ticketing, and badging technology was used by 60% of planners, while 23% reported using generative-AI tools. More recent surveys show AI use becoming common, although strategic adoption, governance, and day-to-day use still vary substantially.
Contents
- Adoption of core event technology applications
- How widely event professionals use AI
- AI use cases, governance, and workforce impact
- Attendee demand for technology-enabled events
- Event technology spending and planned adoption
- Who is adopting event AI and how
Adoption of core event technology applications
Cvent Planner Pulse’s 2024 research, reported in Are There Gap Opportunities for Event Tech Applications?, shows that adoption is strongest around operational systems. Sixty percent of planners were using registration, ticketing, and badging technology for current meetings and events. Venue or hotel sourcing technology and mobile event apps each reached 54%.
The next group covers delivery and promotion. Event production and audiovisual technology was used by 43% of planners, while event marketing and promotion technology reached 38%. Project-management technology was used by 33%.
Several applications remained less widespread. Networking and attendee-engagement technology was used by 29% of planners. Virtual or hybrid event platforms reached 28%, and event data and analytics technology reached 27%. Speaker and schedule-management technology was used by 23%—the same share reported for generative-AI tools such as ChatGPT, Spark, Gemini, Copilot, or chatbots.
| Application | Planners using it in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Registration, ticketing, and badging | 60% |
| Venue or hotel sourcing | 54% |
| Mobile event app | 54% |
| Event production and audiovisual | 43% |
| Event marketing and promotion | 38% |
| Project management | 33% |
| Networking and attendee engagement | 29% |
| Virtual or hybrid platform | 28% |
| Event data and analytics | 27% |
| Speaker and schedule management | 23% |
| Generative-AI tools | 23% |
These figures describe planner use in 2024, not the share of all events equipped with each capability. They also show that adoption is not limited to one technology category: the most established tools support registration, sourcing, and mobile participation, while AI and analytics were still developing alongside engagement and hybrid-event systems. Cvent Planner Pulse, “Are There Gap Opportunities for Event Tech Applications?”
How widely event professionals use AI
The available surveys measure AI in different populations and ways, so their percentages should not be combined into one market-wide rate. PCMA’s report on a December 2024 survey of 92 business-events professionals, published in March 2025, found that 91% used AI in some way.
That survey also separated experimentation from strategic change. Fifteen percent were classified as AI-use leaders who were strategically changing processes. The actively using but fragmented middle majority represented 65%, while 20% were lagging AI users who used it minimally and sporadically. In other words, broad use did not mean that most organizations had redesigned their work around AI.
Convene’s September 2025 meetings-market survey, reported by PCMA, found that 65% of respondents used AI tools, up from 62% in the prior survey. The page does not specify the comparison year for that earlier result, so the increase should be read as a reported survey comparison rather than a dated annual trend.
MPI Meetings Outlook provides another view. In Q1 2025, 43% of respondents used generative AI regularly, compared with 22% in Q4 2023. A further 40% used it rarely in Q1 2025. Seventeen percent did not use generative AI at all, down from 48% in late 2023. Positive sentiment toward AI integration in meetings and events reached 68% in Q1 2025.
Together, these results point to a transition from isolated trials toward routine use, while leaving a meaningful distinction between regular use, occasional use, and strategic process change. PCMA, “Survey: How Event Planners Are Using AI for Meetings in 2025” and PCMA, “Convene’s 32nd Meetings Market Survey Results” and MPI Meetings Outlook, “AI Adoption in Events Nears Critical Mass”
AI use cases, governance, and workforce impact
Among respondents who used generative AI in Convene’s September 2025 survey, research was the leading reported use case at 75%. Marketing copy followed at 73%, and agenda or session creation reached 65%. These are practical content and planning applications that can be introduced without replacing the event team’s broader responsibilities.
More specialized applications were less common. Market segmentation was reported by 23% of generative-AI users. Site selection and speaker selection each reached 15%. The pattern suggests that AI use was most established in research and drafting, while decisions involving suppliers, audiences, or program talent were less frequently reported.
Governance also varied. Forty-four percent of surveyed organizations had formal generative-AI policies or guidelines. Another 35% had no policy yet but were developing one. Twenty-one percent had no policy and no plans to create one. These figures describe organizational policy status in September 2025; they do not measure the quality or enforcement of any policy.
The same survey found that 65% expected AI and technology development to require upskilling while keeping headcount unchanged. Nine percent expected AI and technology development to mean fewer staff. The upskilling result is consistent with adoption that changes workflows while retaining event expertise, though neither figure predicts actual employment outcomes.
For planners, the operational implication is clear in the data: the most common AI uses are research, marketing copy, and agenda or session creation, while formal rules remain uneven. The figures support treating AI adoption as a combination of tool selection, review practices, and workforce training rather than as a single software purchase. PCMA, “Convene’s 32nd Meetings Market Survey Results”
Attendee demand for technology-enabled events
Eventbrite’s statistics and trends page, drawing on a 2023 survey for TRNDS 2024, indicates that attendees connected technology with both convenience and event value. Seventy-six percent said they would pay a higher ticket price for a technology-enabled event, and 37% felt more positively about attending technology-enabled events.
Phone-based functionality was particularly prominent: 83% believed phones could improve the overall event experience through navigation, schedules, reservations, and add-on purchases. Wi-Fi convenience was sought by 28% of attendees. Twenty-two percent wanted the interaction provided by event livestreaming, and the same share wanted to interact with immersive AR or VR technologies.
Organizers also identified specific technologies they were excited to use in 2023. Livestreaming was listed by 39%, Wi-Fi by 31%, QR codes by 26%, and AI by 24%. Separately, 52% of organizers considered using new technologies such as AR, VR, or an event app to augment the experience extremely important.
The results are not a promise that every attendee will pay more for every digital feature. They do show a measurable willingness to value technology when it improves the experience, and they place basic mobile access alongside more immersive formats. Eventbrite also reported that US events with an AI focus grew almost four-fold on its platform during 2023. Eventbrite, “75+ Eventbrite Event Statistics and Trends (+ Expert Insights)”
Event technology spending and planned adoption
Cvent Planner Pulse’s 2024 spending results show continued investment, but not universal increases. Forty-two percent of planners had increased spending on meetings and event technology or support compared with the previous year. Spending or support was about the same for 45%, while 10% had reduced it.
The distribution matters for planning budgets. Increased spending was the largest directional change, but maintaining existing spending was slightly more common. The results therefore support a picture of ongoing technology investment with different budget positions across organizations.
Venue sourcing provides a more specific forward-looking example. In a June–July 2024 survey of more than 600 UK and European event professionals, 54% were already using AI during venue sourcing. Within that survey, 53% used AI to compare venue bids, 48% used it to search for venues, and 47% used it to create requests for proposals.
The same Cvent report said 69% expected to increase their use of AI-powered tools for venue sourcing in 2025. Expectations were especially high in Spain, at 89%, and Italy, at 86%. These are survey expectations for 2025, not measured adoption outcomes. Cvent Planner Pulse, “Are There Gap Opportunities for Event Tech Applications?” and Cvent, “Latest Cvent Planner Sourcing Report Reveals Anticipated 2025 In-person Event Growth Comes with Increased AI Adoption and Higher Expectations for Faster, More Customised Hotel Responses”
Who is adopting event AI and how
Event Tech Live’s late-2024 survey, published in February 2025, identifies which roles accounted for reported AI usage. Event organizers and event directors represented 45% of AI usage. Chief executives and senior leaders represented 28%, while event technology managers represented 10%.
Marketing and public-relations roles accounted for 7% of AI usage, sales and business-development roles for 6%, and production and operations roles for 3%. These percentages describe the role mix in that survey’s reported AI usage; they are not a ranking of every role’s adoption rate.
The distribution places primary responsibility with event leadership and organizing roles, with technology managers forming a smaller but distinct share. It also shows that AI adoption reaches beyond technical teams: marketing, sales, production, and operations all appear in the reported mix. For an event-planning organization, adoption may therefore involve policy and training across several functions rather than ownership by a single technology department. Event Tech Live, “AI in Events: Adoption, Barriers and Forecast”
Across the available measurements, event technology adoption is strongest where tools solve immediate operational needs, while AI is spreading through research, content, sourcing, and planning. The most useful distinction for event teams is not simply whether technology is present, but whether it is used occasionally, embedded in a process, supported by governance, and connected to an attendee benefit.