How AI is Transforming the Landscape of Events

James Feldman

You're already juggling 47 browser tabs, three budget revisions, and a venue that just changed their AV pricing. Again. What if AI could handle the chaos while you focus on creating experiences people remember?

James’ keynote will reveal the AI systems top meeting planners are using to slash planning time by 60%, predict attendee preferences before registration opens, and deliver ROI reports that make CFOs smile.

James’ live demonstrations of tools will reveal how to transform vendor research from three days to three hours, budget scenarios that write themselves, and attendee engagement strategies powered by data you already have, but probably aren't using.

Forget theory. Forget "someday we'll all use AI." You're walking out with the exact tools, prompts, and workflows that turn experienced planners into strategic powerhouses who deliver bigger impact in less time.

This is where your planning experience meets acceleration. This session is built on James’ "AI Sauce" philosophy: a little enhances everything, too much ruins it. Where gut instinct gets data backup. Where you finally get ahead of the chaos instead of constantly reacting to it.

The question isn't whether AI will change event planning. It already has.

The question is:
Will you be leading the change, or will you be catching up to it?

Key Takeaways

1. The Venue Intel System: AI-powered vendor research and comparison tools that surface hidden costs, negotiate better contracts, and identify perfect venues in hours instead of weeks. Leave with the exact prompts that extract insights from RFPs, contracts, and venue specs.
2. Predictive Attendee Intelligence: Learn how to use AI to analyze past event data and predict registration patterns, session popularity, F&B preferences, and potential bottlenecks before they happen. Stop guessing, start knowing.
3. The 15-Minute ROI Report: Transform post-event data chaos into executive-ready impact reports that prove your value. AI systems that compile attendee feedback, engagement metrics, and financial performance into compelling stories that your stakeholders read.
4. Real-Time Event Optimization: On-site AI tools that monitor attendee flow, session attendance, and engagement in real time so you can adjust on the fly. Turn every event into a learning opportunity for the next one.
5. The Planner's AI Command Center: Walk away with a complete toolkit: budget scenario builders, vendor communication templates, attendee journey mappers, and crisis response frameworks. Everything you need to plan smarter, faster, and better, starting with your next event.

Bonus: Each attendee receives James's "Event Planner's AI Toolkit" with pre-built prompts, vendor comparison templates, and ROI calculators you can deploy immediately.

The Psychology of Attention: Keeping Attendees Engaged in a Tech-Heavy Agenda

Megan Nolan

In a world where the average attendee checks their phone 144 times a day, human attention has never been more precious, or fragile.

This interactive session uncovers the neuroscience of focus in clear, accessible language and reveals how tech-heavy, content-dense environments silently drain cognitive capacity. Through live micro-interventions, you won’t just learn about attention science, you’ll experience it firsthand.

Walk away with practical, science-backed strategies to design sessions that work with the brain’s natural rhythms, boost engagement, and ensure your content actually sticks, all without adding extra tools, apps, or complexity.

If you want your attendees to stay energized, focused, and fully engaged in a world of digital overload, this is where attention science meets event design.

After this session, attendees will be able to:

• Understand why cognitive overload happens so quickly in tech-heavy environments and how to design around it.
• Spot when attention starts to slip and adjust in real time to keep your audience engaged.
• Create agendas that align with the brain’s natural energy cycles so content sticks.
• Use strategic recovery moments and micro-interventions to maintain energy across multi-day events.
• Implement engagement strategies that work for hybrid, neurodiverse, and screen-fatigued attendees.

AI-Enhanced Planners: From Overwhelmed to Empowered

Nick Borelli

Artificial intelligence isn’t another task for planners, it’s the support you’ve been needing. In this interactive keynote, Nick Borelli of Zenus.AI demystifies AI and shows how it can lighten your workload immediately.

You’ll learn how AI enhances ideation, streamlines tasks, and strengthens strategic planning. With insights from PCMA’s Enhancing Events with AI Certification Course, Nick delivers practical, real-world guidance.

You’ll leave confident and ready to elevate your events with AI.

Key Takeaways

• A clear understanding of how AI can reduce workload by assisting with ideation, tactical tasks, and strategic planning.
• Practical, easy-to-apply AI techniques that planners can begin using immediately, no technical background required.
• Confidence in choosing and using AI tools that genuinely improve efficiency and event outcomes.
• Real-world examples and workflows from Nick Borelli’s experience with the PCMA Enhancing Events with AI Certification Course.
• A mindset shift from AI hesitation to AI empowerment, enabling planners to work smarter and deliver more impactful events.