The future of event planning according to MICE: AI creates space for human connection

The events industry is changing. Clients decide quicker, expect tailored proposals, and have little patience for friction. AI is increasingly part of the conversation: sometimes seen as a promise, sometimes as a concern. What does AI really mean for event professionals? Which tasks will it take over? And more importantly: how can technology create more room for human attention instead of replacing it? Dennis (CEO) and Kevin (Product Manager) at MICE Operations share their perspective.

"Event planning is known as one of the most stressful professions," says Kevin. "And that makes sense. You're creative, operational, constantly switching between clients, suppliers and your own team.You're the connector. Those are skills AI cannot, and should not, replace."

Here lies an important disctinction: AI is not here to replace event professionals, but to strengthen them. "AI plays a supporting role because it needs to," Kevin explains. "The applications have existed for years and years, and are now improving rapidly." Kevin mentions examples like live translations during international conferences and smart matchmaking at events between attendees based on shared interests. 

A faster, more demanding market
Clients are more critical and impatient than ever. "Many venues still work with static forms and long email threads," Dennis says. "That no longer matches how people make decisions today. Speed is essential. If you do not move with the market, you lose requests before you can even start a conversation."

At the same time, personalization is becoming more important. Especially in a time dominated by technology. "Clients don't want a general brochure, they want to see what's possible for their specific event. Concrete examples that are relevant and to the point."

Decision-making cycles are shortening. That requires a new approach, and AI can play an important role in that. Dennis paints the picture: "When a client visits your website, an interactive conversation can immediately guide them to the right solution. By asking smart follow-up questions about the event's objective, you instantly present relevant possibilities. The client feels understood and the proposal aligns immediately without endless back-and-forth. That increases trust and significantly speeds up bookings."

Less repetition, more value for the guest
So, what does AI mean for daily operations? "AI is extremely good at processing information," Kevin explains. "Collecting data, adjusting it, summarizing it, retrieving it. These are tasks that take time but require little creativity." That's where the opportunity lies. By handing repetitive and time-consuming tasks over to AI, space is created for what makes events valuable: personal attention, content quality, and experience.

AI also enables sharper targeting: inviting the right audience, aligning the program more precisely with expectations, or following up with relevant communication afterwards. "Thanks to AI, the event planner of the future simply has more time to add value," says Kevin.

From AI hype to sustainable advantage
The conversation about AI at MICE is far from hype-driven. "We see many venues struggling with questions around data quality, costs, and security," Kevin says. "And above all: what does it really deliver at  the bottom line?" According to him, this is a positive development. "The experimentation phase is over. AI must become a sustainable foundation that structurally contributes to more inquiries, stronger proposals, and higher revenue."

Dennis and Kevin fully agree on one thing. "The biggest misconception is that AI takes over the role of event professionals," says Dennis. "But events revolve around creativity, atmosphere, and experience." Kevin adds: "AI excels in data and repetition. People excel in personalization and communication. By using AI smartly, you actually create more space for that."

Technology should work for you, not the other way around. By letting smart tools handle the routine work, more time is left for event planners to focus on quality, creativity, and better commercial results.