IMEX Frankfurt 2026 education track report
At IMEX Frankfurt 2026, tech-track speakers agreed that AI is now embedded in everyday event work—from drafting proposals to summarizing sessions—but a recurring theme was that capability is not the same as performance.
Sessions focused on how to keep humans in the loop, how data and unified tech stacks are reshaping planning as well as how digital trust is eroding as synthesized voices, deepfakes and scams target an industry built on urgency and connection.
Key takeaways
1. AI is a universal translator—think in outcomes, not formats
Vamshi Velmajala, Gevme argued that large language models will free us from templates built for older technology. A report no longer has to be a Word document and a presentation no longer has to be slides.
Spark, the Gevme tool built with PCMA, mapped 150 event tasks across 15,000 users. The advice: define the outcomes first, then let the format follow.
2. Capability without coordination produces chaos
Toby Bassford, Tillon, who led the session on AI-augmented teams, said better technology has never automatically produced better organizations.
He highlighted five human coordination factors: shared understanding, trust and belonging, purpose, coordination and learning. AI productivity gains still sit largely at the individual level—making people faster, but potentially more risky to teams unless workflows are deliberately designed.
3. Cvent rewired its culture before its product
Reggie Aggarwal, Cvent, described embracing AI across 6,000 staff—bringing in McKinsey and reviewing their top 100 vendors.
After giving everyone access to the underlying tool, Glean, non-technical staff built around 7,000 internal apps. One 10-hour build saved a team 1,500 hours. At IMEX, Cvent’s AI agents handled 1,600 appointments—around 17% more than the previous year.
4. Pre-event data is the next wave
Colja Dams, Vok Dams, introduced a new way to create attendee personas. Digital doppelgangers are AI models that use psychological data to simulate attendee behavior before an event takes place.
Validated against research from the University of Wuppertal, the models produced 87–94% comparable results at a fraction of the cost. One key finding: attendees judge an event’s value before the first coffee break, so events need to start strong.
5. What stays human cannot be automated
In the IAPCO panel, Nicole Walker, Lightning Bolt Consulting, recalled a bomb threat at a 6,000-person conference attended by Australia’s Prime Minister, where 10 people made a decision in five minutes.
AI, she said, will never read the mood in a room or manage that kind of crisis. Benoit Dubuisson, IAPCO and Alex Terzis, ERA Congresses & Events, agreed: human judgment and connection remain the non-negotiable value of a PCO.
Key challenges
1. A skills and proof gap stalls adoption
Jeanne Sheehy, Bostrom, and Sarah Timm, Parthenon Management Group, said that while around 90–95% of planners are experimenting with AI, 47% feel they lack the skills and 40% cannot prove ROI.
Planners still spend around 10 hours writing board or meeting minutes—time AI could reclaim if those barriers are addressed.
2. Using AI within broken systems just fails faster
Johanna Fischer, tmf dialogue, and her tech partner Kobi found that layering AI over fragmented, outdated data produced incorrect results for their fam trip matching tool, VetMe.
Their conclusion: transformation must come before AI. Fix the underlying logic first—or AI will simply accelerate its existing problems.
3. Adopting too much tech can fragment your data
Jonathan Kazarian, Accelevents, cited Forrester data showing that 81% of planners use at least two tech solutions per event—and many use more than five.
With around 300 new event tech tools entering the market in 2020 and 2021, organizers are left with disconnected data, multiple logins and reliance on whoever understands each tool.
4. Trust is under direct attack
Thomas Mauch, Bella Center Copenhagen, opened with a synthesized clone of his own voice, created from just three minutes of audio. He then shared how his 78-year-old mother lost her life savings to a romance scam.
He cited fake RFPs with malicious SharePoint links, spoofed WhatsApp accounts, Zoom phishing and one agency losing $20,000—all exploiting the industry’s urgency to respond quickly.
5. The future talent pipeline is at risk
Nicole Walker warned that if AI replaces critical thinking for emerging professionals, the industry will feel the impact within five to 10 years.
As administrative tasks are given to AI, Alex Terzis argued that training must shift toward teaching young professionals how to evaluate and refine AI outputs—not just produce first drafts.
Key opportunities
1. Personalization and accessibility at scale
Jeanne Sheehy and Sarah Timm demonstrated how AI can personalize the entire meeting lifecycle—from recommendations and matchmaking to real-time translation using tools like Wordly, Interprefy and KUDO.
Parthenon’s app, Athena, provides minute-by-minute session summaries, reducing the fear of missing out (as does the tool IMEX Group currently uses, Snapsight). Captions and transcripts were also highlighted as high-value accessibility tools.
2. AI democratizes idea generation
Henry Coutinho-Mason, Future Normal, ran a live exercise turning attendee sketches into AI-generated concepts, showing that the opportunity is not just more ideas—but more voices.
Citing Aaron Levie of Box, he noted the risk of only doing the same work faster, instead of reimagining what events can be.
3. Vendor accountability raises standards
Reggie Aggarwal suggested reviewing top vendors and removing any without a clear AI roadmap within six to 12 months.
From a client perspective, Nicole Walker expects ethical AI use and would avoid partners who don’t meet that standard.
4. Intentional collaboration over volume
Johanna Fischer reframed destination work around context—matching planners to destinations based on strategic alignment, such as the Faroe Islands’ EU-funded CO2 mineralization project.
When implementing a new tech tool like AI, make sure it’s valuable for attendees. It should either save time, make money or improve the experience.
5. In-person value is rising
Colja Dams noted that events are one of the few growing communication sectors, as more than half of LinkedIn content is now AI-generated; it’s driving demand for real-world interaction.
Thomas Mauch reinforced that human connection—handshakes, shared meals, eye contact—cannot be replicated; technology is an amplifier, not a replacement.
Report created with the help of Snapsight.
