MPI
Developing practical AI fluency
MPI CORRESPONDENT PAUL COOK EXPLORES HOW AI IS BEING USED BY MEETING PLANNERS
S eems like AI is everywhere.
In every industry, sector and at every level we operate. But just how prevalent is AI use among meeting professionals, and what are they using it for?
According to MPI’ s Meetings Outlook survey, in Q4 2023, 22 % of respondents reported regular use of AI on the job. This nearly doubled to 43 % by Q1 2025 and hit 70 % in Q1 2026. Understanding how people use it, and the value they take from it, is always fascinating.
Fiona Nieman, CMP, HMCC,( MPI Tennessee Chapter) founder and principal planner for Indaba Events, believes AI can be particularly useful as assistance when the brain is tired and weary.
She says:“ AI can provide inspiration for curated and unique experiences at any location around the globe. There truly is no limit to what AI can offer.” But she also recognises that no amount of AI help can replace those inspired personal touches required to create experiences that exceed attendee expectations.
Kristen Collins( MPI New England Chapter), chief event officer for Typecast Meetings and Events, uses it to supplement her work in a few specific ways.
For example, preparing a registration rate analysis and forecast tool, putting together a quick yet polished summary of gifting ideas, and helping negotiate specific contract clauses.
Because of data privacy concerns, she’ s careful to never upload an entire contract, event registrants’ details, or other proprietary information.
And Collins uses AI sparingly. She has deep concerns around sustainability because of all the natural resources AI consumes in order to operate.
She says:“ Looking ahead, if I can find a sustainable AI solution, I’ d love to have it help me with making onsite management even more seamless. That would be amazing.”
At Event Services Group, partner Jeff Gold and his team leverage AI across multiple areas to improve efficiency, creativity, and overall workflow.
Gold says:“ AI plays a significant role in the creative development process. For themed events, it allows us to quickly generate visual concepts that we can share with clients for initial approval. This enables us to align on direction early, before engaging our graphic arts team to produce refined, to-scale renderings.”
It’ s clear that some meeting professionals are on the road to making the most of AI for their purposes. For others, still to put a toe in the water, what practical skills do event pros need to develop if they want to harness AI? Alexa Berube is a co-founder of Reposite, an AI-powered online vendor and supplier sourcing platform that leads MPI’ s AI-Enhanced Event Professional certificate course. According to Berube, it’ s all about developing practical AI fluency.
So, just what is fluency? Berube breaks it down into three parts. Firstly, planners need a foundational understanding of how AI works and where it realistically fits into event workflows. Secondly, to become proficient at prompt writing and finally, they need stronger data literacy and governance awareness.
There’ s little doubt that the meeting professionals making a difference are those that have embraced the benefits of AI. At the same time, being mindful that human touch and oversight provide the guardrails that will always be needed. n
n Learn more about MPI Academy’ s AI-Enhanced Event Professional and AI for Event Sales certificate courses by visiting academy. mpi. org
ISSUE 143 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 25