Imagine getting an event experience that feels as seamless and intuitive as your Netflix recommendations. You show up, and everything—from the sessions you attend to the networking opportunities—feels tailor-made just for you. That’s the power of AI-driven personalization, and if you’re not leveraging it for your events yet, it’s time to start.

Why Personalization Matters More Than Ever

Think about the last time you had an amazing, personalized experience. Maybe it was the perfect ad popping up just when you needed it, or a delivery app remembering your favorite restaurant order. Those moments stick with you. On the flip side, so do the bad ones—like receiving an email that starts with, “Hey <<first name>>.” Oof.

According to Adobe’s 2024 Report, 71% of consumers expect brand interactions to be tailored to their needs. The same goes for event attendees. They want an experience that feels designed just for them, not a one-size-fits-all approach. When done well, personalization enhances engagement, improves satisfaction, and makes your event truly unforgettable. So, how do we personalize our events to perfection? CVENT has the answers.

Step 1: Get Your Data in Order

Before you can personalize anything, you need solid data. AI can help by cleaning up messy data sets—removing duplicates, normalizing job titles, and categorizing attendees into personas. But first, you need to gather the right data.

Here’s what to focus on:

• Account Data: Industry, company size, customer vs. prospect
• Contact Data: Interests, location, job function, job level
• Event Attendee Data: Session selections, networking goals, accessibility needs

A simple way to collect this information? Registration forms, pre-event surveys, and post-event feedback. And don’t forget to integrate your data across systems—whether that’s syncing CVENT(or your event organization software of choice) with your CRM tool (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.).

Step 2: Personalizing the Attendee Journey

AI can help make every touchpoint feel custom-fit. Here’s how:

• Marketing & Communications: Use AI writing tools like Claude, CVENT Writing Assistant, and Synthesis AI to craft personalized speaker bios, exhibitor descriptions, and event messaging.
• Webpages & Registration: Tailor registration forms with only relevant questions to improve completion rates. AI tools like HiveGPT and CVENT can help with this.
• Session Recommendations: AI can analyze attendee behavior and suggest relevant sessions. If someone attended three sustainability sessions last year, why not recommend more this year? AI tools like Drift and CVENT Attendee Hub can make it happen.

Step 3: Enhancing the On-Site Experience

Once attendees arrive, AI can continue personalizing their experience:

• Smart Networking: Suggest connections based on job function, industry, or shared interests.
• Note Taking & Summaries: Tools like NotebookLM and Backtrack can help attendees organize and summarize session notes.
• Event Highlights & Recaps: Create personalized event summaries, such as “You made 30 new LinkedIn connections!” or “You attended 5 sessions and engaged with 12 posts.”

Step 4: Repurpose & Keep the Engagement Going

The personalization doesn’t stop when the event ends. AI can help repurpose content into bite-sized clips for social media, generate post-event reports, and prove ROI with engagement stats.

The Personalization Circle: A Continuous Loop

At its core, personalization is about using data to understand your attendees, crafting experiences that make them feel valued, and then using their feedback to refine future events. When done right, it creates a cycle of engagement that keeps attendees coming back for more.

So, the next time you’re planning an event, ask yourself: How can I make this experience feel as personal as a great Netflix recommendation? Because when expectations are exceeded, attendees remember—and that’s what makes an event truly extraordinary.

Ready to take your event personalization to the next level? Let’s make it happen. Contact us!

To learn more about how AI can help with your event marketing, visit our AI: Event Marketing’s New Superhero blog post.