The events industry is undergoing transformation, driven by a need for deeper engagement and the strategic implementation of AI, according to industry experts.
The Decoding the Shift: B2B Event Trends & the Path Forward in the AI Age panel at Cvent Accelerate 2026 provided a roadmap for planners, revealing how organisers are redefining success in 2026.
All panellists agreed that engagement and its results were the top metric for determining a successful event.
Richard Bautista, senior assistant director of programming operations and events management, emphasised prioritising audience quality over raw attendance numbers, and underlined that authentic human interaction is the cornerstone of a successful modern event.
Florence Chua, managing director APAC of PCMA also highlighted the issue of geopolitical instability, which has caused large-scale events to split into smaller, more localised activations. She noted this has resulted in better engagement, value for money, and a higher ROI and has been a good way to mitigate risk in global uncertainty.
However, Celine Du, chief commercial & marketing officer for Pan Pacific Hotel Group pointed out that because of this fragmentation, the market is getting more and more competitive, with smaller events leading to an increase in price sensitivity and competition.
In light of this, the conversation shifted to how AI could help the issue of smaller teams and smaller budgets. Chua noted that companies may think AI is the solution to this, but she cautioned that this was no replacement for proper staff training.
Amelia Lee, vice president and head of global marketing for ST Engineering added that AI could be used to help organisers understand their customers better, and continue engaging with them post-event which could add to higher ROI.
