When Adam Nelson presented to a group of planners last year, he had one message: Don’t overlook the creative ways artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to plan events.
Nelson primarily works with ChatGPT, because he believes it’s the most accessible form of AI, with its free version readily available. He pays $20 a month for the ChatGPT Plus subscription plan to get the most out of it. “There are so many considerations in an event-planning process,” says Nelson, an event specialist with Creative Day Technologies in Troy. “Where AI can step in and help is with details, checklists, and finicky things that usually take a lot of time and, while important, don’t usually yield the biggest results. I was trying to inspire the planners to use AI and to not be afraid of it.”
He suggests there are two buckets AI can be applied to in event planning. The first is what he describes as the “tedious, repetitive” tasks like developing production schedules, checklists, project-management layouts, and the like. “Those are menial tasks that can take up a day or two of time,” he says. “You can make some tweaks yourself here and there, [but using AI for that] frees you up to do other things.” The other bucket is brainstorming. Nelson describes entering detailed parameters for an event into AI software to come up with multiple theme ideas and even produce photos that can go on a mood board.
Ultimately, using AI effectively comes down to training it by providing descriptive and detailed instructions. “It’s about productivity and brainstorming,” he says. “If [planners] can get time back from those two tasks, then they can spend more time making sure their events create connections and build community. Those are things AI just cannot do.”
