Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the landscape of business events. But that competitive advantage relies on human judgment, quality data, ethical frameworks, and the ability to earn and maintain trust.
This is according to panelists at the session “Unlocking Synergies: Asserting the Advantage of AI in the New Era of Business Events” at the 3rd International Business Events Forum – BE in Sabah 2026 held at the Sabah International Conference Center last week.
“AI can be very helpful when you need large-scale data. But in the end, humans are the ones making the decisions,” said Halima Badioze Zaman, professor emeritus at the National University of Tenaga (UNITEN) in Kuala Lumpur.
She cautioned that the reliability of AI depends entirely on the quality of the data. Fragmented or unstructured datasets inevitably lead to misleading results. Despite supportive policies, Halimah identified data governance as a persistent challenge, especially when sharing between organizations remains limited.
Ultimately, AI cannot deliver maximum value without comprehensive data, so event organizers should invest as much in cleaning and structuring their data assets as they do in the tools themselves.
Florence Chua, Managing Director for APAC at the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), identified governance and policy gaps as one of the most significant obstacles to meaningful AI adoption in the business events industry.
Although many people use generative AI on a daily basis, most activities remain informal and outside of organizational frameworks. A lack of clear guidelines exposes organizations to privacy, intellectual property, and compliance risks.
As event professionals use AI for tasks such as agenda generation and attendee analysis, questions remain regarding data ownership and storage. Chua noted that these unresolved issues could undermine trust among customers, partners, and participants in the industry.
Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director of jwc GmbH and former CEO of the World Exhibition Industry Association (UFI), warned that the speed at which artificial intelligence is evolving is one of the biggest challenges for the business events industry.
He argued that although enthusiasm for AI implementation is high, the technology is still in its formative stages and unstable.
“AI evolves very quickly. We’re at the same stage we were with Internet browsers, Netscape, Internet Explorer, Safari, with new releases every few weeks. AI is still not a stable system that you can really trust and use,” he said.
For event organizers and technology providers, this volatility creates both operational and strategic risks. A large investment in a customized AI solution can bring short-term benefits, but it can also result in wasted resources if the underlying model changes direction.
Yunos Yunos, CEO of Evenesis, also rejected the idea that AI will lead to widespread job losses in the business events industry, arguing that AI will fundamentally change the way people work.
From his perspective as an event management software provider, AI is best deployed as a productivity tool to take over repetitive and time-consuming tasks so humans can focus on higher-value work.
“We will use AI as a co-pilot, not an autopilot. You are the pilot,” he said, stressing that responsibility, judgment and creativity must remain firmly in human hands.
