As VP of Technical Services for the Opus event technology team, Event Marketer’s EventTech conference is basically Christmas. Once a year, professionals passionate about all things event tech gather to learn about and celebrate trends and developments in the industry.

This year I attended with Senior Director of Business Development at Opus, Robb Trost; here are the trends that blew our minds and got us excited about what’s next for event tech.

AI: We all know that AI, AR and MR are the talk of the town in the tech industry. Now, AI is finding its purpose in event tech. Sarah Sebastian, owner and creative director of Rose Gold Collective, expanded on this during her session titled “Using Artificial Intelligence to Elevate B-to-B Events.” Sarah is working directly with an AI development group to use pictures and video to gain insights about how a speaker or exhibit is engaging with attendees based on audience reactions and facial expressions. Smile, you’re on AI camera!

Chat Bots:  According to multiple thought leaders and exhibitors present at EventTech, Chat Bot technology is becoming increasingly valuable for event professionals. Chat Bots offer personalized and meaningful automated interaction to attendees. They can be used for customer service purposes or as a medium for targeted content delivery. They operate across multiple platforms and are beneficial to attendees before, during and after an event.

System Integration: There is a myriad of event platforms and services that can elevate your event. These services work best when they work together. This is why EventTech attendees were buzzing about system integration. Opus is all for it; we recently announced our partnership with Cvent. This pairing of robust event technology and strategic event implementation and design is a match made in event pro heaven.

Silent Discos: They’re awesome, that’s all.

We’re already looking forward to EventTech 2018!