Five AI Tools to Optimize Exhibits and Events
- Travis Stanton
- Jun 16
- 4 min read
In the fast-paced world of trade shows and experiential marketing, staying ahead of the curve means constantly evolving your strategies — and your tech stack. Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just the latest buzzword; it’s a game-changing toolkit that can streamline workflows, personalize experiences, and amplify your return on investment.
From lead qualification to content creation, AI tools are rapidly becoming essential allies for marketers tasked with planning and executing successful exhibit and event programs. Here are five AI-powered solutions that can help elevate your next trade show or live event activation.
1. ChatGPT for Pre- and Post-Show Content Creation
Use Case: Email campaigns, booth scripts, social posts, and follow-up messages.
Creating compelling content before and after a show can be time-consuming, especially when marketing teams are juggling tight deadlines. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a powerful writing assistant that helps you draft everything from email outreach to personalized follow-up messages. Need booth staff talking points, a catchy LinkedIn post, or a script for a product demo video? ChatGPT can generate it in seconds — and tailor it for different audiences or platforms. Use it to brainstorm taglines, edit sponsor decks, or rewrite tired messaging. With the right prompts, it can become your most versatile teammate.
2. Seventh Sense for AI-Powered Email Timing
Use Case: Maximizing engagement with email invites and follow-ups.
It’s not just what you say — it’s when you say it. Seventh Sense uses AI to analyze recipients’ behavioral patterns and determine the optimal time to send your emails. Whether you're promoting your booth before a trade show or sending a post-show nurture campaign, this tool ensures your message hits inboxes when people are most likely to open and engage.
This level of personalization often leads to higher open rates, better click-throughs, and more qualified traffic to your booth or website. It integrates seamlessly with platforms like HubSpot and Marketo, making it easy to incorporate into your existing workflow.
3. Drift for Conversational Lead Capture
Use Case: Qualifying leads in real time — before, during, and after the show.
Drift uses AI-powered chatbots to engage visitors in real time, answer questions, and route qualified leads to the right salespeople. It’s especially useful on landing pages where prospects can preschedule in-booth meetings, as well as microsites set up specifically for event attendees. Instead of a generic form, prospects have a personalized conversation that captures their intent and contact info 24/7.
During the event, you can even use Drift to assist virtual or hybrid booth visitors, replicating the in-person engagement with instant answers and intelligent routing. Post-show, it helps keep the conversation going, nudging leads toward the next step with contextual follow-up.
4. Crystalknows for Personalized Outreach
Use Case: Crafting one-to-one messaging that resonates with different personalities.
Imagine knowing how to communicate with each of your leads based on their personality style. CrystalKnows analyzes publicly available data (like LinkedIn profiles) to predict behavioral tendencies, then gives you tips on how to write and speak in a way that matches that person’s preferences.
For exhibit and event marketers, this is gold. Whether you’re prepping for high-stakes meetings with key clients at the show or sending post-event emails, Crystal can guide you on tone, language, and content that will resonate. Think of it as a cheat sheet for better rapport — and more substantive conversions.
5. Tactiq for Smarter Post-Show Debriefs
Use Case: Transcribing and analyzing sales conversations from the show floor or virtual meetings.
Tactiq is an AI-powered transcription tool that integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. After recording your booth staff's conversations with leads or internal team debriefs, it provides searchable transcripts, key insights, and even automatic summaries.
This can be incredibly helpful for understanding what worked, identifying objections, or analyzing repeated pain points among your prospects. Instead of relying on fuzzy memory or scattered notes, you get a clear, structured record that can inform your post-show reporting and future strategy. Develop a process for recording in-booth meetings, and you can share transcripts with sales, allowing them to personalize outreach based on exactly what was said.
Smarter Exhibits, Powered by AI
The exhibit floor is one of the most competitive arenas in marketing, but AI tools are leveling the playing field. By automating the tedious, enhancing the creative, and personalizing the experience, these solutions empower marketers to do more with less — and get better results.
Whether you're looking to improve pre-show outreach, in-booth engagement, or post-show follow-up, integrating even one or two of these AI tools into your program can make a measurable difference. And as these technologies continue to evolve, the possibilities for smarter, more effective exhibit marketing are only going to grow.
Pro Tip: Don’t try to implement everything at once. Start with a single pain point — like email timing or lead capture — and test how AI can improve it. The goal here is continuous improvement and evolution, and a full-scale AI revolution. And don’t forget: Face-to-face marketing is all about personal, organic engagement. So focus on ways to organically incorporate AI that elevates — not replaces — the kind of live engagements that make exhibits and events uniquely valuable channels in the context of lead generation and qualification.
About the Author
Travis Stanton is a marketing strategist focused on helping brands make the most of their live event and exhibit marketing programs. With a passion for emerging tech and a deep understanding of the experiential space, he helps teams blend creativity with data to drive measurable results.
