The top 10 event tech challenges facing the industry

Eventprofs now have high expectations for what digital tools can do for organizers when adopted and invested in.

That’s especially true as 2026 gets into full flow. But what are the biggest event tech roadblocks facing the industry?

1. Implementing AI: from trending to training
2. Avoiding the tech versus talent pitfall
3. The age-old integration issue
4. Personalizing the attendee experience with event tech
5. Compete at the expense of falling behind
6. Staying committed to an event tech stack
7. The AI perception gap
8. Event registration: the growing barrier
9. Remembering event tech is not an incentive
10. Getting over the perfectionist mindset

Understanding these challenges will bring organizers one step closer to realizing the full potential of technology.

1. Implementing AI: from trending to training

AI has been the shiny new toy for the last couple of years and interest in its potential has been high within the events industry.

Organizers have implemented such tools to help reduce workloads.

Latest findings from the Event Tech Forecast 2026 show 82% of event professionals have reported that incorporating AI has enabled them to optimize their time, which has been the primary benefit across the board.

This is a positive – but it is still only scratching the surface of its potential.

Eventprofs need to take a more dedicated approach to achieve greater efficiency.

The key to every LLM is that they are always learning, therefore they need to be specifically trained by users to provide specialized results that require less editing or attention.

This can be done by creating custom prompts tailored to specific AIs and by investing in technical talent to help build this infrastructure.

Once these are in place the true time optimizing efficiency of AI comes into play and event professionals will see results that have more impact.

But this can only be achieved through dedicated training, not just jumping on the latest AI trends when they arise.

2. Avoiding the tech versus talent pitfall

This has been the universal worry for the workforce of every industry – “will tech replace me”?

AI in particular has heightened these fears and the event sector is no exception.

The worry isn’t entirely unfounded – tech can automate some services that previously required human attention.

However, this is not AI’s role in an industry that is about bringing people together.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of event companies have reported limited improved efficiency after adopting artificial intelligence tools – of only up to 24%

Around a quarter has seen better gains, which reveal the true benefits of event tech.

AI is best utilized as an acceleration tool for eventprofs – enabling them to be more efficient, faster and better at what they do.

This means that businesses need to invest more in tech that empowers staff and ensures their workforce understands how to fully take advantage of the benefits provided.

3. The age-old integration issue

News of the next revolutionary event tech advancement is always exciting for the industry.

Until the bubble-bursting reality sets in – will it integrate with existing systems?

It may be enough to halt the adoption of new tools if the answer to this question is no.

Three-quarters of the event industry cite integration as a top tech challenge, 74% of respondents choosing it.

But experts believe that the issue isn’t integration itself – it is the cleanliness of data that hinders it.

This is because there is no overarching data model for the industry.

Event organizations need to start ensuring their data is clean in order to overcome this issue.

Although this is a significant challenge, it is not impossible to get past.

Data warehouses need simplification to be more interpretable for LLMs.

Integration between software will become organically easier as a result.

4. Personalizing the attendee experience with event tech

Organizers have always strived to curate events that have a unique experience – that is no longer enough.

Personalization for attendees has been identified as a high priority for organizers.

This stems from professionals wanting an experience that is hyper-specific to their needs; anything less might not be worth their time.

Prioritizing personalization has steadily increased since last year, when 67% of the industry indicated it was a primary goal.

Now at 76%, tech clearly hasn’t been utilized properly to make this happen.

That does not mean that it can’t still happen – it means organizers need to put less investment in creating mass-produced event experiences.

The key to this is data and using it to understand the layers of attendee interests and how to cater to them.

That way organizers can apply various formats to their shows and use tech like AI-powered algorithms to create a unique experience for each attendee.

5. Compete at the expense of falling behind

The event industry space has become far more collaborative in recent years.

Event tech is the common ground where leaders are becoming more cooperative.

This is because the technology infrastructure needs to be developed and improved together through shared knowledge and data.

Being too competitive with one another now poses a very real risk of falling behind when it comes to tech – what harms one in this area harms all.

The event industry has entered an era of co-opetition out of necessity (but embracing it further is key).

This does not mean competition ceases altogether; it means every business will now be running on concurrent paths.

Competition

Organizations will continue to stay competitive with one another.

But this will become more niche to specific show types.

Competition is healthy after all, businesses need reasons to keep elevating.

Collaboration

Cooperation takes precedence when it comes to event tech.

Many of the challenges it presents are universal and only by being united can businesses hope to overcome them.

By sharing knowledge, resources and strategies, the industry can jointly solve major issues.

The result? All ships rise with the tide.

A collective approach to event tech is key to reaching its full potential.

6. Staying committed to an event tech stack

Technology is an investment and businesses need to be committed to their decisions.

42% of the industry is integrating new tools into their event tech stack several times a year.

This level of investment shows that technology is a driving force behind behind key strategic choices.

But discipline in this area is vital – tech is an enabler and a messy tech stack can be more of a hindrance than a help.

It’s about quality, not quantity and every vendor will push their digital tools as “revolutionary” to your business.

The key is committing to the technology you do choose to invest in.

Leaders have to invest their time in learning what tools they really need to grow.

They must then develop close ties with their technology partners to understand how their solutions will enable this growth.

Having an optimized event tech stack that has been carefully crafted towards business goals is the key to unlocking potential.

The challenge is both finding the tools that help achieve business goals and resisting temptation when something sounds good but might not make a significant impact.

7. The AI perception gap

There is an inherent problem in being part of the digital age, with technology underpinning everything we do.

As a result, businesses feel the need to be seen as “advanced” in this area.

Organizations within the events industry are no exception and as an industry that has been seen as playing catch-up in its approach to tech, the pressure is significantly greater.

This has led almost three-quarters of the industry to identify themselves as ahead of the curve when it comes to AI.

The only problem is that less than half of these have reported seeing little impact from such tools on their business once they have been implemented.

A perception gap is apparent and that might be because event companies are not putting the pieces together properly.

The need to be seen as a tech innovator is taking priority over actually being one.

But adopting AI tools does not automatically make a company a leader in this area.

To truly see the impact, there has to be a clear strategy for this technology and more importantly, the people with the knowledge to implement it.

Event industry leaders now need to turn perception into reality.

Learn more about the AI perception gap facing the industry here.

8. Event registration: the growing barrier

What attendees once viewed as walking through a front door now feels like breaching a fortified gate.

Event registration forms are increasingly taxing for those filling them out and has become more of a roadblock than an entry point.

That is because organizers see this as an opportunity to harvest data from visitors – even if it’s unnecessary.

In a world where inconvenience is increasingly a deterrent, the event industry cannot afford to continue using overly long questionnaires.

Aside from being unnecessary, the information gained from manual profiling is not always as accurate as it is from accessible databases.

Shunting a task onto attendees when organizers can do it is not going to do themselves any favors.

The answer is to use tech solutions that will make life easier for both parties.

A move towards the one-click badge, followed by behavioral profiling and automated insight retrieval using LLMs, is the most viable option.

Gathering statistics at the expense of user experience, while adding little value, is no longer a good practice for the events industry (if it ever was in the first place).

9. Remembering event tech is not an incentive

This is arguably one of the biggest challenges facing eventprofs.

While being seen as ahead of the curve is a positive – it is not an incentive.

Visitors prioritize outcomes; they care more about what results they stand to gain than which tools organizers use to achieve them.

Because technology is ultimately still a tool, an imperative one yes, but still a means to an end.

If your tech is flashy, uses AI or some other amazing software, great… but if a competitor is providing the same or better outcomes without all that, participants will choose what benefits them more.

The focus has to be on technology as an enabler of outcomes.

Organizers still need to highlight the incentives of using said tools – number of meetings, high-value connections, access to content from industry experts etc.

This is what attendees care about and it is important to always keep in mind that technology does not drive engagement; people do.

Having a dedicated team that understands visitors’ needs and using this knowledge to incentivize them is key.

10. Getting over the perfectionist mindset

There is often a need to understand everything when it comes to tech – this mindset is a self-imposed barrier.

This level of understanding takes a lot of time and that is a luxury event professionals cannot afford.

It’s also unnecessary, as clarity about what your tech tools do is enough to incorporate them into your strategy.

It’s okay to be a jack of these trades and not a master of all.

Similar to challenge nine – just as attendees care less about the how, organizers should care more about the results their tools can produce rather than how exactly they achieved them.

Leaders should focus on the bigger picture of event tech instead of getting lost in the weeds.

Knowing what these tools do is enough to develop a strategy for blending them to achieve business goals.

The time wasted trying to understand everything to a perfectionist level could be self-sabotaging.

Developing trust with tech partners and seeing the results firsthand enables leaders to make informed decisions.

Gain practical insights on overcoming these challenges by downloading the Event Tech Forecast 2026.