How to Use ChatGPT to Plan Your Corporate Event

The ChatGPT conversation has taken over the world over the past few months, and I’m sure you’re saying, “Oh no, not another ChatGPT article.”

Fair enough.

But we like to talk about the latest resources for your events and ChatGPT is certainly a powerful one. 

The coolest part is that you can leverage this tool alongside all your other event management tools to generate ideas and streamline your planning process. Let’s take a look at both the cool things you can do with ChatGPT for event planning and its limitations.

What is ChatGPT?

(Hey, ChatGPT told us to say this.) 

Before we dive into how to use ChatGPT to plan your corporate conference, let's first define what ChatGPT is. ChatGPT says, “ChatGPT is a large language model developed by OpenAI, which is trained on a massive amount of text data to generate human-like responses to text prompts.”

Okay cool. 

In non-computer language that means ChatGPT can take your questions and generate human-like responses by analyzing millions of data related to your questions.

Which means it can help you answer some major questions you might have about your events. Let’s take a look at some.

Generating Ideas for Event Format and Agendas

First and foremost, ChatGPT can be an incredibly powerful tool for brainstorming and generating ideas. If you know what kind of event you want to host (e.g. a conference), then you can ask ChatGPT to help you with ideas for the conference agenda, keynote speakers, and topics for breakout sessions.

It’s helpful here to input your goals and objectives and be very specific about the purpose of your event. That way ChatGPT can give you the best ideas.

For example, you might input something like:

"I am planning a corporate conference for our company. Our goals are to provide networking opportunities, showcase industry leaders, and provide educational sessions on the latest trends in our industry. Can you help me generate ideas for the agenda?"

When we put this into ChatGPT, here are some of the answers we got:

• "Consider inviting industry experts to speak on panels and host workshops on relevant topics. Provide ample time for networking events and social activities to encourage attendees to connect with one another."
• "Schedule keynote speakers who can provide insights on industry trends and emerging technologies. Offer breakout sessions that focus on specific areas of interest to attendees."
• "Plan interactive sessions that encourage attendees to share their own experiences and insights. Offer opportunities for attendees to connect with one another outside of formal sessions, such as social hours or dinners."

You can then ask ChatGPT to expand upon these ideas to build your agenda. I simply asked it “Please build me an agenda based on your answers.”

Here’s what it gave us:

Finding Ideas for Speakers and Topics

One of the hardest parts of creating a conference or corporate event is coming up with an agenda and choosing speakers. Especially if this is an annual event, you want to find fresh ideas and speakers that will excite and engage your audience.

Let’s look at how ChatGPT can help you here. To generate ideas for speakers and topics, you can input a prompt like:

"I am looking for ideas for keynote speakers and breakout session topics for my corporate conference. Our industry is home services and our target audience is professionals in the field. Can you help?"

When we did this, ChatGPT responded with:

• “Industry leaders and experts who can speak on topics like emerging trends in home services, innovative technologies, and best practices in the field.”
• “Inspirational speakers who can share personal stories and insights on topics like leadership, motivation, and work-life balance.”
• “Business experts who can offer insights on topics like entrepreneurship, financial management, and marketing strategies.”

But you can get even more specific here.

My next prompt was: “Can you provide me suggestions for keynote speakers in the $50,000 - $100,000 range that are well-known, inspirational, and can speak about home services?”

Here’s what ChatGPT suggested:

Apparently ChatGPT likes HGTV….

From there, you can also ask ChatGPT to generate ideas for your speaking sessions. Again, this is a starting point that you can customize to your own event.

The cool thing here is that ChatGPT knows what you asked previously. So after I asked about this home services conference, I can simply say:

“Cool, can you provide me with 15 topics to speak about at this event?”

Here are a few ideas it suggested:

Again, this is a starting point to help build your agenda. You’ll need to consult with experts in your field, look at the availability and cost of speakers, and much more before you finalize your event.

Using ChatGPT to Plan Logistics

Once you have a rough idea of the agenda, speakers, and topics for your conference, it's time to start planning the logistics. ChatGPT can be helpful in generating ideas for things like venues, catering, and transportation.

You can start off really simple with something like “Can you suggest a place to host this event?”

ChatGPT gave us back responses like Las Vegas, Orlando, and Nashville: all pretty standard fare.

As with any of the other prompts, you’ll need to be specific. Here’s one we put in:

“Can you suggest 3 location options for this event that will take place in October and host 1,000 attendees? We will need sleeping rooms, main event stage, 5 breakout rooms, and close accessibility to local attractions. We're looking for somewhere cool that people will want to travel to, but that is also easy to get to from all across the country.”

ChatGPT responded with:

You can continue to build this out to gather information about venues, restaurants, catering, and more, and eventually have a robust list of ideas to consider.

Note that some of these answers might not be incredibly accurate or ideal.

From personal experience asking ChatGPT to give me suggestions for Valentine’s Day date ideas in Carlsbad, I can’t exactly say I would trust it to give you the most amazing responses. Sorry, but I don’t want to spend Valentine’s Day at Legoland.

Keep that in mind as you’re planning events in places you’re not as familiar with – what it suggests may not be what’s actually fun or exciting to do in that city.

Limitations to Using ChatGPT for Event Planning

While ChatGPT can be a powerful tool for event planning, there are many limitations that make it not suitable for completely replacing your event planning teams.

We even asked ChatGPT what its limitations are, and this is what it said:

• “ChatGPT's responses are generated based on the text inputs it receives, which means that the quality of the responses is dependent on the quality of the input prompts.”
• “ChatGPT is not capable of providing detailed logistical planning or making actual arrangements for venues, catering, transportation, etc. Instead, it can provide high-level ideas and suggestions for these areas.”
• “ChatGPT is not a substitute for human expertise and experience in event planning. While it can generate ideas and suggestions, it's important to have a team of experienced event planners to execute the logistics and ensure the success of the conference.”

Couldn’t have asked for a better recommendation ourselves. ;)

Event Planning with an Agency AND ChatGPT is the Best Solution

ChatGPT paired with an event management agency is your best bet for a creative and successful event. In the end, although ChatGPT is very powerful, it cannot match the expertise and experience of an event planner.

The major reason why is that although ChatGPT has access to immense amounts of data, it is simply analyzing data online. That means a hotel might have raving reviews online, and will be suggested by ChatGPT, but it might not be the best fit for your event.

Maybe the hotel is difficult to work with, or maybe there is a different one that can give you better rates due to their relationship with the agency.

Additionally, ChatGPT can’t do the in-person activities that are necessary for event planning. The agency team is able to conduct site visits, negotiate contracts, and manage logistics with the hotel, ensuring that everything runs smoothly on the day of the event.

They can also work with the hotel to arrange for catering, audio-visual equipment, and other services that are crucial to the success of a conference.

Plus, even ChatGPT recognizes that it's no match for event planners. Here’s what it says:

• “Experience and expertise: Event planning companies have years of experience and expertise in planning and executing successful corporate conferences. They have the knowledge and skills to navigate complex logistics, negotiate with vendors, and troubleshoot issues that may arise during the event.”
• “Detailed planning and execution: Event planning companies are able to provide detailed planning and execution services that ChatGPT cannot. They can create a detailed timeline, coordinate with vendors and sponsors, manage budgets, and oversee the overall execution of the event.”
• “Personal touch: Event planning companies can provide a personal touch to your corporate conference that ChatGPT cannot. They can work with you to create a unique and memorable experience that reflects your company's culture and values.”
• “Network and connections: Event planning companies have a network of connections and relationships with vendors and venues that can be invaluable in planning a successful event. They can leverage these relationships to secure better deals and access to exclusive venues and services.”
• “Risk management: Event planning companies are able to manage the risks associated with hosting a large-scale event. They can provide insurance, handle emergency situations, and ensure compliance with regulations and safety standards.”

While ChatGPT can certainly suggest hotels and provide information about amenities, location, and pricing, the experience and expertise of an event management company can make a significant difference in the overall success of a conference. 

By combining the strengths of ChatGPT with the expertise of an event management company, you can ensure that you are selecting the best possible venue for your corporate event.