Like it or not, AI is becoming more and more integrated into our everyday lives. With the rise of powerful tools like ChatGPT, many people are having to adapt and learn how to use the tool as a force for good, both at work and in their personal lives.
When used correctly, this innovative tool can be extremely helpful for event planners, offering tips, advice and information to assist with organising a successful event. So, if you’re an event planner and fancy making your job a little easier, then you might want to consider asking ChatGPT for help. There are just a few things you need to know before you start...
First, what is ChatGPT? It’s essentially an advanced language model developed by OpenAI that’s able to provide responses to questions or specific prompts. One of the reasons it’s so unique is that its responses mimic human speech and behaviour. It doesn’t really sound like a robot – it sounds like a human.
However, it’s important to remember that AI should enhance your job, not replace it. It will never be able to fully mimic fundamental human skills such as creativity, relationship management and empathy – qualities that arguably form the backbone of successful events. Still, when it comes to assisting with specific event planning tasks, like formulating marketing copy, creating an event agenda or coming up with ideas for keynote speakers, AI can act as a brilliant springboard for all of the above (and more!).
While ChatGPT is a handy tool, its responses will only be as good as the input you provide, so it’s important to construct clear prompts to ensure you get an accurate answer. We’ve included a few tips on how to structure your requests to ensure you’re making the most of the tool.
Eager to leverage the power of ChatGPT to help you plan your next event? Check out our essential tips and advice to understand how AI can help you become a better event planner.
How to write effective prompts
The clearer your instructions, the more accurate ChatGPT’s answers will be. Here are a few tips for creating effective prompts to ensure you’re maximising its potential.
Be specific: Try and be as granular as possible with the information you want it to provide. Specify things like date, location, time and number of attendees, for example. It's also a good idea to provide parameters to your prompt, such as a word count, character limit or the number of suggestions you want, to keep it targeted to your needs.
Provide context: Offer as much information as you can about the scenario. What sort of event is it? How many people are attending? Do you require a colloquial or formal response? ChatGPT will provide a more accurate answer if it understands the context of your request better.
Vary your input: It's a good idea to ask your question in a variety of ways to see if it produces the same answer. ChatGPT may not get it right first time. If it doesn't give you the resonse you want, you can edit your original prompt to refine it further.
Proofread the response: ChatGPT will never be accurate 100% of the time, so make sure to fact check and proofread the response, and tweak accordingly.
What can ChatGPT do?
ChatGPT doesn’t just provide answers to questions. It can create event schedules, formulate questionnaires and surveys, and tweak tone of voice to suit your audience. The possibilities are (almost) endless.
Brainstorm ideas
This is probably the most fundamental reason why event planners might use ChatGPT: to generate ideas. Whether you’re struggling to think of a name for your event, need help with a theme or want suggestions for activities and entertainment, you can use it as a springboard for ideas and build from there.
Create event agendas
Creating an agenda for the day is one of the more mundane tasks event planners face, and it can often be tricky to figure out exact timings. Let AI do it for you! Plug in the sessions or activities you’d like to include, perhaps state a start and end time (9am to 4pm for example), and watch your agenda unfold.
Write copy for promotional material
Not a wordsmith? If you don’t have a big team and are struggling to come up with the copy for your promotional material, ChatGPT can generate some decent copy based on your requirements. You can use it to create copy for landing pages, social posts, emails, and even speeches. Just take care to proofread it carefully, and fine tune it to suit your company or brand.
Make video scripts
If you’ve made a video as part of your marketing campaign or event, you can use ChatGPT to create a compelling video script that grabs your audience's attention. Include the subject matter and duration of the video, as well as the exact points you’d like it to call out.
Develop social posts
Advertising your event on social media is a crucial part of getting the word out. Ask ChatGPT to create posts for your specified platforms, tailoring the language for each audience and post (LinkedIn is likely to be more formal than Instagram, for example).
Provide keynote speaker suggestions
Keynote speakers are a great way to increase your brand’s authority and credibility in the industry, while also providing people with an incentive to attend your event. Ask ChatGPT to suggest some speakers who would be relevant to your audience and event.
Create feedback surveys
Sending a feedback survey to guests after your event is a crucial way to gain insights for future planning. Not sure what to ask? ChatGPT can generate helpful questions to find out what went well, and how to improve for next time.
Budget
If you have a specific budget in mind, but you’re not sure how to spend it, ChatGPT can provide a suggested breakdown of where you should allocate your money. This could be split across venue hire, catering, AV equipment, marketing material, expenses and miscellaneous costs, for example. We asked ChatGPT to provide a budget breakdown based on the following prompt:
'I have £10,000 to spend on a conference for 100 people. How should I spend my budget?'
This was its response:
'Organizing a conference for 100 people with a £10,000 budget requires careful allocation to ensure a successful and enjoyable event. Here's a suggested budget breakdown:
Venue and Equipment: £3,000
- Venue Rental: £2,500
- AV Equipment and Setup: £500
Catering: £2,500
- Refreshments (tea/coffee, snacks): £500
- Lunch: £1,500 (assume £15 per person)
- Water and soft drinks: £500
Marketing and Materials: £1,000
- Printed Materials (programs, badges, signage): £500
- Online Marketing (social media, email campaigns): £300
- Miscellaneous (lanyards, pens, notepads): £200
Speakers and Entertainment: £1,500
- Speaker Fees/Honorariums: £1,200
- Entertainment (if any): £300
Staffing and Logistics: £1,000
- Event Staff: £600
- Logistics (transportation, miscellaneous expenses): £400
Miscellaneous and Contingency: £1,000
- Miscellaneous Costs: £500
- Contingency Fund: £500
There are so many possibilities when it comes ChatGPT's capabilities. Have a play to see how you can make it work for you.
What to ask ChatGPT: Example prompts
To help get you started, we've included some ideas below of helpful prompts to ask ChatGPT.
Prompt: 'I need to create a feedback survey to send to attendees after an event. Please provide up to 10 questions that will help me find out what they thought of the event’.
Prompt: ‘I’m hosting a networking event and need some ideas for activities and ice breakers.’
Prompt: ‘I need a keynote speaker for a conference about sustainability within the food industry. Who should I ask?’
Prompt: ‘Please write an invitation for my corporate Christmas party. It is a drinks reception and dinner at Inner Temple Hall in London and starts at 7pm. Dress code is smart.’
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ChatGPT's response to the prompt: ‘Please write an invitation for my corporate Christmas party. It is a drinks reception and dinner at Inner Temple Hall in London and starts at 7pm. Dress code is smart.’
Prompt: ‘Please write an Instagram post advertising my supper club taking place on 3 November 2024. The event starts at 6:30pm for drinks, with dinner at 7pm.’
Prompt: ‘How can I make my event more sustainable?’
Limitations of ChatGPT: What can’t it do?
ChatGPT is an innovative tool that can increase the efficiency and productivity of your planning process. However, it does have limits. ChatGPT is first and foremost a robot that’s been trained to speak like a human, so it will never be 100% accurate. Always keep this front of mind when looking for answers.
It is unable to comprehend more complex scenarios, and occasionally struggles to understand the context of a situation. ChatGPT also has proven biases, lacks information about niche topics, and often produces inaccurate answers.
That’s not to say it should be totally discounted, but it’s vital that you fact check any information it produces.
Conclusion
ChatGPT is a smart way to increase productivity and efficiency when it comes to event planning. It can be a handy tool for time-poor marketers, a useful source of information and expertise for smaller teams, and ultimately accelerate the rate at which you work. However, you should always scour ChatGPT's responses with a fine-tooth comb, checking it for bias, factual and grammatical errors, and always tweaking language to suit your company and target audience.
Hungry for more answers? Our industry insights hub contains essential guides and pro tips for all your event planning needs, from how to make your event more sustainable to everything you need to know about planning a hybrid event.