Why In-Person Events Will Matter More In An AI-Driven World

As AI accelerates and more of our work moves into digital channels, it is tempting to assume that corporate events will slowly shrink into the background. If AI can personalize learning, simulate interactions, and automate communication, why invest serious time and money in getting people on airplanes and into conference centers.

Because humans still change most deeply in rooms, not in feeds.

Research already shows that companies with a strong sense of community are significantly more likely to report high engagement and to outperform on customer satisfaction. Those outcomes do not come from another email or webinar. They come from experiences that shift how people feel about each other, the mission, and the work they share.

On The Bliss Business Podcast, hosts Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski sat down with Brian Kellerman, CEO of GoGather, to explore how intentional gatherings can turn meetings into movements and why connection is fast becoming one of the most important growth drivers in business.

The New Role Of Events In An AI-Saturated World

As AI takes over more low level tasks, the value of humans inside organizations shifts toward creativity, problem solving, and relationship building. Those capacities depend on trust, psychological safety, and shared purpose.

AI can support that, but it cannot generate it on its own.

That is where in-person events step up. They become:

• Culture accelerators, where people can feel the company’s values in action

• Community builders, where remote and hybrid teams form real bonds

• Strategy inflection points, where alignment is created in days instead of months

When McKinsey finds that companies with strong community are over 50 percent more likely to report high engagement and nearly as likely to outperform on customer satisfaction, it is a signal that connection is not a “nice to have.” It is a performance variable. Events are one of the few tools leaders have that can move that variable in a concentrated way.

Designing Emotional Architecture, Not Just Agendas

Brian talks about events as “emotional architecture.” Most organizations still approach them as logistics: rooms, run-of-show, badge scans, catering. The checklists matter, but they do not change people.

What changes people are:

• Environments that feel human instead of mechanical

• Shared experiences that break down personas and titles

• Moments of surprise, play, and vulnerability that create real memories

In the conversation, Brian traces this back to his early days as a college DJ, watching strangers become friends on the dance floor. That insight now shapes how GoGather designs corporate experiences. It is less about a perfect script and more about building spaces where people can relax, connect, and see each other as humans again.

In an AI heavy world, that emotional architecture becomes a differentiator. If your in-person events still feel like all-day slide reviews, you will lose people to their inbox. If they feel like summer camp for adults, where work, meaning, and connection meet, people will remember them for years.

Using Data To Plan Events People Actually Need

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is treating event planning as an annual scramble instead of a strategic, data driven function. Budget conversations become defensive, and ROI is measured only in vague “brand lift” language.

This is where insights and benchmarking data become powerful.

GoGather has built a benchmarking resource that helps organizations compare typical spend ranges, per attendee investment, and where dollars actually move the needle. Their budget benchmarking data for your 2025 conferences gives leaders a clear view of how their event budgets stack up against others and which levers they can adjust to get better outcomes, not just cheaper line items.

Pair that with participant insights, and events stop being guesswork. Pre event surveys, audience segmentation, and clear intention setting make it possible to design experiences around what people actually need:

• High potential leaders who need exposure to executives and peers

• Remote teams who rarely see each other in person

• Top performers who crave recognition and a voice in strategy

• Customers who want to be heard, not just pitched

AI can help synthesize this data, identify patterns, and surface recommendations. The human advantage comes when teams like GoGather translate those insights into environments, rituals, and moments that people will talk about long after they fly home.

Extending ROI Beyond The Three Days On Site

A common fear is that events are expensive spikes of energy that quickly fade. Brian challenges that by reframing events as the beginning of longer term systems, not one offs.

Some of the tactics he shared include:

• Turning incentive trips into living advisory councils, where top performers meet with executives on site and then continue to advise quarterly

• Designing town square style layouts so people naturally collide, collaborate, and form relationships that make remote collaboration easier later

• Building in service projects or community moments that connect the business to a larger purpose, which people remember far more vividly than another gala

When Deloitte reports that strong internal communities drive double digit gains in innovation, these structures matter. They transform a few days of programming into an ongoing network of relationships that fuel creativity, performance, and resilience long after the closing session ends.

Why Investing Upfront Is Cheaper Than Fixing Disconnection Later

It can be tempting, especially in uncertain markets, to trim event budgets or shift everything to virtual formats. On paper, that looks efficient. In practice, it often pushes costs into places that do not show up on an event spreadsheet:

• Higher turnover in key roles

• Weaker engagement and slower adoption of strategy

• Fragmented cultures that struggle to innovate together

Purpose driven organizations are already shown to retain employees at significantly higher rates and to outperform competitors over the long term. Events are one of the most tangible ways to make purpose and culture visible.

That is why forward thinking teams are not asking, “How do we spend as little as possible.” They are asking, “What is the cost of not gathering our people well.” When you factor in the compound effect of stronger relationships, better collaboration, and a clearer sense of belonging, well designed events often turn out to be one of the highest leverage investments a company can make.

Key Takeaways

• AI will handle more tasks, but it cannot replace the trust, creativity, and belonging that are built fastest in rooms, not on screens.
• In-person events are becoming culture and community engines, not just line items, especially as work becomes more distributed.
• Emotional architecture matters as much as logistics. People remember how an event felt, not just what the agenda was.
• Data and budget benchmarking help leaders plan smarter, more strategic events and defend investment with real insight instead of guesswork.
• The true ROI of events shows up in engagement, innovation, retention, and customer loyalty, often long after the final session ends.

Final Thoughts

In a digital world filled with AI tools, notifications, and virtual interactions, gathering people in person is becoming more, not less, important. The organizations that will win are the ones that treat events not as obligations, but as intentional, insight fueled experiences that remind people why their work and their relationships still matter.

Check out our full conversation with Brian Kellerman on The Bliss Business Podcast.