Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of everyday business in the global exhibition industry. According to the latest UFI Global Exhibition Barometer, 91% of exhibition companies now use AI in some form, up four percentage points in six months. The figure shows how quickly AI has moved into the sector. However, the way companies are using the technology tells a more complex story. Most businesses are applying AI to internal processes and customer services, while fewer have reached the point where it is being used to create new sources of revenue.
The 37th edition of UFI’s Global Exhibition Barometer is based on responses from 466 companies across 59 countries and regions. Seventy percent of respondents said they regularly use standard AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot or Midjourney. Another 17% have AI-powered tools integrated into their existing systems. Only 4% have developed their own algorithms trained on company data. Meanwhile, 9% report little or no AI use. The numbers suggest that AI adoption itself is no longer the main question for the exhibition industry. The next challenge is how companies move from using widely available tools to building services that improve the attendee experience, support exhibitors and create measurable commercial value.
Efficiency Is Leading AI Adoption
The strongest progress is currently happening inside exhibition companies. UFI found that 62% of companies are testing or implementing AI solutions to improve company processes and efficiency, an increase of 10 percentage points compared with six months earlier. These applications can cover a wide range of tasks. AI can support marketing production, data analysis, customer communication, internal research and other routine processes that previously required more manual work.
The attraction is clear. Improving an existing process often provides a faster and easier way for companies to test AI than creating an entirely new commercial product. Customer experience is another area where adoption is moving forward. Fifty-three percent of companies are testing or implementing AI solutions aimed at improving customer experience, up six percentage points in six months. For exhibitions, this can include tools that help visitors find relevant exhibitors, recommend sessions, answer questions or improve matchmaking between buyers and suppliers.
These uses connect directly with one of the main strengths of exhibitions: bringing the right people together. If AI can make that process faster or more relevant, it can improve the value of participating in an event without changing the basic role of the exhibition itself.
Revenue Generation Remains The Least Developed Area
The gap becomes much larger when companies try to turn AI into a direct source of revenue. Only 28% of respondents are testing or implementing AI-powered products designed to generate revenue. The figure has increased by six percentage points in six months, but it remains well below the levels recorded for efficiency and customer experience. UFI also found that 55% of companies are still at the research or testing stage when looking at revenue-generating AI products.
This points to an important difference between using AI and building a business model around it. A company can use a generative AI tool internally almost immediately. Creating something exhibitors or visitors are willing to pay for requires a clearer value proposition. For exhibition organisers, possible commercial uses could include advanced matchmaking, premium data services, lead intelligence or personalised tools for exhibitors and buyers. But these products need to offer more than features already available through general AI platforms.
The commercial challenge is therefore becoming more important as basic AI tools become widely available. If almost every company can access similar technology, competitive advantage will depend on how that technology is combined with event data, industry knowledge and customer relationships.
Exhibition Data Could Become More Valuable
Exhibition organisers hold large amounts of information that general AI platforms do not naturally have. Registration data, exhibitor profiles, buyer interests, session attendance, meeting activity and previous event behaviour can provide a detailed picture of how different parts of an industry connect. Used carefully, this information could make AI tools more useful for event participants. An exhibitor may want to identify buyers with the highest potential. A visitor may want to find the most relevant companies among hundreds or thousands of stands. Organisers could use the same data to understand which parts of an event are creating the most engagement.
The small share of companies developing proprietary AI systems shows that the industry is still at an early stage in this area. Only 4% of respondents say they have developed algorithms trained on their own data. That leaves a wide gap between companies using standard AI tools and those building technology around information that is unique to their business. Over time, that gap could become more important. General AI tools can help almost every organiser work faster. Proprietary data is more difficult for competitors to copy.
For larger exhibition businesses in particular, the value may increasingly come from combining AI with years of industry and participant data rather than simply adding another chatbot to an event platform.
AI Adoption Is Moving Faster Than The Business Model
UFI’s latest figures show that the exhibition industry has already moved beyond the early debate over whether companies should use AI. Nine out of ten companies now use it in some form. Standard tools have become common, integrated systems are growing and experimentation continues across internal operations and customer services. The commercial side is developing more slowly. That may not be surprising. Efficiency improvements can often be measured through time or cost savings. Revenue products require customers to see enough additional value to pay for them.
The next stage of AI adoption in exhibitions may therefore be less about the number of companies using the technology and more about what they can build with it. For organisers, venues and service providers, the companies that gain the greatest advantage may not be those using the most AI tools. They may be the ones that find the clearest link between AI, their own industry data and a problem their customers are willing to pay to solve.
