Cvent CONNECT 2026 Closes with AI Innovation Showcase

Event and hospitality technology leader marks Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day with bold new innovations and conversations purpose-built for the age of AI

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the final day of Cvent CONNECT 2026, Cvent brought AI to the forefront with a spotlight on the growing presence of artificial intelligence and its impact on meetings and events. Cvent put AI at the center of the conversation with a closing-day program that highlighted how artificial intelligence is reshaping meetings and events. Timed to Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day, the finale reinforced AI as a defining theme across this year’s conference experience.

Throughout the week, Cvent boldly demonstrated the powerful role AI can play in supporting what will always remain a human-led industry. From the announcement of new AI-powered product innovation to expert onsite sessions with innovators like Lisa Cole, author of The Limitless CMO, to the launch of the new Cvent Center for Event Insights™, the event underscored Cvent’s commitment to helping the events and hospitality industry thrive in the age of AI.

That story came into sharp focus during Thursday’s closing programming. Princess Castleberry, leadership strategist and author, headlined the conference finale with a powerful message on AI leadership, breaking the adoption wall, and AI ownership and accountability. Her session gave attendees practical frameworks to move beyond AI awareness and lead more confident AI conversations inside their organizations.

At the conference, Cvent hosted 30 AI-related sessions across the conference program covering AI leadership and accountability, implementation planning, AI-powered content and video workflows, AI-powered sourcing, and AI-ready leadership strategies for marketing professionals. Many of these sessions are available on-demand here.

At the center of that story is CventIQ™, the AI engine powering the Cvent platform. Purpose-built for the events industry, CventIQ is grounded in decades of event expertise and a deep commitment to trust, reliability, and security. It helps event, hospitality, and marketing professionals turn connected event data into smarter decisions, more personalized attendee experiences, stronger collaboration, and more efficient execution across the Cvent ecosystem. Built to support increasingly agent-ready workflows, CventIQ helps customers produce smarter events, richer insights, and stronger ROI.

Cvent’s AI-powered innovation has also earned industry recognition, underscoring the company’s continued leadership in this space:

• Event Tech Awards — Outstanding Contribution to AI in Events
• Global Eventex Awards — Gold Winner, Event Management Solution: CventIQ
• TravelTech Breakthrough Awards — B2B Travel Provider of the Year, powered by CventIQ™
• ACEF Global Customer Engagement Awards — Best Use of AI: CventIQ™

“AI is changing how meetings and events are planned, marketed, sourced, and measured. It is also raising the bar for how leaders evaluate technology, govern adoption, and create accountability,” said McNeel Keenan, Senior Vice President, Product Management at Cvent. “At Cvent CONNECT, we are showing the industry what practical, responsible AI looks like in action, not just in product experiences and hands-on learning, but in the event itself, where attendees used AI-powered experiences to navigate the conference, engage in the moment, and connect with others more effectively.”

The closing-day programming built on a broader theme introduced throughout the conference: AI works best when it strengthens, rather than replaces, the human connection at the heart of events.

About Cvent

Cvent builds technology to power the highest performing events on the planet. With its purpose-built and AI-powered platform, data insights, unrivaled ecosystem, and deep expertise, Cvent helps its customers deliver real event outcomes.

Cvent gives event professionals the technology to run in-person, virtual, and hybrid events of any size, marketers the solutions to deliver event-led growth, and hotels, venues, and destinations a leading global marketplace to win and keep business. With intelligent tools across the event lifecycle, real-time analytics, personalized attendee experiences, and $20B+ in group business sourced through the ecosystem annually, Cvent delivers the AI-driven technology, insight, and scale customers need to power high-performing events and better outcomes.

445,000+ users across 34,000+ organizations rely on Cvent. With enterprise-grade security and compliance, hundreds of industry accolades, leading customer satisfaction, 8M+ events managed, and its third consecutive year as a Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader for Event Marketing and Management Platforms, customers around the world trust Cvent to deliver when it matters most. Learn more at http://cvent.com/.