We all know more people are using AI. But beneath the headlines and hype, how is this really impacting the way event agencies do business?
At our recent micebook nineteen agency leaders meeting, heads of agencies discussed candidly how AI is reshaping their world. From how they respond to client RFPs to how they assess talent; it is quietly creeping into the day-to-day mechanics of agency life.
And there were three clear tensions that emerged during the conversation.
1. “AI will make you cheaper” vs “AI is a new cost centre”
Agency heads discussed how some clients, especially on the procurement side, are using AI as an excuse for cost-cutting or discounts, particularly in RFPs and ongoing scopes.
Several leaders described clients reluctant to pay for junior or coordinator time, on the assumption that AI can simply replace it:
“They don’t want to see project coordinator time in budgets… They don’t want to see project coordinators on calls. They think that AI can take the minutes and do all this stuff.”
This short-term saving could potentially result in more long-term of the talent pipeline, because juniors aren’t getting exposure to clients, calls, and real project learning.
“We’re now really starting to see challenges within the business… people not being given the opportunity they once had to learn, to sit on calls and listen and understand and learn the business, which is worrying,” said one agency head.
Some agencies are pushing back by putting explicit AI rates into their rate cards and treating it as a billable capability rather than letting AI become an invisible, free line item
“We put a value on AI. We’ve said, you’re not paying for those personnel, but you are paying for the AI, which we’ve invested a lot into, and the security that sits behind it. It’s costing us more money to implement AI in an effective and safe manner,” said one agency head.
“We’ve got AI rates in our rate cards now.”
Security-compliant tools, licences, infrastructure and human oversight all carry real cost – particularly for agencies working with regulated industries or sensitive data. The uncomfortable truth is that while AI may save time and costs, it is also adding a new layer of complexity and investment for agencies.
2. “Pitching to humans” vs “pitching to machines”
If AI is changing what agencies can charge, it’s also changing how their work is evaluated.
Several leaders shared concerns that clients are using AI-based tools to scan and score proposals. In other words, your beautifully crafted RFP response may be “read” twice: once by a human, and once by a machine.
“We’ve had a couple of clients that are running [proposals] through AI,” said one leader.
That’s leading to a new – and slightly surreal – skillset: learning how to write for both the human stakeholder and the algorithm. Some agencies are even experimenting with hidden prompts or structured phrasing designed to make sure the AI evaluator picks up the right signals:
“You can put some hidden prompts in decks that talk to the bots, so that you then, when it’s being evaluated, it’s reading what you wouldn’t put in a presentation, but you still want to do the tick‑box exercise for the AI reading the proposal.”
It raises awkward questions. Where is the line between smart optimisation and playing the system? How many decisions about multi‑million-pound event programmes will increasingly be pre‑filtered by machines looking for keywords, patterns and “compliance”, rather than nuance, chemistry and creative fit?
At the same time, AI is creeping in client-side on the creative and execution front. Leaders reported growing instances of clients using generative tools to produce their own visuals, decks or even on‑site materials – often with dubious results.
3. “Authentic talent” vs “AI‑polished candidates”
The third area where AI is reshaping agency life is hiring.
Leaders are seeing more CVs, portfolios and task responses that have clearly been drafted or heavily polished by ChatGPT and other tools. This isn’t just spell‑check; it’s whole presentations that feel very generic.
“It’s not original content. It’s not original creativity. So, we’ve totally changed our approach now because of [some candidates] using AI too much,” said one agency head.
Several tactics came up:
Live, AI‑free tasks
Instead of sending take‑home briefs, some agencies now bring candidates into the office and ask them to complete tasks under controlled conditions – no Wi‑Fi, no ChatGPT, sometimes even pen and paper.
This allows hiring managers to see genuine problem‑solving, writing, structuring and creative thinking without digital assistance.
Paired AI / non‑AI tasks
Rather than banning AI outright, others are experimenting with two tasks:
- one where candidates are explicitly allowed or even encouraged to use AI, and
- one where its use is not permitted.
“Set two tasks. One where they use it, one where they’re not allowed to use it, and then see how they’re applying it… Do you just use it for structure? Are you just using it for copy?… Give people two shots so you’re really getting a clear picture of the skill that you’re buying.”
This approach recognises that AI literacy is itself a valuable skill – especially in creative and content roles – but insists that it must sit on top of solid fundamentals, not replace them.
AI as the new calculator
One leader likened the shift to when calculators entered the classroom:
“It’s the same principle. It’s like when our school [got] calculators… you had to kind of show that you’d worked it out, but here’s a quicker, easier way, and I’ve got the skills to be able to do it on my scientific calculator.”
The implication for agencies is clear: we need hiring processes that require candidates to show their working, then demonstrate how they intelligently use AI to speed up or enhance that work.
Where next?
What came through strongly from the agency leaders’ discussion is that AI isn’t just changing what agencies can deliver; it’s changing how they are valued, chosen and staffed.
For agencies and clients alike, the challenge now is to move beyond the fantasy of “AI = faster and cheaper” and start having grown‑up conversations about where AI truly adds value – and what it will take to sustain the human expertise that still sits at the heart of every great live experience.