The Project Spark generative artificial-intelligence engine created specifically for meeting and event planners is ready for prime time—and a subscription model is on its way.
Leaders from the organizations that created the tool—the Professional Convention Management Association and event technology provider Gevme—and a “power user” recently held an educational webinar to help meeting professionals understand how Spark can assist in the day-to-day activities of event marketing and meeting management.
“Generative A.I.” is a term that describes computer programs that can create content. The best known is ChatGPT, but many others such as Bard, Dall-E 2 (for images), and Jasper are out there. The list of generative A.I. engines is growing quickly, but what makes Spark unique are the 27 built-in prompts for meeting professionals. Here are some examples:
• ideate networking activities
• create speaker bio
• repurpose video content
• craft session description
• generate event themes
• brainstorm gift ideas
• review contract
• generate event tagline
• create personas
• analyze feedback
Sherrif Karamat, CAE, PCMA president and CEO; Veemal Gungadin, Gevme CEO; and Beth Surmont, FASAE, CMP-Fellow, CAE, vice president of event strategy and design at 360 Live Media used the webinar to discuss the tool’s time-saving capabilities as well as its potential limitations in terms of accuracy, tone, and style. For Surmont, an enthusiastic Spark user, oversight is critical. “Treat [the A.I.-generated content] like an intern wrote it,” she said.
Spark is currently available for free. Visit Sparkit.ai, provide your email, and you’ll receive an access code. However, Karamat revealed that they hope to have a business model ready in time to be announced in October at IMEX America in Las Vegas. While he noted that “there will always be a free version” of Spark, he expects to launch a pricing model with subscriptions available on a monthly and yearly basis as well as those for enterprise and individual users.
Karamat did not elaborate on the expected cost of a the subscriptions or specific differences between the free and pay models.
View the full Northstar Media webinar, or experiment with Spark at Sparkit.ai.
