The way people discover events has changed.

Search is no longer just about scrolling through Google results. Increasingly, audiences are asking AI tools for recommendations - querying ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI-powered search experiences to decide which events are worth their time.

The question for organisers is no longer just "Are we ranking?" It's "Are we being understood, surfaced and trusted when AI is doing the discovery?"

Because if AI can't clearly understand what your event is, who it's for and why it matters, it won't recommend it - no matter how good the event itself might be.

That's the conversation ASP is bringing to International Confex 2026.

How AI has changed discovery

There's a growing misconception that AI search has replaced Google, or that everything marketers knew about search is suddenly obsolete.

In reality, AI tools still rely heavily on traditional search engines to source information. Strong Google visibility remains a critical foundation. But what's changed is how content is interpreted and what gets prioritised.

AI doesn't guess. It looks for clarity, relevance and authority.

Thin pages, vague messaging, duplicated content and short-lived campaign sites give AI very little to work with. Meanwhile, events that treat their websites as year-round information hubs - retaining content, structuring it properly and answering real audience questions - are far more likely to be surfaced.

That's where many organisers are unintentionally losing visibility.

What AI visibility audits are telling us

Over the past year, ASP has been carrying out AI visibility audits with organisers across exhibitions and conferences. The patterns we see are consistent.

Many events:

• Rely almost entirely on brand searches
• Remove high-performing content once the show ends
• Underestimate the value of speaker, session and exhibitor content
• Don't realise how question-based search is shaping discovery
• Assume AI "knows" what their event is about, without ever stating it clearly

The result is lost visibility at exactly the moment audiences are researching, comparing and deciding whether to attend.

These are the kinds of blind spots ASP exists to surface - and International Confex is our opportunity to share what we're seeing and talk through what actually makes a difference.

Come and find us at Confex 2026

At our core, ASP helps organisers turn their event websites into high-performing digital assets. Built on our ShowOff CMS platform, these are flexible, structured websites designed to evolve across the entire event lifecycle. What matters most is not just the website itself - it's how that website is discovered, how it converts, and how it performs over time.

Throughout the show at Stand C87C, we'll be:

• Running live AI visibility checks to show how events are appearing - or not - in AI-driven search
• Sharing insight from recent AI visibility audits with organisers across exhibitions and conferences
• Talking through common blind spots and missed opportunities we're seeing again and again
• Showing how the AI Exhibitor Assistant is being used to remove friction from exhibitor content, improve profile completion and strengthen discoverability
• Running our spin-to-win game - because who doesn't like an exhibition freebie?! 

It's a chance to ask questions, compare notes and get informed perspectives from the ASP team, who work alongside event organisers every day on these exact challenges.

Practical insights from the ASP team

ASP's Jon Monk, Head of Performance, will be speaking across two Confex sessions, focusing on the strategic practicalities of search and AI visibility.

Marketing Summit - Wednesday 25 February
Search Visibility in the Age of AI: Practical Strategies for Event Marketers

This workshop-style session explores why many events struggle to get found, even when they believe they're "doing SEO."

Drawing on real audit data, Jon will break down:

• How AI and search engines interpret relevance, authority and clarity
• Where event content strategies commonly fall short
• How to reuse and retain high-value content without damaging visibility
• The growing role of FAQs and question-based search
• How marketing leaders can guide teams using data, not assumptions

Confex AI & Data Hub - Thursday 26 February, 11:00-11:45
Marketing Events in an AI World: What Still Works in Search & PPC

Hosted by Jon Monk, this live panel brings together ASP, MCM's Tom McMahon and a guest event organiser to explore what's genuinely delivering results in search and paid media today.

The discussion will cover:

• How SEO and Google Ads are performing in practice
• Where AI is influencing optimisation and decision-making
• What marketers should prioritise when budgets are under pressure
• How to connect clicks to real attendance

Expect honest insight, real examples and practical takeaways.

Come and say hello

We'd love to see you at Stand C87C - whether that's to talk through your event's visibility, grab some insight from a live AI check, or just have a spin on our prize wheel. Prizes range from our AI Search Visibility Playbook to a few bigger surprises - worth a go either way!

If you'd like to set aside some time ahead of the show, you can book a slot with the ASP team below.
Book a meeting with ASP at Confex - email Joe at joe.tyrrell@asp.events 

See you there!