Everyone’s Talking About AI. I Think We’re Asking the Wrong Question.
Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the biggest buzzwords in experiential marketing. Every week there’s a new platform, new capability, or new way to incorporate AI into live experiences.
But I think brands are asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking, “How can we use AI?” we should be asking, “How can AI make the experience better?”
Technology has never been the goal. It’s simply another creative tool. The most successful activations don’t showcase cutting-edge technology for the sake of it—they use it to create something more personal, more memorable, or more meaningful.
For us, the experience always comes first.
AI Career fortune TELLER for LINKEDIN Created by DOTDOT
Personalization Creates Connection
One of my favorite examples is DOTDOT’s Career Fortune Teller.
On the surface, it’s an AI experience. Guests answer a few playful questions and receive a personalized career fortune.
But what people remember isn’t the AI.
They remember their personalized fortune and leaving with something that felt uniquely theirs.
AI made personalization possible, but personalization was never the point. Creating a memorable takeaway and a shared moment was.
images from ECho snap a proprietary AI photobooth by Dpt.
DPT’s Echo Snap follows the same philosophy in a completely different way.
Using AI, guests see themselves transformed into an alternate version of themselves. It’s unexpected, imaginative, and highly personal.
Again, the technology isn’t the story.
The story is seeing yourself differently.
People don’t share the image because it was generated with AI. They share it because the transformation surprises them, sparks conversation, and creates an emotional reaction.
The technology fades into the background, allowing the experience to take center stage.
Experience First. Technology Second.
AI is changing what’s possible in experiential marketing, especially when it comes to creating personalized experiences at scale. But the technology itself is rarely what makes an activation successful.
The best experiences start with an idea.
Technology simply helps bring that idea to life.
Whether it’s creating a personalized keepsake or allowing someone to see themselves in a completely new way, AI is most effective when people remember the feeling—not the software behind it.
As new technologies continue to emerge, that philosophy won’t change.
Experience first.
Technology second.