How IoT and AI are Disrupting the Sports Events Industry

First, ticket buying went digital. Over time, more and more players entered the events tech industry, developing new technologies to lessen the burden on consumers and make it easier to access our favorite events.

Ticketing platforms are bolstering their apps to make event searches and purchases more efficient. Venues are now equipt with technologies to make event attendance both convenient and appealing.

Thanks to AI and IoT, the online events industry is becoming far less tedious to navigate. In the sports events industry, in particular, AI and IoT are making huge improvements for consumers. Here’s how they’re doing it.

Several players in the sporting events industry are experimenting with AI in the form of chatbots designed to better serve the customer while drawing more people into the game. E-commerce tools — including ticketing platforms — are using AI chatbots to engage with consumers and provide support for events.

Through Facebook Messenger and iMessage, companies are using chatbots to have human-like conversations with fans and users about their favorite events and teams. Chatbot messages and helps are becoming more sophisticated, and engaging than email. As a result, the bots are becoming increasingly popular in the ticketing industry.

The use of chatbots doesn’t stop there — once fans are at the game — they can continue to engage with chatbots. Wimbledon uses a chatbot called Ask Fred which is a cognitive assistant for event attendees. The virtual assistant, which is enabled by IBM’sWatsontechnology, uses AI to interact with Wimbledon attendees and answer event-related questions about anything from souvenir shopping to dining spots. If Ask Fred is well-liked and successful, sports arenas around the world could adopt similar in-game AI technology in the future.

In addition to making the most of chatbots on Facebook Messenger and iMessage, companies are improving the online search experience by integrating AI into their apps. The sports ticketing appGametime, for example, applies the concept of virtual reality in their virtual seating chart, allowing users to check out the view from their seats before purchasing.