CHS Manchester is inviting event professionals to contribute to the creation of an industry-specific AI tool, live at the event in September.
The ambition comes as part of a partnership between CHS Manchester and Zoby, a specialist agency looking to support meaningful AI adoption by event professionals. Ed Dench, Founder of Zoby, will present a three-part series as part of the show’s educational programme. The sessions, designed to co-create a practical tool for event professionals, will see the creation of new software, built in real time, on the show floor, by the people who will actually use it.
The programme will see three fast-paced, 20-minute sessions that move from insight, to interaction, to innovation. First, the audience helps surface the real challenges slowing them down day-to-day. Then, those insights are tested against wider industry research. Finally, a working AI-powered solution is revealed, shaped by the room, for the room, in a truly CHS way.
Ed commented, “What excites me about this is how open it is. We’re not walking in with a finished product, we’re building it with the audience. The sessions are designed to bring event professionals into the process, to share what’s not working for them, and then start turning that into something useful, there and then.”
Emma King, Founder and CEO, CHS Manchester, added: “We talk a lot as an industry about AI, but not always in a way that feels practical. This is different. This is us experimenting on behalf of our audience, creating something with them that has real, everyday value. And if we get it right, it won’t just live at the show, it will support the industry long after it closes.”
That longer-term ambition will take shape through the launch of the “CHS Innovation Hub – Powered by Zoby”, a new platform designed to continue the conversation, capture industry challenges, and develop a growing library of practical AI tools for the events community.
Set against the show’s signature festival feel, with multiple stages, a dynamic layout, and an expanding fringe programme delivered with partners across the city, the Zoby collaboration adds another compelling reason to be there in person.
Registration for CHS Manchester is now live, and visitors are encouraged to secure their place early to be part of one of the most talked-about sessions of the show. Because this year, CHS Manchester isn’t just talking about the future of events. It’s building it, together with its audience.
