From algorithms to empathy: AI-enhanced experiential leadership in hybrid events
Bivek Datta, Tahir Sufi · Journal of Convention & Event Tourism · 2026
The Meetings, Events, Exhibitions, and Conventions (MEEC) industry has undergone a transformative shift toward hybrid event formats, integrating physical and digital participation post pandemic. This evolution has accelerated the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across event planning, execution, and evaluation, necessitating a reconceptualization of leadership in hybrid contexts. This research note introduces AI-Enhanced Experiential Leadership (AIEL), a conceptual framework that positions AI as a co-creative partner while emphasizing leadership mediation to generate cognitive, emotional, and social participant outcomes. Grounded in experiential, servant, and transformational leadership theories, AIEL delineates AI-enabled mechanisms including personalization, immersive infrastructures, accessibility, and sustainability analytics and explains how leadership translates these technological inputs into ethically responsible, inclusive, and engaging hybrid experiences. The framework also identifies risks such as algorithmic bias, data governance challenges, and over-automation, highlighting the critical role of human judgment, ethical oversight, and organizational readiness. The research proposes empirical pathways for validating AIEL and provides practical implications for MEEC practitioners, emphasizing the orchestration of AI-human collaboration, participant-centric design, and sustainability-conscious operations. AIEL thus offers a theoretically grounded and actionable model for advancing hybrid event leadership in the digital era.