In a recent deep dive for Event Marketer, Brad Rankin, Associate Director of Technical Architecture at Opus Agency, shared expert insights into the fast-moving world of real-time AI language translation. 

As B2B audiences become increasingly global, Brad highlights how AI is transforming attendee engagement from a functional necessity into a cultural bridge.

Beyond Accessibility

While AI translation is a massive win for accessibility, Brad notes that for international brands, the impact is often deeply cultural. When a keynote broadcasts in an attendee’s native language, it signals a level of respect and local relevance that traditional “English-only” events lack. 

“If you’re doing a keynote for a multinational audience, there’s an expectation that, at least in the languages where it matters culturally, it’s being broadcast. It’s not as much about the accessibility aspect of it as it is around the cultural significance of presenting something locally.”

The Human in the Loop Necessity

Despite how quickly AI is advancing, Brad’s a firm believer that technology shouldn’t run on autopilot, especially when a brand’s reputation is on the line. He points to a recent instance in which an AI translation service failed to grasp cultural context and misinterpreted the word “Shogun,” which in Japanese means “military commander.” The interpretation was completely irrelevant.

“I don’t see a world at this point in time where you’re using AI translations without some sort of human oversight,” he says. “There’s context and names that need to be accurate. No event planner is going to broadcast a localized keynote without oversight.”

Hyper-Targeted Summarization

One of the most exciting opportunities Brad shares isn’t just what happens during the keynote, but what happens after. By using AI to process data flows, event leaders can offer intelligent summaries and localized content tailored to specific attendee profiles.

“We’re seeing those as opportunities to not only tailor session summaries to the attendees based on who they are, but also to localize. Where, rather than localizing word-for-word what is happening live, there are supplemental downstream opportunities to localize key pieces of information and tailor that information to who individuals are.”

Want to level up your global event strategy? Read the full article from Event Marketer. 

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