As event teams increasingly adopt AI tools, the power of events will further soar, RainFocus executives predicted.
The genuine connections forged at events foster trust and authenticity. These sentiments and the memorable experiences surrounding them translate into positive business relationships and provide a human-centric counterbalance in an AI-driven world.
While AI can’t replace events or the people who create them, it can certainly make their jobs easier, said RainFocus CEO JR Sherman during the opening keynote presentation at RainFocus INSIGHT 2026.
“AI will accelerate human engagement,” he explained. “It’s about removing friction from your job and your organization, eliminating redundant tasks and giving you more time to think strategically about connecting journeys.”
To that end, Sherman and his co-presenters — fellow RainFocus executives Doug Baird (president and CEO) and Marius Milcher (VP of platform strategy and AI) — unveiled RainFocus Nexus, the eagerly anticipated intelligent collaboration system for event marketing workflows.
Specialized AI agents
RainFocus Nexus adds a proprietary orchestration and context layer to the RainFocus platform to empower specialized AI agents that act as teammates to event marketers, planners, and sales reps.
“We have always provided that ‘solid ground’ for your event data,” Milcher said. “Today, we are showing a fundamental step change in event orchestration. We aren’t just giving you better tools. We are giving you an augmented workforce.”
First, the context layer within RainFocus Nexus serves as the underlying intelligence layer to translate raw data into operational intuition based on event program requirements and attendee sentiment.
“This layer understands that ‘messy middle’ in event execution,” Milcher noted. It helps teams more readily understand data and get information in real time, enabling faster and more informed decisions.
In the orchestration layer, agents turn the understanding from the context layer into immediate, precise actions. Ultimately, they help bridge the gap between event planning and execution throughout the event lifecycle.
Two agents are now available for select RainFocus clients: The Configuration Agent, which automates setup workflows and can cut launch time in half, and the Concierge Agent, which serves as attendees’ personal guide to provide front-line support and enhance their event experience.
Data security and future features
These agents will soon be joined by several additional “teammates.” RainFocus’ product teams are hard at work finalizing the next three agents within the orchestration layer.
Milcher offered a sneak preview of each of these three agents: Growth Agent, which accelerates pipeline for marketing and sales; the On-Site Agent, which supports event ops through instant metrics and decisionmaking guidance; and the Integration Agent, which orchestrates data connectivity between events and the rest of the organization’s tech stack.
Of course, security and privacy are paramount throughout the system.
“Clients trust RainFocus because of our security, and that has fundamentally informed how RainFocus Nexus is built,” Milcher said. “PII protections and governance are built in, and our cloud-agnostic approach allows you to run your own hardware as necessary.”
RainFocus Nexus is already creating a buzz at INSIGHT. In the spirit of its bold new approach, Baird closed the keynote by encouraging attendees to embrace the future and unfamiliar technologies that may initially feel intimidating, and to seek out new people to meet at INSIGHT over the next few days. After all, human-to-human connection is both the present and the future!
Learn more about RainFocus Nexus here.
Stay tuned for more coverage of all of the biggest announcements and expert strategy discussion coming out of our flagship event.
