Clients want to know: “How can we use AI to improve our events?”

Clients expect our industry to have a Swiss army knife of production and AI tools that meet the needs of today’s events. Whilst we all know that AI can help create content and speed up our workflows, we are all left asking how has that translated to attendee benefits or improved event experiences?

AVE’s goal is to ensure that any AI solutions we offer provide real world benefits. That is why we recently became AI-Media’s exclusive rental partner for their LEXI suite of AI tools, which include broadcast quality captioning, translation and transcription.

In Sydney Writers’ Festival, we had the opportunity to put this AI technology to use. The festival is built on words and ideas, with its message needing to reach the widest possible audience, therefore accessibility and inclusivity is a driving consideration.

2026 was our fourth year delivering end-to-end technical production for the festival, a large technical production in its own right. It was also our largest implementation of the LEXI AI suite. As AI-Media’s exclusive Australian rental partner, we delivered an AI-powered captioning solution that turned spoken word, panel sessions and vocal performances into readable text on screen in-room, simultaneously on personal devices, and across the live-stream platform, with transcriptions shared after each session. All at a price point that respects the budget of a festival committed to social responsibility.

The captioning challenge

At the Sydney Writers’ Festival, sessions move quickly, with book readings, fast discussion, panel sessions and multiple international speakers – which can be difficult for anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing to follow along. We needed to caption multiple sessions accurately, one after another, without getting in the way of production, presenters or by asking the audience to use special equipment.

The solution: captions in room, on screen and personal devices – or online via the live stream

To meet this requirement, AVE delivered LEXI, the AI captioning platform across multiple stages. Captions reached the audience in three ways. Firstly, on a dedicated screen setup for a pre-booked audience section, where everyone could read along. Secondly, individual audience members scanned a QR code on their own devices to access the same captions up close, whilst still sitting with everyone else. Thirdly, for remote audiences, who could tune in via the live stream and access the same captions, in their own location, at their own pace. It reinforced our belief that AI tools like this are good, and can be used for good – that’s how we found a way to answer how can I use AI to improve my events. Being a part of resolving that through our AI tool is something the team is proud of technically, and it was a feel-good moment for the team.

We ran captions next to the main stage and on personal devices at the same time, and the timing stayed accurate across every session with very little hands-on. For multiple days of back-to-back sessions, that reliability is what matters.

Dan Quinn, Technical Project Manager, AVE

By teaming with AVE as our exclusive rental partner in Australia, we’re making it significantly easier for event professionals to deliver accessible, multilingual, and high-engagement experiences. said Tony Abrahams, CEO of AI-Media.

Reach out to your account manager today to talk about the possibilities of LEXI and how AVE can implement that on your next event.