u/Defiant_War90

At last year’s Edge Tech+ in Japan (embedded systems exhibition), our booth happened to be located near the entrance and close to the seminar area.

One thing I noticed was that many visitors seemed to head directly to the AI-related seminars, especially “embedded × generative AI” sessions.

But after the seminars ended, a surprising number of people simply went home without walking through the exhibition area much.

It felt different from previous embedded exhibitions where people actively explored booths to discover new technologies.

My current hypothesis is that generative AI may have changed visitor behavior because people already use AI at home before companies have fully adapted to it.

In older technology waves, exhibitions were often where people first experienced the technology itself.

But with generative AI, maybe people are now more interested in:

• workflows
• adoption
• integration
• practical experiences

than seeing demos at booths.

I’m curious whether others have seen similar behavior at embedded / electronics / AI trade shows recently.

Has anyone else noticed that AI-focused exhibitions feel fundamentally different from previous technology trade shows?

I work mostly around embedded / HMI exhibitions, and I’ve noticed that many AI events feel less centered around “seeing new technology” and more centered around organizational adaptation.

A lot of the discussion seems to focus on:

• AI adoption
• workflow integration
• governance
• customer guidance

rather than the technology itself.

I wonder if this is happening because generative AI became consumer-accessible before enterprises fully adapted to it.

With previous technologies, trade shows were often where people first experienced “the future.”

But with generative AI, many attendees are already using the technology daily before entering the venue.

Curious whether others in event production or trade shows are seeing similar changes.