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TL;DR: If AI tools were a character in a chick flick, it would be the one keeping a journal of everyone’s secrets. It’s got all the hot goss. People are starting to clock on and tap into this knowledge base for all sorts of things, including the best events to go to. Event organisers can take advantage of this by optimising the way they promote their events to get talked about by AI tools - in a good way. Write a topical landing page dedicated to the event. Throughout the content, balance clear on-page and off-page structure with a distinct tone of voice and unique positioning.  Use digital PR like features in travel publications to boost discoverability and credibility. Put out a strong digital marketing campaign promoting the event. I’m sharing the juicy details in this article…

Best practices for getting a UAE cultural event or space AI-visible in 2026 

Events are a numbers game. We can’t hide from that fact.

A festival or conference without attendees is like…

A car with an empty tank. 

A phone without any signal. 

A magician who can’t find a rabbit to pull out of their hat. 

It loses all its life and fun. Never mind the investment events require…

It’s no wonder organisers are always looking for more ways to build hype that, of course, leads to good old ticket sales. Have you thought about how AI could help? It’s becoming the go-to for all sorts of things. 

Whether they’re a business owner looking for conferences where they can make industry connections or they’re a keen traveller who wants to immerse themselves in the culture of every destination they visit, people are asking AI for event recommendations. Mentions in AI answers could help your event become known to people who wouldn’t have come across it otherwise.

So how do you get AI to give your event a shoutout?

How to get your 2026 festival or conference in AI searches

Ready to dive into the world of AEO? That stands for answer engine optimisation. It’s similar to SEO in principle as you use strategies to get a search tool to recommend you. But it’s not the same because traditional search engines and AI search have completely different algorithms. 

Just because your event page ranks highly on Google doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get picked up in AI answers. We couldn’t have it that easy! See where you stand with AI discoverability by calculating your brand visibility score. 

Here’s what you need to do to get a good word from AI tools. 

Structure + Tone of Voice = AI wins

Any content you’re writing to get found in AI search, you’re going to want to structure in a certain way. Start with an H1 title that’s based on the kind of prompt your customers will use to search for events like yours. Then, in the first paragraph, give a short, direct answer that AI will love to quote from. Throughout the piece, include prompt headings, an FAQ section, images with alt-text and metadata that mark up key information. Make it easy for a robot to interpret!

As you’re writing this well-structured piece about your event, don’t forget about your distinct tone of voice and the unique position of your event.  As well as looking at factors like the popularity and reputation of the event, AI likes to mention things that are novel and interesting. What’s different about your event that will make it worth mentioning? 

It could be that it’s a first of its kind in the region. It could be that it combines in-person and digital experiences in a unique way. It could be that it represents cultural heritage or important history, making it relevant and resonant for today. 

Topical landing page

Make sure you create a website or at least a web page on your company’s site about your festival or conference. This is the primary source of information about the event, where AI can find all the stuff it needs to know when and how to mention it. 

Include what’s involved, who it’s for, where it is, when it’s happening and all the good storytelling about your positioning, purpose and background. I show you step by step how to write AI-optimised content in this guide.

Algorithms are more likely to pick up on this page if you optimise the metadata. That’s the stuff in the backend that explains what it’s looking at. Add a meta title and description to each page and use the schema markup for events to make it easier for robots to identify key information. Getting AI bots to spot the page and understand what they’re reading is half the battle!

Digital PR, aka Building credibility with earned media

Of course, you’re going to say that your event is amazing. AI wasn’t born yesterday (although it does sort of feel like it). It would like some references to support your claims. 

See if you can get coverage and event listings in media outlets like online magazines and journals. Those are the kinds of websites it looks at to find events to mention in the first place. 

Make sure the feature is more than just a backlink. It should give context to and recommend your event so AI can use it to verify your credibility and form its answer. 

Get your PR thinking cap on. How about writing some thought leadership articles for other publications? That could help build the story and highlight areas of interest about your event. 

Partnerships can work quite well too. If you’re hosting the event at a university, for example, they can promote it on their website and owned media to reach more people and support your reputation in the eyes of AI. 

Show up in AI’s favourite spots

AI tools find a lot of their information from third-party sites like Eventbrite and Ticketmaster. Those kinds of event sites can go a long way in getting you found by robots and humans alike. 

When you’re writing the listing, don’t skimp on the details. AI tools always gravitate towards context-rich and well-structured pieces of content because they fuel their answers. 

Wikipedia is another favourite of AI algorithms. There’s so much information about so much stuff. AI bots must feel like a kid in a candy shop. If they knew what that was like and could feel such things…

Why not create a Wikipedia page for your festival or conference? You could then create a Wikidata entry. This is a way to record structured data to support the information shared on the Wikipedia page and make it even easier for bots to read. 

Keep promoting 

Finally, don’t forget to build a buzz around your festival or conference. Keep putting out blogs, social media posts and PR pieces about the event. This is worthwhile for a few reasons. 

Firstly, AI is looking for up-to-date information to include in its answers. New content makes the event seem fresh and relevant, especially if you share updates and behind-the-scenes insights on how things are going leading up to the event. 

Wherever you can, encourage people to engage with this content to prove to AI that it’s resonating with people and worth a mention. Content that’s getting hype will stand out among the crowd.

Also, it’s another opportunity to add depth to the story behind your event, sharing what it means to you as organisers, the participants such as guest speakers, and attendees. 

It’s about time the event industry used AI tools as the amazing marketing opportunity they are. When people ask AI ‘What are the best business conferences in London?’ or ‘What’s going on during the summer in Dubai?’ your event could get a shout-out. If you play your cards right, that is. 

At decipher. we help brands stay discoverable in the changing digital world by writing copy that’s compelling to both AI bots and the actual humans you want to come to your event. Drop us a line about making your festival or conference known to the right people.