AI has taken over local event posters - and it shows
Stroll through any UK high street right now and chances are you'll spot AI-generated posters for local events, all with that same uncanny finish. But while that’s fine for a spring fair, boot sale, or pub gig, what happens when that same sameness creeps into the wider events industry?
Have you seen what's happened to local event posters in the last year or so?
Whether it's fairs, gigs, farmer's markets, car boot sales - you name it, pretty much all of them have one thing in common. They've been done by AI.
There's a post doing the rounds at the moment that points out how rife it is with spring and summer fair posters. These posters all have pretty much the same layout, with the same colour scheme and aesthetic, and the same slightly unreal sheen. Get too close and some of the people might have the wrong number of fingers, or there'll be something inexplicable going on at the hook-a-duck stand, but generally, they're all pretty similar.
It's clear what's happened; the organisers have gleefully embraced the opportunity to have their poster done in mere seconds, rather than fiddling around with some design software for an hour or so. Or heaven forbid, actually getting paints and crayons out.
To illustrate the point, I put together my own spring fayre poster (pictured, right) - it took me less than a minute.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against event organisers using AI. All in favour of it actually, it's massively useful in the right context and for certain tasks. And that's the key point here - for certain tasks.
Because while these posters highlight how widely AI is being used - up and down the country for anything and everything, it seems - they also show how quickly everything starts to look and feel the same when it is.
Yes, AI is extremely efficient. But distinctive? Not even slightly.
And that’s fine when you’re promoting a village fete. No one’s expecting Cannes Lions-level creativity for a cake stall and a tombola.
But scale that up into the meetings and events world, and it becomes a different conversation entirely.
Ultimately forgettable
If we as an industry lean too heavily on AI-generated content without adding that human layer, there’s a risk everything starts to feel like those posters: polished, quick, and ultimately forgettable.
You can already see how it might creep in. I'm talking about event branding that looks eerily familiar. Agendas that feel a bit generic. Marketing copy that ticks all the boxes but doesn’t quite land. Nothing wrong, exactly - just nothing that stands out.
That doesn’t mean ditching AI altogether - far from it. But it shouldn’t be the thing that defines the creative.
The value of any event lies in the bits AI can’t replicate: instinct, nuance, personality, and those slightly unpredictable moments that make something memorable.
Ironically, the more AI gets used across the board, the more valuable those human touches become.
So yes - embrace the efficiency, generate the first draft, get some ideas cooking. But before you hit publish, or send, or print; step back and ask the question those local event posters don’t - does this actually feel like us?
Because in the end, it's not the poster with the most perfect flowers, butterflies or bunting that stands out. It's the one that feels a little bit different.