This article is from the May 2025 edition of SmartMeetings. You can find the entire issue here.
The seamless integration of technology into the meeting experience can elevate an attendee’s journey by leaps and bounds. One innovation that’s reshaping how attendees connect and engage is AI-powered live translation.
We’ve all seen those well-meaning live transcriptions on screens at conferences—unfortunately, they’re often riddled with errors. When the text doesn’t match the speaker or the translation is inaccurate, attendees who don’t speak the primary language can feel confused, frustrated or even excluded (speaking from experience).
As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, event planners are discovering how tools like real-time translation can dramatically improve communication before, during and after the event. Smart Meetings spoke with Dave Deasy, CMO and senior vice president of marketing at Wordly, an AI-powered event tech platform that delivers real-time transcription and translation in 60 languages, to explore how this technology is changing the event landscape.
Attendees travel from across the globe to attend events, and planners are increasingly tasked with engaging an audience that speaks a variety of languages.
Wordly removes traditional access barriers. Attendees don’t need to download anything— no apps, no logins. They simply scan a QR code and immediately access real-time captions and translations in their preferred language.
“We tried to make it super easy from the user perspective,” said Deasy. With 60 languages available on demand, Wordly is designed for inclusivity at scale.
“Every attendee has the ability to select their own language,” Deasy explained. “If you have 100 people at an event, 60 of them could each choose a different language.”
Planners can also display captions on large monitors in high-traffic areas or breakout rooms. Whether viewed on a personal device or onscreen, the tool creates a more inclusive and connected event experience.
“City council meetings are in English, but the community is multicultural,” said Deasy. “Offering live translation fosters real inclusion.”
For events that draw international attendees—or simply communities with diverse language needs—this kind of tool ensures no one is left out of the conversation.
Hiring human interpreters for every language represented at your event can be expensive, complicated and unpredictable. Sometimes, the request is made, the interpreter is booked and the person who needed them doesn’t show up.
That’s one of the key pain points Wordly was designed to solve.
“Our solution costs roughly the same as one human interpreter,” said Deasy, “but it gives you 60 languages, real-time captions and a full transcript.”
And instead of scheduling logistics, the Wordly system works on a flexible consumption model. You purchase a block of time—starting with as little as 10 hours—and use it over the course of a year.
AI might still feel like unfamiliar territory for some planners, but Deasy says skepticism tends to fade fast once planners see the technology in action.
“A lot of people tested something years ago or heard secondhand that AI wasn’t good,” he said. “But this technology changes fast, and we’ve powered over 600 million minutes of live translation. People keep coming back because the quality is there.”
Beyond novelty, real-time AI transcription isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about creating more inclusive, accessible and globally minded event environments.
For planners looking to stretch budgets, expand audience reach and provide a better experience for all attendees, Wordly makes a compelling case for why AI belongs in your event toolkit.
