Today, we’re excited to announce significant improvements to our Session Recommendation Engine. By introducing five new recommendation strategies and using additional data points, we’ve increased the number of recommended sessions being added to schedules by attendees by 94%.

These enhancements also resulted in a 4X increase in the number of new sessions added by participants from recommendations, further proving that algorithmic improvements can significantly increase participant’s experiences at events.

How Session Recommendations Work - The Relevancy Threshold

Compared to a constant stream of recommendations, session recommendations on Grip are shown based on a “relevancy threshold”. Once a session passes the relevancy threshold for a particular session it is automatically added to a participant's “my schedule”. 

The participant can then either choose to “remove” the session from their schedule or “add to schedule” resulting in both a positive and negative data point that can be used to improve further session recommendations. 

Better Recommendations = Better Engagement

With better algorithms and improved data processing techniques we’re able to provide better recommendations of sessions to attend. Imagine being able to keep virtual attendees engaged a bit longer or increase the perceived Return on Time from an in-person event through intelligent session recommendations? 

These changes will decrease the number of missed sessions, positively impact Net Promoter Scores and even generate additional leads for exhibitors through sponsored content. 

What sessions do well?

So far, sessions that do particularly well in recommendations include introductory type sessions, as well as organizational transformation, engagement and practical sessions about building the future, such as creating an agile workplace, digital sustainability.  Over the coming months, we’ll be publishing additional research on session topics and trends that will guide our customers into the future.

What’s next for the Grip session recommendations?

This is only the beginning! The improved session recommendations will soon appear in more locations on the Grip platform and become available on the API. 

Additionally, organisers will soon be able to put session recommendations in their communications to attendees, further improving their Click-Through-Rates and participant engagement. 

These constant improvements are allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of event participants’ behaviour which we will continue to share with organisers. Stay tuned!