WhatsApp voice notes at events: an AI assistant that listens

An event assistant on WhatsApp that understands voice notes lets each person ask out loud and receive an answer based on their ticket, sessions or travel details. When your hands are full or you are in a hurry, sending a voice note saves you stopping to type. For the organiser, it is a way to answer questions as they arise.

Why accept voice notes

In March 2022, WhatsApp said its users send an average of 7bn voice messages a day ^[1]. Your attendees already use voice notes with colleagues and suppliers. At the event, they can keep asking that way while walking between rooms or carrying kit.

Speaking also makes it easier to ask for someone who types slowly on a mobile, finds a small screen difficult to use or prefers to speak in their own language. Offering that option is part of serving a varied audience.

A spoken question can also include details people leave out when typing. The attendee explains what they need with the context, without reducing it to a few words. That information helps answer a question about their registration or itinerary.

Uses during the event

• Finding rooms and stand build-up. Ask about the next room, access or unloading times while moving around or with your hands full.
• Travel and incentives. Ask about the hotel, dinner or transfer assigned to each person, without searching through general documents.
• Feedback after a session. Say what you thought of the talk in the same conversation. We explain how to collect those replies in from the end-of-event questionnaire to feedback during the event with EVA.

An answer about travel depends on the details of the person asking. This conversation is a fictional example:

🎤 Elena (voice note): “We’ve just landed, I’m on the transfer. Which hotel am I staying at and what time is dinner tonight?”

EVA: Welcome, Elena. You’re staying at the Hotel Centro. Dinner is at 21:00 in the hotel restaurant and tomorrow’s return transfer leaves at 10:15 from the main entrance.

(example conversation: names, times and places are fictional)

How EVA does it

EVA, our AI event assistant, understands WhatsApp voice notes and replies in the same conversation, in the attendee’s language. Each person records their voice note as they would for any contact.

To answer, EVA takes into account the ticket, registration form answers, sessions and travel details you have available. When it asks about a session and receives spoken feedback, it saves the attendee’s words just as it would a written reply.

What to prepare

Prepare the same information you would use to answer in writing. A voice note changes how the question arrives; the details needed to answer it stay the same.

1. Gather the event information. Programme, access, car parks and build-up times. Check that it applies to the day you are organising.
2. Add each person’s details. Registration, sessions and travel, depending on what you have. You can import the attendee list from a CSV, the spreadsheet you already use.
3. Mention it in the welcome message. Tell attendees they can type or send a voice note. They will know the option is there before they need it.
4. Review the questions. Spoken questions can bring more context. Use them to fill in the information before the next day.

If you are comparing options, read what an event chatbot should be able to answer and how to choose one. In the demo, try a long question by voice note and check whether the answer matches the person asking.

Common mistakes

Thinking only about younger attendees

Voice notes can also be convenient for senior speakers or international attendees. Offer the option to everyone.

Loading only the general programme

Answering about someone’s session or travel requires their details. Prepare that information alongside the event information.

Leaving spoken feedback unread

Include it when reviewing feedback. The attendee’s own words carry nuance that a score does not capture.

If you want to see it with your event

See EVA’s personalised attendee support and the EVA overview. To request a demo, email us at projects@sinapser.com and tell us what event you organise and what your attendees ask.

Sources

1. Making Voice Messages Better, WhatsApp (30 March 2022): WhatsApp users send an average of 7bn voice messages a day.

Frequently asked questions

Does anyone need to install anything to send voice notes?

There is no need to install another app. The voice note is sent from WhatsApp, to your organisation’s number or to EVA’s.

Can attendees switch between voice notes and text?

Yes, each person can choose how to ask at any point. Both formats work in the same conversation.

Does the information need to be prepared in several languages?

You do not need a version for each language. EVA replies in the attendee’s language even if the information was prepared in another.

Can feedback be collected by voice note?

Yes, when EVA asks about a session, the attendee can answer with a voice note. That reply is saved just as if they had typed it.