One year of AI in planning: our honest perspective

About a year ago, we started integrating AI tools seriously into our work.

Not as an experiment. Not as a marketing statement for our website. But simply because we were curious to see if there was really something to it.

Spoiler: yes. And no. And it depends.

Here’s what we’ve learned.

The beginning: excitement with side effects

When the first AI visualization tools became market-ready, reactions in our team were mixed. Some found it fascinating. Others rolled their eyes. Both were right.

The tools are impressively fast. A space, a mood, a rough idea—and 40 seconds later, there’s a rendering on the table that looks good. Good enough to show a client where things could be heading.

The problem: looking good and being right are two very different things.

AI-generated spaces have no sense of scale. No understanding that there needs to be a safety distance between the stage and the first row of seats. That a catering area requires circulation space. That lighting looks better in a rendering than it actually performs in a venue like the Marx Halle.

In the first few weeks, that cost us some rework we could have done without.

What AI can actually do—and what it can’t

After a year, we’ve come to a fairly clear conclusion:
AI is strong when it comes to speed and inspiration.

In early briefing conversations, when everything is still open and even the client isn’t quite sure what they want, an AI-generated moodboard space is incredibly valuable. Not because it shows the final concept, but because it gets the conversation started.

Clients can react. “Yes, this atmosphere.” Or: “No, less clinical.”
It’s fast, low-cost, and sometimes saves us an entire round of revisions.

Cinema 4D remains our standard when it matters

As soon as a concept takes shape—when we’re talking about actual dimensions, stage geometry, lighting design, and audience flow—we still rely on our own 3D models.

Because at that point, it’s no longer about creating something beautiful. It’s about creating something precise.

The client should know what their event will look like before it happens. Not approximately. Exactly.

That difference shows up in the quality of execution.
And even if clients don’t always say it explicitly, they feel it.

The question that really stayed with us

At some point over the summer, a question came up—more honest than any tool comparison:
If AI keeps getting better, what’s left for us?

We talked about it longer than we expected.

The answer: quite a lot. Maybe even more than before—because we see it more clearly now.

An event is not a rendering. It’s a space that changes when 600 people are in it. It’s a dramaturgy that shifts when a speaker runs five minutes over time. It’s the instinct for when the energy lifts—and when it’s about to fall flat.

That’s not something AI will learn anytime soon.
That’s something you learn over twenty years—on stages, in warehouses, and in damp festival tents.

AI is not a replacement for experience.
But it is a very good assistant for people who have it.

What we keep—and what we don’t

What we keep:

• AI tools for early-stage visualization and client inspiration
• Quick mood explorations
• Exploring variations
• Moodboards
• Anything that helps start conversations

What we don’t:

• The reflex to treat AI output as a finished concept
• That’s a quality issue we can’t afford—and one we deliberately avoided after some early tests.

What surprised us most:
How much time AI saves in communication, not in planning.

Structuring texts, summarizing briefings, preparing proposals—that’s where the real efficiency gains are. More than in any rendering comparison.

Conclusion—honestly

AI has changed the way we work. Not revolutionized it—changed it.

Some steps are faster. Some conversations become productive earlier. And some quality decisions are made more consciously—because we now think more often about what we actually deliver.

The best part: we’re no longer afraid of the topic.
Neither the over-the-top “AI changes everything” hype, nor the reflexive skepticism.

We use what helps. And by now, we know what that is.

Next step: A structured comparison of how Cinema 4D and AI tools really differ in spatial planning—with concrete project examples. Coming soon here in Backstage.

brandmood is a full-service event agency with offices in Salzburg, Linz, and Vienna—and a dedicated unit for event architecture, media technology, and digital event solutions.