Choosing the right AI keynote speaker.

For programme owners, executive assistants, procurement and agencies · September 2026

Purpose first, person second

Most speaker searches start with a list of names. That is the second step. The first is deciding what the talk is meant to achieve inside the organisation, because that determines which kind of speaker is even in the running.

In practice there are three purposes:

To shake people up. The audience should leave the room feeling differently than when they came in. That calls for stage presence, strong images, a surprising claim. Such talks work immediately and fade quickly; if you book one, plan for the fact that nothing will happen by itself the following week.

To create a shared picture. Everyone in the room should hold the same view before they carry on working. This is the most common case at leadership conferences. What is needed is someone who knows your industry, describes the state of the technology soberly, and also says what does not work yet.

To make people able to act. By the end, a decision should be prepared or a list of measures prioritised. A talk alone rarely achieves that; the combination of a keynote and a facilitated working session does — with a speaker who still works in delivery and knows where things break.

One programme slot can serve two of these three purposes. Not three.

Seven questions to ask every candidate

This list is deliberately uncomfortable. It works for any speaker — and it is the reason some enquiries never reach this desk.

1. Does the person currently work on client engagements, or do they live from speaking?

Both are legitimate, but they produce different talks. Someone who only speaks works from case studies reported in the press. Someone who is also in delivery has their own examples, including the points where things nearly went wrong. Test question: Give me one example from the past twelve months that you were personally involved in.

2. Can the figures be verified?

Talks about artificial intelligence are full of percentages, and a considerable share of them is passed on incorrectly. A common example: the claim that more than eighty per cent of AI projects fail because of poor data quality. It goes back to a Gartner press release from 2018, where it was a forecast for 2022, spoke of erroneous outcomes rather than failure, and explicitly named three causes — data, algorithms and teams. One of them survived. How that happens, and what the evidence actually shows, is set out in our article Why AI pilots never reach live operation. Test question: Where does that figure come from, from which year, and how many cases were examined?

3. Will the talk be tailored — and how would you know?

Almost everyone promises customisation. You see it in the briefing call: someone who asks about your starting position, the level of knowledge in the room, initiatives already under way and the point where things are stuck internally will genuinely rebuild the talk. Someone who only asks for date, duration and technical set-up will deliver a standard deck with your logo on slide one.

4. Does the person also name what does not work?

A talk in which everything succeeds is worthless to an experienced audience — and for sceptics and works council members in the room it is a reason to switch off. Speakers who name limits, failures and open questions are more readily believed.

5. Does the experience match the size of your organisation?

What works in a group of 40,000 will overwhelm a mid-sized company of 200 — and conversely, corporate examples sound like another world to a network of small businesses. Ask for references from a comparable size, not just for well-known names.

6. How solid is the second language?

“Business fluent” is enough for a meeting, not for a stage. With an international audience it is worth asking for a recording in the target language, or arranging a short video call in it.

7. Who is on the contract, and what happens if the speaker drops out?

Booking directly or through an agency are both common. What matters is that it is settled who steps in if the speaker falls ill or whether the slot is simply cancelled, until when a postponement is free of charge, and who holds the rights to a recording. That belongs in the written offer, not in a later phone call.

Which format fits which occasion

The most frequent mismatch is not the wrong person but the wrong format: a 60-minute keynote in the post-lunch slot, or a 20-minute impulse where a decision was supposed to be prepared.

Also possible: chambers, associations and networks — annual conferences, members' meetings, economic development bodies.

Audience size and lead time

Up to around 30 people, a talk in the literal sense is rarely the right instrument; a facilitated impulse with discussion has more effect. Between 50 and 300 the classic keynote works best — large enough for stage effect, small enough for questions from the floor. From 500 upwards, production becomes a factor: vision mixing, sound and the walk-on have to be rehearsed, and spontaneous interaction only works through digital tools.

On lead time: six to eight weeks are enough to tailor a talk seriously to one organisation, including the briefing call and alignment with production and the printed programme. Established speakers are often booked out for first-quarter dates by late summer; if you are planning an annual kick-off, September or October is the sensible time to ask. Short-notice bookings are possible, including as a replacement for a speaker who has dropped out — with correspondingly less tailoring.

What determines the fee

Speaker fees are rarely published because they depend on too many variables. These five drive the price:

• Format and duration — a 30-minute impulse, a keynote and a half-day workshop are three different services.
• Preparation — a standard talk costs less than one tailored to your industry, your starting position and the initiatives already running.
• Travel and time committed — a date in the next town is not the same as one that ties up two travel days and an overnight stay.
• Rights — recording, internal reuse and publication online are separate items and should be settled explicitly.
• Type of organisation — chambers, educational institutions and non-profits receive separate terms here.

The fee for an appearance by Mario A. Brückner is quoted on request, because it depends on exactly these points. Enquiries are normally answered within 24 hours, and a written offer follows the briefing call.

A sound offer states: service and duration, the scope of preparation, travel costs either as a cap or against receipts, the arrangement for recording and rights of use, deadlines for postponement and cancellation, and VAT. Whichever of these is missing becomes the point of dispute later.