ConverCon 2018 Comes to Dublin

When and where is it on?

Sept 6th 2018 in Microsoft HQ, One Microsoft Place, Leopardstown, Dublin 18

What was the inspiration to start it?

In 2016, when the event was only a seed of an idea, we observed that all the major players in the emerging AI-driven conversational interface space were already located in Dublin – Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle and Shopify to name a few.  A new crop of Irish start-ups were also making their mark – companies such as Intercom, Swrve, Voysis and Webio.

Paul Sweeney, EVP at Webio, along with his colleagues, quickly realised that Dublin was the ideal place to host a conference on this rapidly developing area that had the potential disrupt so many industries.  Given the pace of development in artificial intelligence, Sweeney was sure that many didn’t yet grasp the full extent of the potential changes intelligent assistant devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Assistant could bring. Likewise, many technologists did not really appreciate the role of great design in delivering great customer experiences. And so ConverCon was born.

The aim is for ConverCon to become the go-to event for conversational interface experts across the globe, and already in year two we are seeing this happen with lots of great speakers already on board for this year. The conference gives a voice to the individuals with their finger on the pulse when its comes to conversational interfaces and a good handle on what’s coming down the line – UX/UI designers, developers, software engineers and product designers.

What exciting things can people look forward to?

• Companies such as Microsoft, Google and Intercom will publically share for the first time some of the major developments happening in the space.
• In response to attendees from last year’s conference we have added a number of hands-on workshops with some of the leading designers & developers in the space.
• With attendance strictly limited, there will be great networking opportuities and a much higher potential of meeting someone who can help you move forward with your ideas, projects, programmes or career.

 What opportunities are on offer for those attending?

ConverCon is not your typical conference. It is not a big expo with thousands of delegates, but rather a boutique conference where delegates can meet and mingle one-to-one with those making their mark in this space. They will also be able to engage with the content at a deep level and hear the leading conversational interface platform players, technology enablers, next level CX design experts share their enthusiasm, learnings and experiences.

Who will be speaking?

The full line-up can  be viewed on www.convercon.ie but of note are:

• Max Amordeluso, EU lead evangelist, Amazon Alexa
• Alec Saunders, senior director, Microsoft Business AI
• Stephen Mailey, senior interaction designer at Google
• Gillian Armstrong Technologist, Liberty IT
• Lisa Talia Moretti – Digital Sociologist and Strategist
• Paige Maguire, Design Director, Fjord
• Mitch Lieberman, conversational intelligence analyst, Opus Research

What tips would you give to people attending to get the most out of it?
Come with a willingness to get involved, ask questions, mingle and talk to delegates and speakers. This isn’t a conference for hustle, it’s a conference where we hope you come away with a small burning question that you spend the next few months pondering or working on.

How can people book tickets / when does it usually sell out?

Tickets can be purchased on www.convercon.ie where early bird tickets are now available. We usually sell out a fortnight before the event.