What’s new for marketers at Cvent CONNECT 2026 (July 13–16, Nashville & Virtual)

Cvent CONNECT 2026 news matters because it directly shapes how your team plans, promotes, and measures event-led growth in H2. From AI-powered attendee engagement to ON24 sessions now under Cvent, this year’s program gives marketers practical ways to turn content into pipeline fast.

What is Cvent CONNECT 2026 and why does it matter for North America marketers right now?

Cvent CONNECT is Cvent’s flagship conference for event, marketing, and hospitality professionals. For 2026, it is July 13–16 in Nashville, TN, with the virtual experience running July 14–16. It’s built to help teams evolve programs, explore new technology, and apply proven ideas that raise attendee engagement and business impact. Registration is open for in‑person and virtual passes.

For teams operating across North America, the timing is ideal: the event sits mid‑year, so takeaways can power your H2 calendar of meetings, webinars, and hybrid experiences without waiting for 2027 planning cycles. If you’re heading to Nashville or sending a virtual cohort, expect hands‑on learning plus access to product experts.

a wide-angle photo of attendees walking through a busy Nashville convention center lobby with session signage and registration kiosks in view

Which Cvent product announcements and AI features should shape your H2 webinar strategy?

This year, Cvent is emphasizing embedded AI across its Event Management platform and Attendee Hub via CventIQ, designed to personalize content, summarize participation, and recommend sessions and connections. The key shift: AI is not a bolt‑on; it’s included natively in the Cvent products you license.

Recent product news highlights several features marketers can apply immediately to H2 events and webinars. For example, Discovered Interests now combines explicit preferences with AI‑inferred browsing and interaction signals to refine recommendations in the Attendee Hub. Cvent also flagged policy updates to its Event App store ratings to better align with professional content and interactions.

CventIQ in Attendee Hub: Personalized agendas, connection recommendations, and post‑session summaries to drive attendee engagement and content retention.
AI Writing Assistant: Speed up launch cycles by generating event and session descriptions, email copy, and social posts that stay on brand.
Attendee Assistant (Beta): An AI‑powered assistant inside the Event App to answer FAQs and steer attendees to relevant content and meetings.

Mark your calendar for the Product Roadmap content: Cvent signaled a flagship session dedicated to roadmap highlights for the rest of 2026, and the welcome keynote on Tuesday, July 14 (9–10 a.m. CT) will cover how technology and AI are reshaping the industry. Build your agenda around these if you’re prioritizing AI‑driven attendee engagement and measurement.

How do ON24 sessions now under Cvent change your webinar playbook?

As of April 1, 2026, Cvent closed its acquisition of ON24, bringing a leading digital engagement and webinar platform directly into the Cvent ecosystem. For webinar marketers, this consolidation streamlines planning, data flow, and attribution across webinars, field events, and trade shows.

At Cvent CONNECT 2026, ON24 is offering ON24‑specific sessions and training to help customers expand from webinar‑only tactics to event‑led growth strategies with unified first‑party data, content, and analytics. ON24’s event page highlights 150+ expert‑led sessions, hands‑on labs, and targeted marketer networking—useful if your team needs concrete playbooks you can deploy in H2.

In short, ON24 sessions now live inside the broader Cvent environment—meaning the ideas, tools, and data models are aligned to accelerate attendee engagement and measurable funnel impact. If you evaluated ON24 previously, revisit it under the Cvent banner to understand what’s changed in integrations and reporting.

What sessions and experiences should a webinar marketer prioritize at Cvent CONNECT 2026?

Welcome Keynote (July 14, 9–10 a.m. CT): Expect perspective from Cvent leadership on AI, data, and the future of meetings and events—set the lens for your H2 strategy.
Product Roadmap for 2026: The flagship product session covering second‑half innovations across Registration, Attendee Hub, Exhibitor Management, and more. Bring your “what should we test next quarter?” questions.
ON24 Training + Breakouts for Marketers: How to translate webinar engagement into pipeline using connected data, content hubs, and always‑on experiences.
Innovation Pavilion + Solution Labs: Hands‑on testing of Cvent products and AI features so your team can validate workflows before rolling them out post‑event.
Featured Speakers & Experiences: Cvent has also announced high‑profile keynotes and Nashville‑rooted experiences that boost learning and connection across the industry community.

Your Cvent CONNECT 2026 plan (July 13–16)

What’s different this year: consolidation, data access, and measurable impact

Two macro shifts define 2026. First, platform consolidation: the Cvent + ON24 combination gives enterprise marketers a single stack for in‑person, virtual, and hybrid engagement with fewer integrations to maintain. Second, AI‑driven data activation: CventIQ aims to turn session behavior, meetings, and content interactions into actionable summaries and recommendations that flow into your marketing systems.

Cvent also underscores its scale—supporting ~30,000 customers with 5,500+ employees—a sign the company can support complex programs across industries like technology, financial services, life sciences, and hospitality. That breadth matters for roadmap stability and partner ecosystems.

How to turn Cvent CONNECT content into pipeline within 30 days

Translate conference learning into revenue with a structured, four‑week sprint. This plan reflects how high‑performing teams operationalize content, data, and meetings after major industry events.

Week 1: Centralize and summarize — Export attendee notes, session check‑ins, and exhibitor interactions from Attendee Hub; generate concise takeaways and action items using CventIQ summaries. Create a shared doc for Sales and Marketing.
Week 2: Build assets fast — Use Cvent’s AI Writing Assistant to draft webinar abstracts, landing pages, and email sequences targeting the top problems surfaced in Nashville; route through brand/legal for approval.
Week 3: Connect systems — Map ON24 engagement data (Q&A, poll responses, dwell time) to your CRM and marketing automation for scoring and follow‑up. Prioritize accounts with clear buying signals.
Week 4: Launch and learn — Kick off a two‑part webinar series that extends your most‑attended session topics; use Attendee Hub and CventIQ to personalize reminders and recommend complementary content. Measure conversion from register to meeting to opportunity.

Cvent CONNECT 2026 essentials: dates, access, and virtual options

The event runs July 13–16, 2026 in Nashville with a virtual option for select general and breakout sessions. In‑person access includes labs, training, and networking that are limited or unavailable to virtual attendees—plan your staffing accordingly.

If you’re sending a distributed team, align who attends in person versus virtually based on role: marketers who own attendee engagement, data, and content workflows generally get the most value on site, while stakeholders can watch virtually to align on strategy. ON24’s page also lists pricing ranges and periodic promotions—useful for budgeting.

For teams heading to Nashville: a 2‑week readiness checklist

Confirm goals: Define 2–3 business outcomes (e.g., book 15 qualified meetings; validate two Cvent product features; source three webinar topics for H2).
Secure access: Ensure your team can log into the Cvent Event App and set interests so Discovered Interests can refine recommendations on site.
Book 1:1s: Schedule Solution Lab consultations and ON24 strategy appointments before you arrive; these fill fast.
Map your content plan: Assign owners for recap posts, short video clips, and a webinar draft leveraging AI Writing Assistant templates.
Prepare measurement: Align CRM fields and campaign tracking to attribute meetings, registrations, and influenced pipeline to Cvent CONNECT activities.

FAQs marketers are asking about Cvent CONNECT 2026

Is Cvent CONNECT 2026 in person, virtual, or both? Both—Nashville, TN with a virtual option. The virtual pass covers a subset of sessions; in person includes labs, evening events, and hands‑on trainings.

What’s the most important AI session to watch? The welcome keynote and the 2026 product roadmap session, which spotlight how AI and technology are transforming event management and attendee experience.

What’s new with ON24 at Cvent? ON24 is now part of Cvent, and ON24‑specific sessions at Cvent CONNECT will help teams integrate webinars with in‑person and hybrid programs for clearer attribution and pipeline impact.

a keynote stage in Nashville with a large LED screen, packed audience, and stage lighting capturing a speaker mid-presentation

Editor’s notes for 2026 marketers: how to evaluate the impact

Focus on measurable outcomes that tie content and meetings to revenue. Use AI to automate summaries and segment follow‑up by session interest; champion quality conversations over vanity metrics. Cvent’s AI layer and ON24’s engagement analytics can help your team do this faster with fewer manual steps.

Finally, review your H2 roadmap after the conference: sunset any “nice‑to‑have” features that don’t move registration, show‑up, or deal conversion, and double down where AI and consolidated data create clear lift. That’s the 2026 advantage—technology plus intent data aligned around real attendee behavior.

Ready to put these Cvent CONNECT 2026 insights to work?

If you’re planning H2 webinars and hybrid programs and want help translating Cvent product updates, Artificial intelligence features, and ON24 sessions into a concrete 30‑day execution plan, Xadira’s webinar marketing team can help. We’ve guided U.S. marketers through strategy, content, and measurement—from first draft to post‑event pipeline impact. Contact Xadira to align your agenda, build your nurture flows, and accelerate ROI from Nashville and beyond.