Why the AI Era Is Making Face-to-Face Networking More Valuable, Not Less

A digital agency has something to say that you will find surprising. Some of the most critical discussions for your business this year will not happen over a computer.

Automated systems drafting emails for us, scheduling our meetings, answering our messages will lead you to believe that face-to-face meetings will become obsolete. The reality is the opposite. The more automation we have for communication, the more we appreciate true human conversation. In-person meetings become more valuable and less common.

The Evidence

We're not just speculating here. New studies and surveys within the last year show us that face-to-face meetings are becoming the most efficient way for businesses to interact.

62% of business decision maker respondents said AI actually drove the need for human discussion. This number increased to over 80% when the decisions involved were critical. Additionally, Accor Hotels conducted a survey that stated an in-person meeting would provide the same result as three virtual meetings. The vast majority of leaders also said that the cost and time of travel to an in-person meeting were justified if it meant a significant increase to the business.

So, the benefits of meeting in person outweigh the negatives of travel.

Screens Can't Replace Meetings

When you think about your last major project, collaboration, meeting, or agreement, you probably didn't achieve that goal over email.

It's easy to see why this is the case. When you're in the same room as another person, you pick up on things a video call will never be able to reliably replicate, like hesitation and enthusiasm, who is really influencing the decision, and if there is actual energy and presence. These things are significant in business and get lost entirely when everyone on a call is a thumbnail on a screen while fighting notification fatigue.

This is also true for trust. While someone's LinkedIn profile may be impressive or your email outreach may capture their attention, that does not give you trust. To move someone from "I've heard of them" to "I'd recommend them to my clients" usually means having a face to face meeting with them. This gap, between visibility and trust, is where most deals actually get closed.

This is what almost every business owner in almost every industry has to say, the referral partnerships that became long standing, the contracts that kept coming year after year, the vendor partnerships that provided a steady stream of work over the years, almost always are a direct result of one face to face meeting and not hundreds of cold emails.

Should You Ditch Digital? No.

Here's where we reject the idea of "handshakes beat algorithms." There is a much greater lesson hiding behind this statement.

Digital and in-person complement each other. Do not view one as better than the other.

Digital media is excellent at making connections because it scales well across search, social, content and email, the best networking events can’t do. Digital tools can even nudge reminders to you to perform the day to day tasks of networking, it can nurture your network over time and handle tasks you otherwise would have to do manually. While this cold outreach is helpful, you'll find most connections happen over the long haul.

In-person interactions create the long-term relationships digital outreach can't. It's at the local business breakfast, trade show, or the meeting you flew to that actual partnerships are formed.

The businesses that are most successful aren’t blindly picking between digital and in-person outreach. Instead, they let digital outreach and AI tools handle mundane tasks, while they save their in-person outreach for tasks where being present will influence the outcome.

Being Selective Is the Skill

Intentionality is especially helpful in businesses from a practical standpoint and is helpful to the environment. It makes no sense to attend every meeting in person. Limiting travel and in-person meetings should be done.

Minimize in-person travel by scheduling routine meetings over digitally. There is no reason to fly across the world for an update to a project that can be handled over a video call.

Save your in-person travel for when it is needed. This means going for meetings with potential large clients or when they are high-stake partnerships.

Digital media should be used to find and nurture potential clients. This way, your in-person travel should be reserved for actually closing business and strengthening partnerships.

A good litmus test: if you've ever left an in-person meeting thinking "that could've been a video call," you chose the wrong meeting to travel for. If you never think that, you're choosing well.

The Bottom Line

AI is standardizing communication. This makes core human relationships the most valuable asset for most businesses in this century.

What we suggest at KW Digital is to avoid the digital vs in-person dilemma. Rather, create an online presence which draws people to you. Where it really matters show up – really, physically – there. Leave the relationship management to the machines. Save the handshakes for the folks who will still be customers in ten years

Kelly White

Founder, Principal

KW Digital, a Division of Kelly White Digital