The short answer: the seven questions are... What do you run on AI yourself? What will you demonstrate live? How has the talk changed in six months? How will you tailor it to our audience? Can we see unedited footage? What happens after the talk? And what do you need from us to be great? A real practitioner answers all seven easily. A presenter with slides gets uncomfortable around question two.
AI has become the topic every event needs and the label every speaker claims. That combination is dangerous for event organisers... the gap between "speaks about AI" and "actually works with AI" has never been wider, and your audience will spot it before you do. They're using these tools every day now.
Here's the vetting list I'd use if I were booking, with what a good answer sounds like.
1. "What do you run on AI in your own business?"
The single best filter. You're listening for specifics: which systems, doing which jobs, since when. My answer, for example: my company runs an AI executive assistant on my inbox, AI designers on our creative, and a multi-agent platform delivering client work alongside our human team. A weak answer sounds like "I use AI extensively in my consulting practice."
2. "What will you demonstrate live?"
Screenshots are 2023. If the speaker can't (or won't) show tools working live, ask why. There are legitimate reasons... some rooms have no internet, some formats are too short... but "I don't do live demos" from an AI expert in 2026 is a tell.
3. "How has your talk changed in the last six months?"
AI moves in months. A speaker whose deck hasn't changed since last year is teaching history. A good answer names something specific that's new and something they removed because it stopped being true.
4. "How will you tailor this for our audience?"
Listen for process: a briefing call, questions about your attendees' industries, examples rebuilt to match. "My message is universal" means "everyone gets the same slides".
5. "Can we see unedited footage?"
Showreels are marketing. Twenty unedited minutes tells you how the speaker holds a room between the highlight moments. Any working speaker can supply this.
6. "What happens after the talk?"
The good ones stay. Q&A, the hallway conversations, the panel slot, the workshop stream. If the speaker's logistics have them leaving for the airport as the applause fades, your attendees lose the most valuable 30 minutes.
7. "What do you need from us to be great?"
A professional has a real answer: reliable internet for demos, a headset mic, the run sheet early, a sense of who's in the room. A speaker with no requirements hasn't thought hard about your event.
Bonus: the budget conversation
Tell the speaker your budget upfront and ask what fits. It saves everyone three emails of dancing, and the response tells you a lot about who you're dealing with. (For actual numbers, see my guide to what AI speakers cost in Australia.)