Zoho Backstage's August and September updates centre on AI. New tools help organisers write event content, support attendees, and control where AI is used. There are also refinements to email, RSVP accuracy, exhibitor and booth management, and Abstract Management. This article summarises each change and where to find it.
| Update | What it does | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| AI Console | Controls AI usage across the portal and per event. | Portal Settings, AI Console; for one event, Manage, AI Console |
| Content Assistant | Writes and improves event copy. | Manage, AI Console, Content Assistant |
| Event Chatbot | Answers attendee questions from public event information. | Manage, AI Console, Event Chatbot, Configure |
| Email expiry messages | Shows how long an email button stays valid. | Event, Communicate, Emails |
| Session Widget | Inserts each attendee's own sessions into a scheduled email. | Event, Communicate, Emails, Scheduled Emails |
| Delivery report time zone | Exports delivery times in event or local time. | When exporting an email delivery report |
| RSVP confirmation on website | Stops security scanners registering an RSVP. | Registrations, RSVP, Configuration |
| Exhibitor side pane | Brings exhibitor and booth management together. | Exhibitors |
| Exhibitor search by custom fields | Filters exhibitors by their request form answers. | Advanced Search |
| Hide abstract topics | Hides a topic from the website without deleting its submissions. | Abstract, Abstract Topics, More Actions |
The AI Console brings your AI controls into one place. From Portal Settings, then AI Console, you can control AI usage and decide which features are switched on by default for future events:
Portal-level settings act as the baseline for newly created events, and do not change existing ones. Organisers can adjust the settings for a single event from Manage, then AI Console.
Event content often means writing similar copy in several places. Content Assistant speeds that up where you write:
Turn it on from Manage, then AI Console, then Content Assistant, and an AI icon appears in descriptive fields.
Participants can ask about sessions, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, venue details, and other publicly available event information. The chatbot can point them to actions such as View Agenda and Explore Exhibitors, and offers follow-up suggestions. From Manage, then AI Console, then Event Chatbot, then Configure, you can personalise the bot's display name, greeting message, and privacy notice, and preview it before saving. For private events, the chatbot is available after attendees sign in.
For email actions that expire, you can now show the expiry timeline next to the button, so recipients know how long they have to respond. Turn on Show Expiry Message for supported automated, scheduled, and reminder emails from Event, then Communicate, then Emails.
| Expires after | Email actions |
|---|---|
| 24 hours | Accept invitation, view request status, go to your orders, sign in to event, print badge, enter event, manage submission, and review abstract. |
| 7 days | Download badge, download certificate, and subscribe for prospects. |
The Session Widget pulls each attendee's registered sessions into a scheduled email. Drag it into your template, and when the email is delivered it fills in the sessions that particular recipient has registered for, so one mass email sends a personalised schedule. You will find it under Event, Communicate, Emails, Scheduled Emails, when creating emails for Attendees and RSVP Attending Guests.
When you export an email delivery report, you can now choose whether delivery times follow the event time zone or your local time zone. This makes the data easier to read when your team and your events are in different regions.
Email security scanners sometimes click links before the recipient does, which can turn an automated check into an unintended RSVP. With Require RSVP Confirmation on Website, an RSVP button in an email takes the guest to the event website to confirm their choice, and the response is recorded only after that confirmation. Automated scanners therefore cannot register an RSVP on a guest's behalf.
The setting is on by default, and you can manage it from Registrations, then RSVP, then Configuration.
The redesigned side pane keeps exhibitor and booth management in one workspace, with a summary of the company, primary contact, booth type, booth ID, and booth size.
Advanced Search now includes custom fields from Exhibitor Request Forms alongside the built-in exhibitor fields, so you can find exhibitors by the information you collected for your event. The search operators and filtering behaviour used in Registrations also apply to Exhibitor Requests and Exhibitors. When exporting, choose All exhibitors, or Current view to export only the records that match your filters.
Instead of deleting a topic that has served its purpose, you can hide it from the website submission widget while keeping the submissions already made under it. This suits topics whose submissions have closed, or test topics you want out of sight. Go to Abstract, then Abstract Topics, then More Actions to hide or unhide one. Organisers can still submit abstracts manually for hidden topics.