Why is finding conference speakers still so manual in 2026?

We’re building SpeakUp – an AI speaker booking and speaker discovery platform for event organizers, podcasters, journalists, and media teams.

One thing keeps surprising me: even in 2026, many teams still find conference speakers through spreadsheets, scattered LinkedIn messages, Google Forms, and agencies.

If you’ve ever had to find speakers for events, what was the hardest part for you?

• finding relevant experts

• checking if they are credible

• outreach and follow-up

• comparing multiple speakers

• managing the whole process

Would love to hear how people here approach speaker search today.