Facial authentication company Wicket has published a report, Market Report: The Conference of the Future is Already Here, arguing that biometric check-in has moved from pilot to default at major conferences based on its own data from more than 1m enrolments and interactions across events it has worked on.
Most attendees opt in when given the choice
The headline finding: when offered as part of registration, most attendees opt in. Wicket says an average of 82% of registered attendees chose to enrol at NVIDIA GTC in 2025 and 2026, and argues organisers should plan for majority participation rather than treating facial authentication as a niche add-on.
Cutting the queue
At GTC 2025, Wicket says it moved attendees from identification to printed badge in 15 seconds, with a single keynote entry point handling up to 40 people a minute; Salesforce has separately reported facial check-in running three times faster than general badge pickup at Dreamforce.
Beyond the check-in desk
The report also found enrolled attendees used facial authentication roughly three times per event once enrolled, beyond check-in alone for session access, keynote entry, VIP experiences and activations, and that adoption worked best where organisers explained the technology clearly, used visible signage, kept enrolment opt-in, and addressed privacy questions upfront.
Wicket’s track record
Wicket, a Gartner-recognised “Cool Vendor” in event technology for 2024, says its technology has handled more than 4m entries and credential scans at NVIDIA GTC alone, and separately claims over 10m biometric authentications across its full client base, which spans conferences, pro and college sports venues and secure facilities.
View the report here.
