The US Open Reinvents the Fan Experience with an AI Assistant

IBM and the USTA (United States Tennis Association) have launched Match Chat, a conversational AI assistant for the 2025 US Open. This innovation transforms the fan experience by offering real-time insights and personalized answers to questions about statistics, player history, and more. It's a case study that demonstrates the value of AI in monetizing the customer experience in the entertainment and sports industries.

This development reveals a paradigm shift in customer loyalty: attention is no longer won solely by the main event or product, but by the surrounding digital experience.

Opportunity

• Increased Engagement and Loyalty: A global IBM survey revealed that 86% of tennis fans value AI-powered features. By offering an assistant like Match Chat, which answers questions about stats or pronunciations in real time, the US Open not only increases time spent on its digital platform but also creates a deeper emotional connection with fans. This translates into a higher customer lifetime value and increased spending on related services.

• Creation of New Revenue Streams: Monetization doesn't just come from ticket sales or traditional advertising but from selling the experience itself. The partnership with IBM opens new business lines by licensing similar technologies to other sports leagues or events. It's a replicable model that capitalizes on technology as a commercial asset.

• Loss of Relevance: For competitors in the entertainment and sports industry who don't invest in AI-driven personalization and engagement, the risk is losing younger, digitally native audiences. The gap between a passive experience (watching an event on TV) and an active one (interacting with an AI assistant in real time) is widening, leading to an eventual loss of market share.

Recommendations

• Create Interactive Brand Experiences: Develop marketing strategies that focus on user interaction through AI assistants, chatbots, or augmented reality experiences, turning advertising from a monologue into a dialogue.

• Implement AI Agents for Support: Identify high-volume, low-value customer service tasks (e.g., event inquiries, FAQs) and automate them with AI agents. This allows human staff to focus on more complex interactions, increasing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.