I'm Lilach Bullock, an AI keynote speaker, and this is my worldwide shortlist of AI keynote speakers. The right pick depends on the room you're filling, and yes, I've put myself on it. Bernard Marr, Mo Gawdat, Mitch Joel, Allie K. Miller and Nell Watson make up the rest.
I'll be straight with you. I wrote this and I'm in it, so treat my entry with some caution. It's a shortlist worth considering, not a ranking, and the order means nothing. Where a speaker's own page gives no location, I haven't stated one, so check availability for your region before you get attached.
Why sort by the room? Because the same speaker can be brilliant in a two-thousand-seat hall and flat in a meeting room of twenty managers who need answers. A main stage wants energy and a big idea. An internal event wants relevance to the people in the seats. A university or public audience wants care and accuracy. Get the room right and half the decision's made.
Which room are you filling?
| The room | Who fits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Conference main stage | Bernard Marr, Mo Gawdat, Mitch Joel | Broad sweeps can feel general to specialists |
| Internal company event or all-hands | Mo Gawdat, Lilach Bullock (me) | Part of Gawdat's material is wellbeing, not AI alone; I'm not a household name |
| University, public or policy audience | Nell Watson, Allie K. Miller | Watson leans technical; Miller books through an agency |
Everything about the other speakers comes from their own websites, as of Nov 2026. Where I say a site "lists" or "says", that's their claim, not mine. I've left out fees, logo walls and awards.
A conference main stage
Bernard Marr
Bernard Marr's keynote page calls him one of the most sought-after voices on the future of business and technology; that's his site's description, not mine. It lists themes such as "Transforming Your Business With AI", "Becoming An AI Native Company" and "The Trust Advantage In The Age Of AI", and says every talk is personalised to the organisation, industry and goals.
He suits a main stage that wants an accessible business-and-technology keynote, and his page says he has a broadcast-quality studio for virtual keynotes, which helps a hybrid conference. The trade-off is breadth: a room of marketing or ethics specialists may want someone narrower.
Mo Gawdat
Mo Gawdat's site says he's delivered hundreds of keynotes worldwide and lists his most popular topics as Artificial Intelligence, Ethical AI, Leadership in the Age of AI, The Future of Work and Happiness at Work. It says he wrote Scary Smart, about the future of AI, and lists a new book called Alive: A Human's Guide to Living in the World of AI.
On a main stage he's the person who sends people out talking about humans and machines together. If your delegates came for tactics, that may frustrate them. If they came to think, it's a strong close to a day.
Mitch Joel
Mitch Joel's speaking page lists talks updated for the coming year, including "Present Future AI", which is about rethinking work, value and competitive advantage in the age of AI. It says he's delivered keynotes since 2005 and hosts the Thinking With Mitch Joel podcast.
He fits a conference where marketing, leadership and AI belong in one future-of-business talk. AI is one of his themes rather than the whole menu, and his page doesn't state a country, so ask early about travel and dates.
An internal company event or all-hands
Internal events are a different job. The audience didn't choose to be there, they know each other, and they'll judge the hour on whether it touches their actual work. Tailoring matters more than fame.
That's where Mo Gawdat's process is worth noting a second time: his site says each engagement includes an alignment call to tailor content to the event's goals, and he offers in-person and virtual talks. His Leadership in the Age of AI and Happiness at Work topics suit an all-hands where morale is part of the brief. Mitch Joel's page also offers a conversation format called Decoding Leaders, which can work better than a keynote when a leadership team wants to be interviewed rather than lectured.
This is also the room I'm built for. A team session from me is practical: what AI can take off people's plates this month, shown on the kind of work they do, followed by a workshop if you want it to stick. If you're unsure which format your day needs, I've written up whether to book a keynote or a workshop.
A university, public or policy audience
Nell Watson
For a room that expects precision, Nell Watson is the name I'd look at first. Her speaking page says her keynotes cover AI ethics, agentic safety and what machine minds mean for society, and her home page says she's President of EURAIO and chairs two IEEE standards groups. Her page lists past audiences including the World Bank, the United Nations and the Royal Society, and one of her talks explains how AI systems go wrong, which is exactly the question a public audience asks.
Her content leans technical and policy, so tell her how much your audience already knows. For a student or general public crowd, her plain introduction, "Hitting the ground running with AI", may be the better fit.
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Allie K. Miller
Allie K. Miller's site says she's spoken about AI around the world and advises on global AI public policy. The organisations her site lists include Harvard University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, the European Commission and the United Nations, so a campus or policy stage isn't new territory for her. Bookings go through a CAA page, so expect a formal process and build in time.
Policy is a live topic for worldwide audiences. The European Commission's AI Pact page says the Pact "encourages and supports organisations to plan ahead for the implementation of AI Act measures", and the same page says the AI Act entered into force on August 1, 2024. If your audience spans countries, ask any speaker whether they can speak to rules like these without turning the hour into a legal briefing.
Where I sit
I'm Lilach Bullock. I'm British, I work in English with clients worldwide, and I speak in person and online. I've spent 23 years in marketing and spoken at over 100 events internationally, including TEDxBolton and Oxford University. I talk about practical AI for business owners and marketing teams, from what I've tried in my own business that month.
The limits, plainly: I wrote this list and included myself, so I'm hardly neutral. I'm not a household name, there's no bestselling AI book with my name on it at the scale of some people here, and I've no famous-brand main stage to point to. I'm not an academic, not a futurist and not a bureau. If you want a big-idea main-stage keynote, the names above are stronger bets. If you want your team doing something new with AI by Friday, I'm a fair choice. If your event is in the UK, there's also my UK shortlist sorted by event type.
Before you book anyone
Ask every speaker on your list the same questions, in writing, so you can compare answers side by side. For a longer version, see my guide to choosing an AI keynote speaker.
- Name the room: main stage, internal event, or university and public audience. Cross off anyone built for a different one.
- Ask each remaining speaker for one full recorded talk and a session outline written for your audience.
- Check how they handle tailoring: an alignment call, a pre-event survey or a briefing with your team.
- Confirm format, region and dates last, including whether a virtual option or a follow-up workshop exists.
My verdict: I'd pick the room first, keep two names from that row of the table, and skip anyone who can't tell you how the talk changes for your audience.
If your room is a team that needs to use AI well after the applause stops, that's where I can help. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the best AI keynote speakers?
I'm Lilach Bullock and I wrote this list, so I've included myself. It's a shortlist, not a ranking: Bernard Marr, Mo Gawdat and Mitch Joel suit a conference main stage, Allie K. Miller and Nell Watson suit a university or policy audience, and I suit internal teams that want practical AI.
Which AI speaker suits an internal company event?
Look for tailoring over fame. Mo Gawdat's site says every engagement starts with an alignment call, Mitch Joel offers a conversation format for leadership teams, and my own sessions focus on what AI can take off a team's plate that month.
Who can speak to a university or public audience about AI ethics?
Nell Watson's keynotes cover AI ethics and agentic safety, and her home page lists IEEE standards roles. Allie K. Miller's site lists universities including Harvard and Stanford among the organisations she's spoken for.
Do I need a speaker from my own country?
Not always. Several speakers here offer virtual talks, and the room matters more than the passport. Where a speaker's page gives no location I haven't stated one, so check availability for your region and dates.
How far ahead should I book an AI keynote speaker?
As early as you can, especially for speakers who book through an agency, such as Allie K. Miller via CAA. Leave time to watch a full talk, get an outline and run an alignment call before the event.
