Sports Fans Lead AI Adoption, Enhancing Fan Experience

Sports fans are emerging as the ideal early adopters of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, according to Mitch Liu, CEO at Theta Lab. While the debate around AI often focuses on knowledge workers and creative professionals, the sports industry presents a unique opportunity for AI to enhance the user experience rather than simply automate it. Sports naturally generate structured information such as statistics, schedules, historical data, and clear performance metrics, which current AI systems handle effectively. The predictable cadence of games and seasons also creates natural cycles for gathering data and testing new features.

Sports fans are already accustomed to engaging with multiple data streams simultaneously, such as watching games while checking stats, following social media commentary, and engaging in real-time discussions. This behavior aligns perfectly with AI’s ability to process and synthesize information from various sources. Recent academic research supports this potential, with an October 2024 review published in AI and Tech in Behavioral and Social Sciences finding that AI is already transforming sports through enhanced analytics, predictive modeling, and personalized fan experiences. These use cases augment the core emotional experience of being a fan rather than replacing it.

For instance, the NFL’s Digital Athlete program, launched in 2024, uses machine learning to analyze player data and predict injury risks. This technology could help fans understand the game at a deeper level and provide insights into player performance and team dynamics. More direct applications are emerging in fan engagement, such as the NHL teams, the Vegas Golden Knights and New Jersey Devils, which recently partnered with Theta Labs to develop AI-powered chatbots that assist fans with inquiries about upcoming games, tickets, broadcasts, statistics, merchandise, and other curated team news and information. These interactive tools are available 24/7 on the teams’ official websites, enhancing the fan experience by providing timely and accurate responses through a customized and branded AI agent.

This technology is proving to be particularly effective in traditional sports, but esports—with top games like Valorant, League of Legends, Rocket League, and CS—offers an even more incredible opportunity. With digitally native games, leagues, teams, and fandoms, it is an incredibly tailored use case for agentic AI. This type of real-time proactive technology is capable of adding an interactive and life-like experience seamlessly into a digitally native environment. Some teams are already creating these experiences, such as agentic AI agents that can have the same team spirit and aesthetics with the added benefit of infinite team and league knowledge and 24/7 interactivity.

AI also presents a broader opportunity: using it to create more personalized and interactive fan experiences. Traditional sports media follows a one-size-fits-all model, but AI enables customization at scale and hyper-personalization. A casual fan might receive basic strategy explanations, while a dedicated follower gets advanced tactical analysis—all generated in real time from the same underlying game data. This tech is particularly suited to addressing common fan pain points, such as understanding why a team’s defense collapsed in the fourth quarter or the historical context of a player’s performance. These capabilities enhance the emotional core of fandom by adding layers of understanding and engagement.

However, sports organizations need to approach this thoughtfully. The goal isn’t to replace traditional fan experiences but to augment them. The best implementations will feel natural and intuitive, adding value without forcing technology into places where it doesn’t belong. The human elements of sports—the community, the drama, the unexpected moments—must remain central. The infrastructure for this transformation is already emerging, with decentralized blockchain platforms like Theta EdgeCloud making high-performance AI computing more accessible, while advances in natural language processing are enabling more natural fan interactions.

Sports fans may not fit the typical early adopter profile, but as a group, they are shaping up to be the next frontier for driving AI adoption. Regular engagement with structured data, comfort with multiple information streams, a desire for deeper understanding of their passion, and a willingness to spend a lot of time on it make them ideal candidates for AI adoption. As AI continues to evolve, the sports industry has an opportunity to lead rather than follow—creating experiences that demonstrate how technology can enhance rather than replace human connection. The real question isn’t whether AI will transform the sports fan experience, but whether sports and esports organizations will seize the opportunity to shape that transformation thoughtfully and purposefully. Those that do may find themselves not just improving fan engagement, but helping to define how AI technology can enhance human experiences more broadly.