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Artificial intelligence is no longer an experiment in sport. It is infrastructure. According to the 2026 Sports Fan Engagement, Monetisation and AI Trends Report by Stats Perform, 81 percent of sports media organisations increased their use of AI in the past year, confirming that automation has become mainstream.
Patrick Lucey, Chief Scientist at Stats Perform, has been part of this transformation from the start. Overseeing the company’s AI strategy, he leads a team that turns what he calls “the deepest treasure trove of data in sport” into real-time intelligence used by clubs, broadcasters, and digital platforms worldwide.
In a conversation with FBIN, Lucey explained how the conversation around AI in sport is shifting from innovation to reliability, scale, and fan trust.
By Joachim Stelmach
From niche technology to daily utility
“AI in sport isn’t new,” Lucey says. “Player and ball tracking have used AI for more than twenty years. What’s changed is perception. Since ChatGPT appeared, AI went from a niche tool to a general-purpose utility that every business unit uses daily.”
That perception shift is visible in the data. Nearly seven in ten sports media organisations already report time savings from AI integration, 46 percent see cost reductions, and 35 percent say content quality has improved. But Lucey cautions that simple adoption is not enough. “The real competitive advantage lies in how these organisations apply AI to create smarter, faster and more engaging fan experiences,” he says.
He points out that true value comes from scale. “It doesn’t matter if you can create great content for one game. You need that same quality for every game — Premier League, League Two, Women’s Super League. The real value of AI is scale.”
Reliability is the new differentiator
Stats Perform’s research reveals an important nuance: many organisations are still wrestling with trust and authenticity. As one survey respondent put it, “AI lowers barriers to content creation, but keeping that human connection alive will be a challenge.”
For Lucey, this challenge defines the next phase of AI. “You can generate infinite content, but if it’s not reliable or good quality, people see right through it,” he says. “Rubbish in, rubbish out. To have a good AI output, you need good reliable data.”
This focus on trust is what sets Stats Perform apart. Through the Opta brand, the company manages 7.2 petabytes of proprietary sports data, powering predictive models, highlights automation, and live insights used by broadcasters and clubs worldwide. “To have trusted AI, you need the best reliable data,” Lucey explains. “That’s what differentiates us.”
Balancing automation with authenticity
While automation remains the most common AI use case, the report predicts that personalisation will become equally important by 2030. Lucey says this evolution will put human expertise back at the centre.
“The sweet spot isn’t full automation,” he says. “The goal is assistive technology that amplifies expertise. You still need human understanding to make sure content feels authentic and true to the club’s voice.”
This balance between speed and personality will decide who succeeds as fan expectations rise. AI systems must support the creative process rather than replace it — enabling editors, marketers, and commentators to deliver more authentic storytelling at scale.
The road to hyper-personalised, live experiences
Lucey sees the next big opportunity in hyper-personalised fan engagement. “Hyper-personalisation means enabling fans to get the answers they want,” he explains. “Imagine a universal sports app — a ChatGPT for sport — where you can ask questions in text, voice or video and get validated answers backed by reliable data.”
The report echoes that vision. 61 percent of organisations plan to use AI for personalisation by 2030, driven by the need to engage Gen Z and Millennial audiences who expect interactivity, customisation, and instant insight.
Lucey believes this evolution will reshape live experiences, too. “By the time you ask a question, the moment’s gone,” he says. “Our insights are pre-validated. When a goal is scored, we instantly generate expected-goals data, win probability, and contextual stats — all grounded in Opta’s models.”
This instant responsiveness, he explains, is what separates high-quality AI from generic automation. “Fans just want great content. What matters is dwell time, interaction, and whether audiences come back because they trust what they see.”
What’s next for AI in sport
Looking ahead, Lucey expects AI in sport to become multimodal — combining text, speech, visuals, and interactivity. “Sport connects people,” he says. “AI should help extend that, bringing fans together through smarter, shared conversations.”
In his view, the future is not about machines replacing storytellers but about systems that enhance creativity through data. It’s a future where reliable information, automation, and authenticity coexist — and where the foundations of trust built by Opta become even more valuable.
Want to learn more?
For more insights, data, and case studies from 675 sports-industry executives, download the full 2026 Sports Fan Engagement, Monetisation & AI Trends Report from Stats Perform:
