Overview
Meeting generation in the Meeting Program is split into two automated runs.
The first run produces an initial schedule of meetings as soon as participants have finished voting; the second run tops up the schedule after participants have had a chance to confirm or decline what the first run gave them. Splitting the work into two passes lets the system honour confirmed meetings from the first run while still filling remaining open slots with the next-best pairings.
Both runs use the same pairing logic. What differs between them is the moment they fire and the state of the schedule when they start.
What Happens in Each Run
When each run fires
|
Run |
Trigger |
Starting state |
|---|---|---|
|
1st algorithm run |
Scheduled time after the Voting Process ends. |
No meetings yet — the algorithm works from voting data only (Super Relevant / Relevant markings). |
|
2nd algorithm run |
Scheduled time after the 1st Confirmation period ends. |
All meetings confirmed in the 1st run are retained. The algorithm fills remaining slots without disturbing them. |
What each run produces
|
|
1st algorithm run |
2nd algorithm run |
|---|---|---|
|
Sponsored meetings |
Yes — generated first |
Yes — generated first |
|
Free meetings |
Yes — generated after sponsored meetings are filled |
Yes — generated after sponsored meetings are filled |
|
Participants in Sponsored meetings |
Hosted Buyers, General Buyers, Sponsored Team Members |
Hosted Buyers, General Buyers, Sponsored Team Members |
|
Participants in Free meetings |
All users except Hosted Buyers |
All users except Hosted Buyers |
|
Pre-existing pairs respected |
N/A — no prior pairs |
Yes — 1st run pairs are retained, not regenerated |
Functionally the two runs apply the same algorithm. The distinction between them is timing and starting state, not pairing logic.
Pairing rules that apply to both runs
Eligibility
Only pairs where both sides have mutually marked each other as Super Relevant (SR) or Relevant (R) are eligible for generation. If only one side has marked the other, no meeting is created.
Tier order
The algorithm processes pairs in four strict priority tiers. Every eligible pair in a tier is generated before the algorithm moves to the next tier.
-
Tier 1 — both sides marked each other Super Relevant (SR).
-
Tier 2 — Requester SR, Recipient Relevant (R).
-
Tier 3 — Requester R, Recipient SR.
-
Tier 4 — both sides marked each other Relevant (R).
Matchmaking scores do not influence generation. Only the explicit Super Relevant / Relevant markings each participant has made determine which pairs are eligible and what tier they fall into. Matchmaking scores remain visible to participants as guidance, but the generation algorithm does not read them.
One pair per company
Any user from Company X can have at most one pairing with any representative of Company Y, across all of Y's representatives combined. For example, if User A (Company X) is paired with User C (Company Y), then User B (also from Company X) cannot be paired with User C or User D (also from Company Y).
The check is performed on company name. This rule applies whether or not the users are formally on the same team in the system.
Role-by-role meeting limits
General Buyers
-
Algorithm generates Sponsored meetings up to the user's maximum available slots.
-
Free meetings can only be generated after the user's Sponsored allocation is filled.
-
The combined total of Sponsored + Free meetings cannot exceed the user's available slots.
Hosted Buyers
-
Algorithm generates Sponsored meetings up to the Hosted Buyer's defined meeting limit.
-
No Free meetings are generated for Hosted Buyers in either run.
Sponsored Team Members
-
Algorithm generates Sponsored meetings up to the user's maximum available slots.
-
Sponsored Team Members from the same Exhibitor share their Exhibitor's Sponsored meetings allocation.
-
The total number of Sponsored meetings across all team members of an Exhibitor cannot exceed the Exhibitor's allocated limit.
-
Once the Exhibitor's Sponsored allocation is filled, Free meetings can be generated for individual team members up to each team member's available slots.
Organizer overrides
The Organizer can change meeting limits at any stage of the Meeting Program. Changes apply to future algorithm work — meetings already generated and confirmed in a previous run are not removed by a limit change.
What changed in the May 2026 release
Before this release, the 1st run produced Sponsored meetings only; Free meetings were generated only in the 2nd run. From this release onwards, the 1st run uses the same algorithm as the 2nd run, so Free meetings are also generated in the 1st pass once each user's Sponsored allocation is filled.
The change was made so that participants who do not qualify for Sponsored meetings (or who have already filled their Sponsored allocation) receive a meaningful first schedule rather than having to wait for the 2nd run. The pairing rules, tier order, and one-pair-per-company restriction were not changed.