How the World Cup is a high-stakes stage for Big Tech’s AI push

Personal-computer maker Lenovo’s World Cup debut as FIFA’s official technology partner encompasses AI-enabled phones and tablets, an AI assistant that’s offered to all participating teams, and even the application of AI within a video system that referees will use to help officiate. 

The pact, announced in October 2024, kicks into high gear for the 2026 World Cup, which has been called the most complex tournament in history with games to be played in 16 cities spanning three countries and an expanded field of 48 teams. FIFA estimates more than five million fans will watch the matches in person, with billions more following gameplay from their homes, offices, local bars, and any other location with a reliable internet connection.

“Most of the world is watching, and it creates an unbelievable expectation that you really have to make sure this works,” says Art Hu, Lenovo’s chief information officer.

It turns out the World Cup isn’t just about sports. It’s also a splashy event where some of the world’s largest tech giants have a fresh opportunity to display their AI prowess. The technology is fueling more complex search queries and agentic ticket booking for Google, while Salesforce’s Slack will coordinate workforce management across all host cities, and Verizon is providing network connectivity at stadiums across North America.

One of Lenovo’s splashier AI offerings is Football AI Pro, a generative AI knowledge-based tool that analyzes hundreds of millions of football data points, both from past matches and through real-time analysis, which can then be tapped by coaches, trainers, and other support staff via text, video, graphs, and 3D visualizations. The tool can be used to assess, for example, the success rate of a corner kick by Argentina’s Lionel Messi or Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

“More data will be coming in as matches get played,” says Hu, who adds that Lenovo and FIFA wanted to level the playing field so that this technology was available to all countries. But what’s left to the teams is how much they want to use the data. Some may opt to strictly follow the numbers whipped up by their AI-enabled gadgets, while others may use the data at a high level but leave tactical calls to the coaches.

Heading into the World Cup, Google has struck team partnerships with eight squads, including the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, and France. Marvin Chow, Google’s vice president of consumer and AI marketing, says the World Cup presents a unique, global opportunity to showcase the tech giant’s user-focused AI capabilities, but from a design perspective, the application of the technology is intentionally subtle.

World Cup players, Chow said, “are using AI and digital tools to prepare for matches, get ready for new cities, where to eat in the city, and what are the things to do. They’re people too.” 

Google’s AI-powered search advances can show interactive graphics that convey the difference between a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 formation, an advancement from pre-AI queries that were traditionally heavy on news articles and summaries. Google’s Maps and Waze are filled with data about traffic and road closures, stadium imagery, and live scoring updates whenever a car is stopped.

AI agents that can be authorized to hunt for tickets online are still in the early pilot stages, according to Chow, who says these capabilities will be more ready for prime time by the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027. “It’s really in the early days, I would say, for this World Cup,” says Chow.

RapidSOS, meanwhile, connects data from more than 723........

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