How I Automate My Webinars in 2026 (After Hosting Hundreds of Sessions)
For years, running a webinar meant blocking my calendar, showing up live, and repeating the same presentation again and again.
In 2026, I almost never do that.
I’ve hosted hundreds of webinars across marketing, product demos, onboarding, and education. Some live, many automated. Over time, I’ve refined a system that lets me run webinars 24/7 without them feeling robotic.
This article is not theory.
It’s how I actually automate my webinars today.
What “Automating a Webinar” Means in Practice
When I first started, I thought automation meant uploading a recording.
That’s not enough.
For me, automation happens on three levels:
- The webinar experience (video, chat, polls, CTAs)
- The lifecycle (signup → reminders → attendance → follow-up)
- The data layer (CRM, scoring, segmentation, sales triggers)
If you only automate the video, you miss most of the upside.
What I Always Automate (And What I Don’t)
✅ What I Automate Every Time
- Registration and confirmation emails
- Reminder sequences (email + calendar)
- The webinar room and playback
- Engagement tracking (polls, questions, CTAs)
- CRM updates and lead scoring
- Post-webinar follow-ups
- On-demand replays
Once these are automated, a webinar becomes an asset—not an event.
⚠️ What I’m Careful Not to Automate
- High-stakes enterprise sales demos
- Complex live Q&A without moderation
- Founder-led thought leadership sessions
My rule is simple:
I automate repetition, not relationships.
1. How I Automate the Webinar Experience Itself
An automated webinar should never feel automated.
If it does, people disengage.
What I Look For in a Platform
- Scheduled and instant sessions
- Simulated “live” playback
- Polls, chat, Q&A, and reactions
- CTA buttons during the video
- Full branding control
Univid - what I use to run most automated webinars
Most of my automated webinars today run on Univid.
The reason is simple: it lets me combine live and simulated webinars seamlessly. I can take a recorded webinar and turn it into something that still feels interactive and on-brand.
With Univid, I typically:
- Run simulated live sessions for campaigns
- Offer instant on-demand versions for evergreen traffic
- Get notified in Slack when attendees answer polls or write in Q&A
- Keep the entire room aligned with my brand
This setup works especially well for:
- Product demos
- Lead magnets
- Partner webinars
- Customer onboarding
Once set up, these webinars run continuously with minimal maintenance. And with the integrations to Slack + Zapier I can do most automations around I have been needing so far.
eWebinar — automated only
I’ve also tested eWebinar, especially for education-heavy use cases.
Its strength is the chat experience—you can reply asynchronously, which makes sessions feel more conversational.
I like it for:
- Training-style webinars
- Course-like content
- Smaller, highly engaged audiences
eWebinar is great, but it is limited to simulated webinars only - so if you are running both live and simulated you have to look elsewhere. I also find it abit more limited when strong branding or visuals matter.
WebinarJam — older alternative with basics
I’ve used WebinarJam mainly for sales-driven evergreen funnels.
It does a solid job with:
- Offers and CTAs
- Scarcity-based funnels
That said, I find the UI dated and the setup heavier compared to newer tools. I don’t use it much for SaaS-style marketing anymore.
2. How I Automate Registration, Reminders & Attendance
This part matters more than most people think.
I’ve tested dozens of reminder setups, and a few things consistently work:
- Combining 24h and 1h reminders
- Automatic calendar invites
- Time-zone aware scheduling
- Short, clear reminder copy
Most platforms handle this natively—but the real leverage comes next.
3. How I Automate CRM & Marketing Workflows
This is where automated webinars turn into revenue systems.
I always connect my webinars to my CRM, either directly or via Zapier or Make.
What I Automatically Track
- Registered
- Attended
- No-show
- Watched X%
- Clicked CTA
- Answered polls
That data decides what happens next.
A Real Automation I Use
If someone:
- Watches more than 50%
- Answers at least one poll
- Clicks a CTA
Then I automatically:
- Increase lead score
- Move them to SQL
- Notify sales
- Send a tailored follow-up email
No manual work. No guessing. And no Excel files.
Simulated Live vs On-Demand: How I Use Both
I don’t pick one—I use both. Also, I don't just run simulated webinars - but combine it with live webinars where it counts too.
Simulated Live
- Higher conversion and attendance
- More urgency
- Best for campaigns and launches
On-Demand
- Infinite scale
- Perfect for onboarding
- Works great with SEO and ads
Live webinars
- More work
- Highest conversion
- Relationship building and impact
Most of my funnels start simulated live for broader lead gen - and then convert to on-demand. Also, I sprinkle in live webinars where it matters - especially when working with a larger deal size B2B they are key.
Final Thoughts
After automating webinars for years, this is what I’ve learned:
Automation doesn’t replace good webinars—it makes good webinars compound.
I start with one strong webinar, automate the experience, connect the data, and improve based on engagement.
If you care about branding, interactivity, and modern workflows, Univid is what I reach for in 2026.
If chat is the core experience, eWebinar can make sense.
If you’re running classic evergreen sales funnels, WebinarJam still works.
Just don’t automate blindly.
Automate what repeats. Keep what matters human.