Abstract submission form: collect talk proposals in one link

Proposals that arrive by email come in every shape. One speaker writes three lines. Another pastes a whole paper. Reading them side by side is slow. I would rather give every speaker the same questions, so the programme committee can compare them fairly.

About the speaker

Name, email, organisation and a short bio. You need these to reach people and to print the programme. One box asks whether this would be a first talk, so you can find newcomers who might want a mentor.

About the talk

Title, abstract, format, level and co-speakers. The abstract question asks what the audience will be able to do afterwards. That keeps proposals concrete and easy to rank.

Practical details

A link to a past talk, whether travel help is needed and whether the speaker can present in person. These answers decide who you can actually schedule.

Who fills it and who reads it

Speakers fill it once. Your committee reads rows in the CSV. A speaker can also ask their own AI to help. It might ask "What is your talk about, in two sentences?" Then "Which format fits: talk, workshop or panel?" Then "Have you given this talk before?" It shows every answer and sends only after a yes. See agent-fillable forms.

A tip

Keep the abstract limit short. Long limits invite essays. When talks are chosen, a workshop registration form collects sign ups for hands-on sessions. If a band plays at your conference dinner, a song request form gathers wishes in the same way. More ideas live in forms for events.

Questions

How do I compare proposals fairly?

Download the CSV and add a score column for each reviewer. Every proposal arrives with the same fields in the same order, so reviewers compare like with like.

Can I set a submission deadline?

Yes. Set close_at to your call for papers deadline and the form stops taking proposals then. Set max_responses as well if you can only review so many.

Should speakers upload slides here?

No. The form takes no file uploads. It asks for a link to a past talk or slides instead, which also shows you how the speaker presents.

Or paste the JSON

Give this to your AI. It needs the AI Form API MCP server or an API key. It makes the form and sends you the link.

text

Create this form with the AI Form API create_form tool (or POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms with my API key). Then reply with the public_url.

{
  "title": "Submit a talk proposal",
  "description": "We read every proposal. Tell us who you are and what you would like to present.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "speaker_name",
      "label": "Your name",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 120
    },
    {
      "id": "speaker_email",
      "label": "Email",
      "type": "email",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "affiliation",
      "label": "Organisation or university",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "speaker_bio",
      "label": "Short bio",
      "type": "long_text",
      "required": true,
      "help": "Write it in the third person, as it would appear in the programme.",
      "max_length": 800
    },
    {
      "id": "talk_title",
      "label": "Title of your talk",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "abstract_text",
      "label": "Abstract",
      "type": "long_text",
      "required": true,
      "help": "What will the audience be able to do or understand afterwards?",
      "max_length": 2000
    },
    {
      "id": "session_format",
      "label": "Format",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "required": true,
      "options": [
        "Talk",
        "Workshop",
        "Panel",
        "Lightning talk",
        "Poster"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "audience_level",
      "label": "Level of the audience",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Beginner",
        "Intermediate",
        "Advanced",
        "All levels"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "co_speakers",
      "label": "Names of co-speakers, if any",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 300
    },
    {
      "id": "past_talk_link",
      "label": "Link to a past talk or slides",
      "type": "url"
    },
    {
      "id": "first_time_speaker",
      "label": "This would be my first talk at a conference",
      "type": "checkbox"
    },
    {
      "id": "needs_travel_help",
      "label": "Do you need help with travel?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "No",
        "Yes, partly",
        "Yes, fully",
        "Not sure yet"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "present_in_person",
      "label": "I can present in person on the event dates",
      "type": "checkbox"
    }
  ]
}

Or call the API

bash

curl -X POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIFORMAPI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title":"Submit a talk proposal","description":"We read every proposal. Tell us who you are and what you would like to present.","fields":[{"id":"speaker_name","label":"Your name","type":"short_text","required":true,"max_length":120},{"id":"speaker_email","label":"Email","type":"email","required":true},{"id":"affiliation","label":"Organisation or university","type":"short_text","max_length":150},{"id":"speaker_bio","label":"Short bio","type":"long_text","required":true,"help":"Write it in the third person, as it would appear in the programme.","max_length":800},{"id":"talk_title","label":"Title of your talk","type":"short_text","required":true,"max_length":150},{"id":"abstract_text","label":"Abstract","type":"long_text","required":true,"help":"What will the audience be able to do or understand afterwards?","max_length":2000},{"id":"session_format","label":"Format","type":"single_choice","required":true,"options":["Talk","Workshop","Panel","Lightning talk","Poster"]},{"id":"audience_level","label":"Level of the audience","type":"single_choice","options":["Beginner","Intermediate","Advanced","All levels"]},{"id":"co_speakers","label":"Names of co-speakers, if any","type":"short_text","max_length":300},{"id":"past_talk_link","label":"Link to a past talk or slides","type":"url"},{"id":"first_time_speaker","label":"This would be my first talk at a conference","type":"checkbox"},{"id":"needs_travel_help","label":"Do you need help with travel?","type":"single_choice","options":["No","Yes, partly","Yes, fully","Not sure yet"]},{"id":"present_in_person","label":"I can present in person on the event dates","type":"checkbox"}]}'

JSON definition

json

{
  "title": "Submit a talk proposal",
  "description": "We read every proposal. Tell us who you are and what you would like to present.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "speaker_name",
      "label": "Your name",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 120
    },
    {
      "id": "speaker_email",
      "label": "Email",
      "type": "email",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "affiliation",
      "label": "Organisation or university",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "speaker_bio",
      "label": "Short bio",
      "type": "long_text",
      "required": true,
      "help": "Write it in the third person, as it would appear in the programme.",
      "max_length": 800
    },
    {
      "id": "talk_title",
      "label": "Title of your talk",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "abstract_text",
      "label": "Abstract",
      "type": "long_text",
      "required": true,
      "help": "What will the audience be able to do or understand afterwards?",
      "max_length": 2000
    },
    {
      "id": "session_format",
      "label": "Format",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "required": true,
      "options": [
        "Talk",
        "Workshop",
        "Panel",
        "Lightning talk",
        "Poster"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "audience_level",
      "label": "Level of the audience",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Beginner",
        "Intermediate",
        "Advanced",
        "All levels"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "co_speakers",
      "label": "Names of co-speakers, if any",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 300
    },
    {
      "id": "past_talk_link",
      "label": "Link to a past talk or slides",
      "type": "url"
    },
    {
      "id": "first_time_speaker",
      "label": "This would be my first talk at a conference",
      "type": "checkbox"
    },
    {
      "id": "needs_travel_help",
      "label": "Do you need help with travel?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "No",
        "Yes, partly",
        "Yes, fully",
        "Not sure yet"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "present_in_person",
      "label": "I can present in person on the event dates",
      "type": "checkbox"
    }
  ]
}

An abstract submission form for talks, posters and workshops