Kansas City AI Prompt Championship 2026
A competition-focused experience designed to test the limits of modern AI models and identify the next generation of AI talent.
Why Compete in the Kansas City AI Championship?
The AI Prompt Championship is the first and only live, in-person AI prompt engineering competition in the United States. Kansas City's regional event brings together students, professionals, and AI enthusiasts for a full day of competition, networking, and learning.
Win & Advance
Top performers qualify for the National Championship with prizes, recognition, and career opportunities.
Network
Connect with Kansas City's tech community, industry leaders, and fellow AI practitioners.
Build Your Portfolio
Showcase real AI skills under pressure — a tangible credential for your career in artificial intelligence.
Open to all skill levels — students, professionals, entrepreneurs, and anyone curious about AI. No prior competition experience required.
The Competition
A High-Fidelity Proving Ground for AI Excellence
The demand for elite AI talent is exploding. This championship provides a tangible portfolio of your work under pressure, testing for creativity, resilience, and technical mastery in commercially relevant disciplines. Whether you're a student, a professional, or just AI-curious, this is your chance to shine.
The Challenges
Two unique challenges for The Architect track will be released at the start of each competition block. You can tackle them solo or as a team within the allotted time.
The Judging
Submissions will be evaluated by a distinguished panel of three industry experts and one non-human (AI) judge, providing a comprehensive and unbiased assessment.
Competition Architecture
Explore the Tracks
The Kansas City regional will feature the Architect, Oracle and Muse tracks. Get a preview of other tracks coming to future national events!
The Guardian Coming Soon
Adversarial Safety & Red Teaming. Bypass safety filters, then design prompts to defend against attacks.
The Architect Technical
Complex Agentic Reasoning. Guide AI agents through multi-step tasks using real-world tools and APIs.
The Oracle Business
Advanced Retrieval & Synthesis. Extract and cite accurate information from large, noisy datasets.
The Muse Marketing
Multimodal Creativity & Control. Tackle creative use cases like content generation and ad development.
The Ultimate Test
Example Challenge
The challenges are designed to be lengthy, intensive, and interconnected. Example: the need for a fair, reliable delivery service to combat rising revenue share costs and negative reviews on incumbent platforms.
Task: Build a Working MVP Demo for a Local Delivery Service
You are the founding engineer. Your goal is to build a functional, front-end prototype of a hyper-local delivery service. This is a product-building challenge. Your focus is on creating a high-fidelity demo that showcases the core user experience and proves the concept's viability.
Core Required Features to Build
- User Onboarding & Login Simulation
- Live Restaurant & Menu Browsing
- Functional Ordering & Checkout Flow
- Simulated Real-time Order Tracking Map
Deliverables
- A publicly accessible, working demo: A clickable prototype built with HTML/CSS/JS, or a no-code tool like Framer.
- Technical Walkthrough: A brief document or video explaining the architecture, data structures, and any key technical decisions made.
Challenge Opportunity: The "Surge" Feature
Implement a visible UI element in your demo for dynamic "surge pricing". Create a simple toggle or button that shows how the UI would adapt and clearly communicate the price change to the user.
Please note: These are example challenges to illustrate the scope and theme. The actual challenges will be unique and revealed at the start of the event.
The Panel
Meet the Judges
Submissions will be evaluated by a distinguished panel of three industry experts and one non-human (AI) judge, providing a comprehensive and unbiased assessment.
Jason McKinley
CEO, Arc Technologies Group
Lizz Whitacre
Pawlytics
Joni Cobb
Partner, Creative Planning
Tonya Witherspoon
Founder & CEO, MindScapes
Troy Tabor
Wichita State University, College of Innovation and Design
Jim Starcev
KC Digital Drive
Stoni Beauchamp
Ai-Dapt Academy
Robert Voss
Associate Professor, NWMSU & Founder, Voss AI Consulting
Win Hansen
CEO and Founder, Sleep Fitter (Rairflow Inc.)
Benny Bowden
Spotlight Analyst Relations
Codex-A
Non-Human Judge,
Arc Technologies Group
Sponsorship as a Service
Your Business Problem is the Challenge. The Reward is the Solution.
Partner with us to transform your toughest business challenges into thrilling competitive events. We provide the platform and the talent; you get innovative, crowdsourced solutions.
Challenge Partner
Targeted Problem-Solving
?
- Submit a challenge for a Collegiate or High School regional event.
- Receive top solutions and performance data from competitors.
- Brand exposure and access to emerging talent.
Innovation Partner
Mission-Critical R&D
?
- Co-design a headline challenge for the National Championship.
- Get exclusive access to all solutions, data, and top-tier professional talent.
- Sponsor a Keynote Speaker or Certification Track.
Event Itinerary
A Day of Innovation
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Registration & Welcome Coffee
Check in, grab some coffee, and get ready for an exciting day of AI challenges and learning.
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Competition Block 1
Dive into the first set of challenges for The Architect track. This block includes a brief kick-off workshop to get you started.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Networking Lunch (Provided)
Connect with fellow AI enthusiasts and local tech leaders. Lunch is on us!
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Competition Block 2 & Finals
Tackle the final set of challenges. The regional champion will be decided based on performance across all challenges for the day.
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Awards Showcase & Happy Hour
Celebrate the achievements of our competitors and enjoy a closing happy hour with drinks and snacks provided.
Become a Foundational Partner
Connect your brand with the future of AI. We invite you to join us as a sponsor to engage with top-tier talent, gain brand visibility, and help nurture the architects of our intelligent future.
Our Partners
Got Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the AI Prompt Championship?
The AI Prompt Championship is the first and only live, in-person AI prompt engineering competition in the United States. Competitors solve real-world challenges using AI tools across three tracks: The Architect (technical), The Oracle (business), and The Muse (marketing/creative). Regional winners advance to the National Championship.
How do I register for the Kansas City AI competition?
Registration is free and available through Eventbrite. Visit the registration link on this page to secure your spot. Space is limited, so register early. You'll receive a confirmation email with event details and logistics.
What is the competition format?
The event runs from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and includes two competition blocks, a networking lunch, and an awards ceremony. Challenges are released at the start of each block and competitors work individually or in teams within the allotted time. Submissions are judged by industry experts and an AI judge.
Do I need AI experience to compete?
No prior AI competition experience is required. The event is open to all skill levels — students, professionals, entrepreneurs, and anyone curious about AI. Whether you're a beginner or an expert, the challenges are designed to test creativity and problem-solving at every level.
What do winners get?
Regional winners earn recognition, prizes, and the opportunity to advance to the National Championship. Top performers also gain exposure to industry leaders and potential career opportunities through our network of sponsors and partners.
Ready to Test Your Skills?
Registration is free, but space is strictly limited. Secure your spot today to compete, learn, and network with the best in the AI community.