People Groups
Groups are used to identify the various ways that people will be participating in your event, be it as an Attendee, Speaker or Staff. In the Experience Manager, groups will allow you to easily filter profiles into People sections and send specific announcements via announcements.
Session Roles
Roles, on the other hand, are used to demonstrate how someone is participating within your sessions (outside of attending), and allow you to identify who is a Speaker versus a Moderator, or can even be used to highlight a sponsored session. Roles can also be used to filter specific profiles into People sections you are creating, such as Keynote Speaker list.
Note: Only people profiles can be assigned to session roles. Company profiles cannot be assigned to roles.
