Artificial intelligence is emerging as a potential asset for associations in a time where doing more with less has become increasingly important. With capabilities ranging from data analysis to content management, AI-powered tools can help associations make the most of their unique subject matter expertise, deliver better services for their membership, and stay competitive in an ever-changing landscape.
At the end of the day, associations have to be ready to use AI strategically to serve the long-term needs of everyone—the organization, its staff, and its members. In this article, we look at some of the ways they can do that.
1. AI can help staff do more with their time.
Needing to do more with less isn’t a new challenge, but it’s one that the events of the past few years intensified for some associations. Staff need support to keep pace with evolving member expectations, industry advances, and business demands.
Already, AI-powered tools can help in several ways, including analyzing swathes of data, gathering newsletter content, cleaning contact lists, and building basic websites.
“It’s just a power tool,” Julian Moore, a leading AI and partnerships consultant, said on a recent episode of the “Learning by Association” podcast. “It is a new tool that we should embrace really quickly so that we make our staff’s lives easier and, more importantly, we make our members’ lives easier.”
2. AI can lead to better experiences for members.
AI can help associations in two ways.
First, it can enable staff to better understand members’ needs and goals by analyzing data at scale. They can input spreadsheets and ask which members are most likely to leave, for example. Based on a range of factors—including feedback scores, attendance at events, and email open rates—AI can help identify which members might need to be included in a re-engagement campaign.
Second, it can help associations create more personalized experiences tailored to members’ needs. In another episode of the podcast, Moore considers what this might look like with continuing education. For example, as a member of a gemstone association, you might indicate that you’re interested specifically in gem types and gem cutting or business development. A calendar could then be created for you that highlights relevant training and event opportunities available through the association.
3. AI can support the mission of an association.
This seems counterintuitive because, on the surface, AI can seem like a threat. But as Moore observes, “If you look at what AI has to offer, everything about it is useful for a membership organization. By its very nature, an association is a mixture of companies—an events company, a research company, a lobbying company—that we push together and then we run with six people.”
He continues, “Now it’s like saying those six people can act as a 60-person organization. They get to do more and be more creative, and the members get better service. So, we stand to benefit more than almost any other industry in the world.”
Associations also have two strengths that AI never will: Real subject matter experts and an authentic sense of community.
“The information that’s coming into an association is raw information. They’re getting it from member companies, from universities, from experts, from research projects, and then they put a finished product together, and it goes out to the members,” says Bill Sheehan, global head of association strategy with D2L and host of the “Learning by Association” podcast. “It’s been vetted by subject matter experts, so it’s trusted, accurate, and complete.”
Taking a Strategic Approach to the Use of AI
Although we might not know exactly what AI-powered tools will be waiting for us 10 years down the road, waiting for the excitement to fade isn’t the answer.
As Sheehan says, “[AI] obviously is not a fad. It’s not going away. I think you’re going to have to learn how to utilize it within your organization. And because it’s advancing so fast, I think the sooner you allow staff to utilize it to the benefit of the members, the better, because it’s going to be very, very hard to catch up.”
Does the potential of AI mean associations should jump headfirst into every tool they come across? No. People have real concerns about using AI—whether it will simply replace them, counteracting baked-in bias, and protecting their intellectual property.
But we can’t let fears hold us back from seizing opportunities. The key is balance. Associations need to keep their mission at the core of all their initiatives, including piloting and implementing novel technologies. They also need to stay flexible and be open to trying new approaches that support staff, improve member experiences, and set up the association for sustainable success.
In Moore’s words, “[AI] doesn’t just change your world. It changes everyone’s world, everything, everywhere, all at once.”
