5 areas to consider when using AI in your membership organisation

With the growth of AI, it’s easy to be caught up in the sheer number of possibilities. It’s important to take a step back and consider how AI can help you save time. Focus on asking the question, ‘what are the issues we are trying to solve?’. Consider if there are AI solutions that can help you resolve your challenges.

AI could be used to support with design, operational or customer-facing tasks. For example, if team members are spending a significant amount of time asking simple questions, it could be good to look at AI driven chatbots to help answer questions when members are on the website.

AI will only work well in an organisation that has a culture that encourages curiosity. It’s important to reassure the team that AI is there to support them, not to replace them. Many people can fear trying something new, your company culture should encourage people to try different tools and feel empowered to take ownership of their role.

Network within your industry and find out how other people are using AI. You can have people come in to discuss AI in team meetings or on team days. Large companies with teams dedicated to AI are likely to be happy to share some ideas and present at events (like Tim Elsom at MemberWise!). Equally, industry networking groups and channels are a great platform to share ideas and ask questions.

Cath Hume, CEO of Arts Marketing Association, shared that they created an AI working group where they brainstorm ideas to implement. They also have AI champions – people in the organisation who are naturally interested in AI and willing to share tips and use cases. These groups can be an opportunity for people who are passionate to support the wider team and lead the adoption of AI.

Cath also shared that they have written an AI policy which provides guidelines on how AI should be used in the organisation. Their example covered 14 key areas and supported people to be able to decide what they’re comfortable with using AI for.

Finally, we wanted to make a note on the importance of considering the ethical use of AI. Zentso supports sustainable development and are passionate about the work of non-profits and membership organisations driving social change. There has been much discussion on the climate effects of using AI tools. We encourage you to consider this when choosing to use AI.