AI tools

If your association isn’t using artificial intelligence (AI) yet, these association management professionals say it’s time to start. Anna Eaton, Marketing Specialist at Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA), and Rick Harris, CEO of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), joined Ewald Consulting Chief Growth Officer Paul Hanscom for an Associations Trends Talk in April 2024. Here are some of the key takeaways from the conversation. 

The ROI of an AI tool can be high 
The cost for an AI tool can vary widely, based on the features required and the level of volunteer and staff involvement in setting it up. But both Anna and Rick say that the return on investment has been high for their associations. Both MRAA and APMP have seen significant growth in membership and in member engagement since implementing their AI systems. Anna says she has sent ideas to the MRAA education team for freshening existing content or creating new content based on trends in member queries that have been submitted. Rick says their system has been essential in creating personas to help with marketing and in discovering untapped areas for education where, “we know there’s an interest and an audience.” 

Use third-party partners
A third-party partner can help your organization launch a user-friendly, highly professional AI tool very quickly. The MRAA chose Betty Bot, while APMP chose Rohirrim AI. Dozens of other options are available; you can learn more about the companies and their capabilities through ASAE and other organizations, and through events like the Consumer Electronics Show. 

Closed AI models are trustworthy 
There’s a huge difference between open AI models like ChatGPT and closed AI models like those employed by MRAA and APMP. Closed models pull data only from within your association’s website and information you load into the system, and these models cite the information sources so members know where it came from and that it’s trustworthy. Open AI models pull information from sources across the internet that may or may not be trustworthy; they can be very useful in drafting copy for marketing or other uses, but you do need to verify that the material generated by open AI models is accurate. 

Protect your association’s expertise 
It’s important to protect the intellectual property (IP) of the association and of your subject matter experts (SMEs). Rick says APMP owns all of its own information; they pay writers and retain rights to the work. Anna also cites the importance of getting buy-in from SMEs who may have authored books, publication articles or conference presentations. 

Provide education to staff and members 
Anna says that when the MRAA staff saw the trial version of the AI assistant, they were immediately excited to move forward with the system. Rick says that webinars helped APMP members get used to the idea of using AI well in advance of launching the association’s AI system. He also highlighted that APMP has received feedback that the AI tool has become one of the top value drivers for members.

For a deeper dive on these and other takeaways from the Associations Trends Talk, watch the full video here.