I didn’t have a chance to write a blog post on Tuesday, which is usually reserved for my professional journey. So, I thought I would blend the professional and personal into one post today because this subject matter crosses both.

Let’s talk about AI.

I will dig deeper into the recently released Membership Marketing Benchmark Report from Marketing General in a later post, but something in the report really resonated with me.

The study had an entire section dedicated to the use of AI in membership marketing.

Some of the stats that stood out to me were that only 9% of associations stated they feel fully ready for AI-driven marketing, and some of the top barriers included lack of staff expertise at 33% and insufficient staff capacity or bandwidth at 32%.

Well, it’s no wonder there is a lack of staff expertise. Only 3% of associations stated they offered a comprehensive training program, while 55% are either in the process of developing a program at 22% or are not doing any training at all at 33%.

And let’s talk about bandwidth.

That seems like such an oxymoronic statement.

AI is supposed to increase efficiency, yet one of the reasons organizations are not using it is because of bandwidth.

Hopefully, you are hearing the sound of me scratching my head right now.

I have worked long enough to have seen the introduction of numerous technologies that were supposed to create so many efficiencies in the workplace.

First, it was the fax machine. And while, yes, it was definitely easier than mailing documents, in the association world, it seemed to only make things more efficient for the members. Staff still had to enter the data manually into the registration system.

Next came the World Wide Web. That was certainly going to make our jobs easier now that members could go online and find information. However, the internet brought with it a whole other set of tasks and responsibilities that did not free up staff at all.

And then there’s email.

While yes, email made the person in the mailroom’s job much easier because there was less physical mail to sort, I would certainly not say email allowed us to work more efficiently. If anything, when most people are asked what their biggest time waster is, they usually say email.

Now we have AI.

For me, I don’t think there has been a technology that has entered the workspace with more potential to create real efficiency than AI.

But only if you are willing to embrace it, set up guardrails, train staff, and actually use it.

The Marketing General study would tend to support that. According to the study, among associations using AI for membership marketing, 79% say it has increased their efficiency, and 73% say it has led to faster content creation.

And here’s the crazy stat to me: organizations that report renewal rates of 80% or higher also report that some of those increases can be attributed to the use of AI.

I have always had a knack for reading between the lines when it comes to surveys, and this one is no different.

I think the real reason some people aren’t diving into the world of AI is not just training or bandwidth.

They are scared.

And they would rather bury their heads in the sand.

In a recent session I did with a national association, I had a chance to talk with staff beforehand. I asked them about their use of AI and whether they had a specific policy around it. One staff member said they had no official policy and were not supposed to be using it.

So I asked a very pointed question.

“So, you aren’t supposed to be using it, but are you?”

Without hesitation she said, “Absolutely!”

So what’s worse?

Having an AI policy in your organization that creates guardrails and protects the human interaction?

Or saying people cannot use it while they quietly use AI however they see fit?

To me, AI is like any powerful tool. It can help or it can harm depending on how humans choose to use it. The tool itself is not the strategy. The human using the tool still matters.

I can tell you personally that I have benefited tremendously from the use of AI as a solopreneur. My business would not be where it is today without it. As a matter of fact, as I began writing this blog, I asked Chatty, my AI, if she would mind scrubbing my inbox while I wrote and coming up with a list of action items.

And then there are the fun things you can do with AI.

The other day, I had about five ingredients available for dinner and had no idea what direction I wanted to go. For personal use, I turned to my buddy Gemmi, which is what I call Gemini. I’m all about work-life balance.

Gemmi came back with three amazing recipes. And since I have been tracking my macronutrients over the last two weeks, he even gave me that breakdown so I could enter it into my Garmin app.

And speaking of Garmin, it has started giving me an AI summary each day of my health and wellness status, along with suggestions.

Look, I get it.

It makes sense to be cautious with new technology, especially when there is so much talk about all the terrible things that can happen through the use of AI.

But caution and avoidance are not the same thing.

Just like with any new tool, organizations need to take the time to understand it, get trained on how to use it, create guidelines for responsible use, and make sure they never lose sight of the human connection.

AI is not here to replace human judgment, relationships, creativity, or leadership.

It is here to support them.

And just like with a membership database, the old rule still applies.

Garbage in, garbage out.

The organizations that will benefit most from AI will not be the ones that blindly chase every shiny new tool. They will be the ones that pair human wisdom with technological capacity.

That is not something to fear.

That is something to lead.