Will Gen AI Replace What Associations Do?
Generative AI (Gen AI) is transforming every sector—and associations are no exception. From member services and communications to volunteer engagement and continuing education, Gen AI tools are redefining how professional associations operate and serve. Yet with this innovation comes unease. Staff, volunteer leaders, and even members are asking: Will AI render my contributions obsolete? Will it devalue what makes us human?
These are not just technological questions—they are strategic leadership challenges. As stewards of professional communities, association executives must lead conversations around Gen AI with clarity, ethics, and vision.
Reframing the Threat: What Gen AI Really Means for Associations
At first glance, Gen AI seems to challenge the very strengths associations rely on—creativity, knowledge-sharing, and professional judgment. Tools like ChatGPT can generate articles, answer questions, and analyze trends, while others like DALL·E or Synthesia can produce multimedia content in seconds.
But rather than replace the unique value that associations and their stakeholders bring, Gen AI shifts how that value is delivered. It moves professionals from being sole creators of content or services to being curators, facilitators, and ethical guides. For associations, this opens a critical opportunity: to lead in redefining what it means to be a professional in the age of AI.
From Obsolescence to Opportunity: Evolving Roles in the Association Ecosystem
Many traditional roles—data entry, administrative reporting, basic writing—are being rapidly augmented by Gen AI. This has major implications for association staff functions such as:
- Membership communications: AI can generate tailored messages, segment audiences, and analyze response trends.
- Event planning: Tools can auto-generate agendas, suggest content tracks, and even create speaker bios.
- Certification and credentialing: AI can assist in reviewing CEU submissions, flagging inconsistencies, or identifying content gaps.
These efficiencies free staff to focus on higher-order work like volunteer coordination, member engagement strategy, and governance alignment. In chapters and sections, where volunteer leaders often juggle limited time and resources, AI can automate administrative burdens, allowing more energy to go into relationship-building and program innovation.
Still, this transition requires care. Association professionals—staff and volunteers alike—must be supported in developing the skills and mindsets that complement, not compete with, Gen AI.
Skills That Matter More Than Ever in the AI Era
As Gen AI becomes embedded in association operations, certain human capabilities become more—not less—essential. These include:
- Emotional intelligence and empathy: Understanding member needs, motivating volunteers, and managing conflict are inherently human functions that AI cannot replicate.
- Strategic foresight: While AI can analyze trends, only humans can interpret them in the context of mission, values, and long-term impact.
- Ethical judgment: Associations often set the standard for professional conduct. Leaders must apply ethical reasoning to how AI is used—not just to ensure fairness, but to uphold the integrity of the profession.
- Curation and refinement: AI-generated content may be quick, but it lacks nuance. Professionals must shape that content to reflect member needs, organizational voice, and sector-specific expertise.
These are not futuristic ideals—they are the foundation of the association profession. The key is investing in them deliberately as AI tools become more common.
A Case Study: Helping a National Health Association Embrace Gen AI
One of my recent consulting engagements involved a national health-related association exploring Gen AI adoption. Their communications team faced mounting pressure to generate more content with fewer resources. Meanwhile, chapter leaders were requesting support for localized member outreach and programming.
We conducted an AI-readiness assessment and piloted several Gen AI tools. AI was used to generate initial drafts of email campaigns, social media posts, and learning module descriptions—saving staff hours per week. But the true transformation came when we trained staff and key chapter leaders to curate and refine AI outputs in ways aligned with the association’s values and tone.
More importantly, the association created a cross-functional “AI ethics panel” made up of staff, board members, and practicing professionals. Their charge: to evaluate how AI tools aligned with the association’s mission to promote evidence-based, ethical care. This collaborative governance structure helped ensure AI was a servant to the association’s values—not a threat to them.
Six months later, the result was not only better content and faster delivery—it was stronger engagement. Chapter leaders felt more empowered, staff reported less burnout, and members responded positively to the increased personalization and relevance of communications.
What Association Leaders Must Do Now
To lead effectively in this new era, association executives must move beyond tech literacy toward strategic stewardship of Gen AI. Here’s how:
1. Integrate Gen AI into Your Strategic Plan
Just as you would plan for a membership CRM or certification redesign, build Gen AI into your long-term strategic and operational goals. What member needs could it help address? What staff capacity might it unlock?
2. Train Staff and Volunteers in Human-AI Collaboration
Offer training not just on how to use AI tools, but on how to think with them. Emphasize human judgment, values alignment, and the curation of AI-generated outputs.
3. Establish AI Governance Frameworks
Set clear policies around transparency, privacy, and ethical use of AI. Consider creating a task force or ethics panel with diverse representation from your community.
4. Champion Adaptability and Lifelong Learning
Model the mindset you want to see. Encourage experimentation, support professional development, and recognize those who explore new ways to engage AI constructively.
5. Involve Chapters and Sections Early
Don’t let Gen AI become a headquarters-only initiative. Involve chapter and section leaders in pilot programs and training. Their needs and constraints are unique—and their buy-in is essential.
Redefining What It Means to Be a Professional
Ultimately, associations are not just service providers—they are stewards of professions. That means helping members navigate their own relationships with Gen AI. What does it mean to be a trustworthy attorney, engineer, or educator when AI can generate briefs, designs, or lesson plans?
Your association can lead by:
- Embedding AI-related competencies into certification and CE programs
- Facilitating peer discussions on ethical dilemmas and use cases
- Publishing guidance on how AI tools should (and shouldn’t) be used in the profession
This is a powerful moment to help members preserve their relevance, not by resisting AI, but by leaning into what only humans can do.
Conclusion: A New Human Chapter for Associations
The rise of Gen AI is not the end of human relevance—it’s a call to lead with greater intentionality. For association executives, this is a moment to elevate your organization’s role: as a guide through technological disruption, a cultivator of human strengths, and a steward of professional identity.
Generative AI will not steal our humanity—unless we abandon our role in shaping how it’s used. Associations are uniquely positioned to ensure that technology serves people, not the other way around. By investing in ethical, strategic, and human-centered approaches, you can help your members and volunteers not only survive—but thrive—in a Gen AI-powered world.
Key Take-Away
Will Gen AI replace humans? Not likely—but it will reshape roles. For associations, the opportunity lies in guiding members to adapt, lead, and thrive by combining AI tools with uniquely human skills like ethics, empathy, and strategic insight. Share on XImage credit: Paymo/unsplash
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was named “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders overcome frustrations with hybrid work and Generative AI. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote seven best-selling books, and his two most recent ones are Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams and ChatGPT for Thought Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI for Innovative and Effective Content Creation. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.