Early this year, I sat in a strategy session where something new happened:
Halfway through the meeting, a team member quietly pulled up a screen and said,
“I asked ChatGPT what other associations are doing with member engagement. Here’s what it found.”
It was not on the agenda, yet within moments, everyone in the room was paying attention.
That was the moment I realized AI had joined the meeting, and it was reshaping strategy.
How AI is already changing the work
Associations have always embraced tools that help them serve better: CRMs, learning platforms, and digital events. AI is simply the next evolution.
The main difference between AI and other tooling evolutions? Speed.
Associations learned to move fast during the pandemic. Now, AI is accelerating that superpower.
AI & humans: Smarter strategy, faster
The strongest planning teams are asking what they can learn faster with AI:
→ Which assumptions could they test sooner?
→ What insights that took months can now be found in a few hours?
AI can help evaluate new membership models before launch, identify audience segments in real time, and surface insights from open-ended member feedback.
However, only people can set direction and decide what truly matters in terms of mission, purpose, and values. That’s where associations continue to lead.
The most effective planning processes now blend the two:
AI identifies opportunities and scenarios that might have gone unseen.
People provide meaning, context, and choices that align with the mission.
Together, AI and humans create a strategy that is both intelligent and intentional.
Leading organizations are already changing how they plan:
They build AI literacy in the boardroom by helping executives get a strategic understanding of how AI affects their industry and members.
They use AI to listen at scale. AI allows them to analyze thousands of member comments to discover common needs and frustrations.
They run "what if" scenarios. They explore membership, revenue, or engagement strategies through AI simulations before committing resources.
Tracking results in real time turns planning into a living system that learns and adjusts while in motion.
Why this shift matters now
Planning is no longer annual - it’s continuous, and AI is making that possible.
For associations, whose greatest strength lies in collective intelligence, this creates a big advantage.
The challenge is not whether to use AI, but how to make it serve your mission.
If your goals are clear and your values steady, the technology will amplify your impact. When your goals are unclear, and your values aren’t steady, AI only makes the confusion louder.
Associations have always been in the business of learning and connection. Using AI is simply the next chapter of that story.
The question now is how you will bring it into the room.
Here is a simple way to start:
→ During your next planning session, ask aloud: “What could we learn faster if we used AI to help us?”
The answer to that will tell you where to begin.
Have you started using AI in your planning process? Reply and tell me one way it is helping or one concern you are still working through.
PS - We published our 2026 Association Trends Report, so if you want more insights about the topic of AI, check it out here: https://2025-association-trends--3v1ri7t.gamma.site/
- Chris